Why do I write CVs?

How many kids at school think, “When I grow up I want to be a CV writer”?

Probably not many, and certainly not me!  I was going to be a ballerina (who wasn’t?), an air hostess so I could travel and then an art historian….. My arrival as a business owner and CV writer was definitely not planned.  

In my 20s and 30s I enjoyed a successful and largely fun first career in sales and marketing in London’s vibrant film and video post-production industry, but the birth of baby #1 made me realise that I wanted a more family orientated job.  While I had a young family I was lucky to be retained to do ad hoc marketing, proof reading and project-based work for my previous employer, but as I am not good at sitting still, I was also a school volunteer mum who got involved in fundraising, event organising and school trips.  Here I collaborated with bright, talented women some of whom were looking to get back to work after a career break, however, their confidence was at rock bottom.  Despite numerous applications for roles they could have done with their eyes closed they were not getting called for interview and their lack of success made them feel that they no longer had anything to offer the professional world.  I was frustrated because I could not see the match between the people I knew and their low success rate with recruiters. 

One day mum-friend Jo challenged me to write her a CV, because she thought I was “good with words”, so I did a lot of research about how CVs had changed over the years and did just that.  The result was quite startling; she got interviews and a job, just like that.  I felt I had proved something to both of us.

Initially, clients were return to work women and I loved that I could provide a solution to their pain point. Over time their partners, friends and ex-colleagues came calling and I discovered that the skill I had was applicable to all people in all industries, because I didn’t, and don’t, write off-the-peg CVs.

My clients are often stuck, be it that they have tried to write their own CV (with or without AI) and floundered, they have applied for loads of jobs but are not getting anything back, have been made redundant and are panicking about how to sound like a strong candidate after 20 years with the same company, or they want to change industry or role and are finding themselves pigeon-holed….. Each individual has their own sticking point and my job is to unstick them.

The best CVs come from collaboration: a lot of questions from me and digging deep from my clients. The end result is a concise, keyword rich professional branding document which sells their skills and achievements to the recruiter or hiring manager.

So why do I do this?  Simple, my job allows me to help people in a way that can change their lives and this is both a huge responsibility and extremely rewarding.  I love working with people to unearth forgotten or overlooked achievements, articulate their values and show them how to present themselves to the job market.  And the buzz I get when I hear that a client has secured an interview, and even better got the job, is the same today as it was when I first started 12 years ago.