The Benefits Of A CV Writer

When you apply for a job you need to be able to catch the eye of the hiring managers with a strong CV and a great cover letter.  To help you with there a lot of professional CV writers and writing services have come into being.  However, you might be wondering if you actually need to hire these people. 

Any candidate that has a negative online reputation may want someone who is able to improve their image.  You may also be looking for help if you need to tweak your writing from the technical field that you have been in, to the management or marketing job that you are looking to get.  If you think that a professional writer will help you improve your CV, there are some pros and cons that you need to consider.  These aspects of outsourced writing will help you determine if this is the right decision for you.

The Pros

A lot of waiting goes into the new hiring paradigm as hiring managers wait until the correct candidate comes along.  While someones writing abilities do not directly correlate to their skills or job performance it is used as a determining factor.  A grammatical mistake in a CV can be seen as a lack of attention to detail and the use of slang is considered too informal for a professional setting. 

For most jobs, the ability to clearly and effectively write is essential.  This is particularly important when looking for customer contact roles like sales, customer service, marketing and technical support.  A CV that is well-written will make you come across as a qualified candidate.

Being able to do one aspect of your job is no longer enough and more employers are expanding their job descriptions and increasing the duties of employees.  This is done to compensate for a perceived instability in the economic climate.  Some of the additional skills will include interacting with more customers with a decrease in support staff or having to write your own reports. 

If you can demonstrate good writing skills on your CV then you are telling the companys HR department that you have cross-functional skills.  This often gives you the edge over other candidates that are not able to do this.

Another benefit of professional writing is that they have knowledge of the current hiring market which is something you could be lacking if you have been out of the market for a while.  You would need to complete a lot of research to understand what the current hiring practices are and this can be time-consuming.  A CV writing company will have years of experience in the market and will know what the current industry trends are.  The writers will also be trained in knowing how to respond to the demands of HR departments and this inside knowledge is worth the costs of the service.

The Cons

A professionally written CV is very popular and this could mean that there is little advantage in using one.  In some cases, the spelling and grammar checks in your word processing program will be enough to give you the quality that you need.  There is also the fact that many professional CV services are so busy they are now churning out CVs that all read the same.  Having a resume that offers personality and style could stand out more now than one that looks like all the others.

You also need to consider the cost of the service which could be hard to cover if you are out of work.  While prices vary the top companies will charge between $50 and $200 for their service.  You could hire a writer from Craigslist which will cut the costs.  However, while this is more economical and you have a personalized service it is harder to determine experience and success.

An eye-catching cover letter needs to be focused on the company you are applying to and the job.  A professional writing service could give you a standardized letter which does not stand out.  Writing your own cover letter and using a professional CV could tip off employers to the use of a service and this is a dilemma that most people want to avoid.

There are many pros and cons to hiring a service to write your CV for you.  The process is not right for everyone and for some the downsides could outweigh the benefits.