Are you looking to step up in your career? Maybe there are changes at your office and you are looking to move jobs? When we look at job boards, we might start to doubt ourselves. Are we actually skilled enough to step into a more senior role? To progress up the ladder? If you have been in the same role for a number of years, it’s probably a good amount of time since you even opened your CV. Putting things in place to position yourself as the ultimate candidate is a great idea. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the best CV writing service UK.
What is a CV writing service?
You might be wondering what a CV writing service actually is. Well, it’s pretty much what it says on the tin. You will pay a company to write your CV for you. To bring it to life, to make you stand out from the crowd and push those key skills to make you look like the best possible person for the job. There are many different services available and we’ll look at some of them to figure out the best CV writing service UK. First though, why would you consider using one of these services?
Why would you use one?
You might be a graphic designer. Perhaps you are a scrum master. You aren’t a CV writing expert. You wouldn’t try and build an extension on the side of your house yourself. You’d get a professional builder to do it for you, someone with the right skill set, who does it every day for a living. You might look at your CV and wonder how to make it look better. A fresh set of eyes and a third party who aren’t personally invested in your background and talents can help give your CV a complete makeover. You might think that the associated cost isn’t worth it, but it can be a drop in the ocean if it helps bag you a new job with a bigger salary. A worthwhile investment!
Leading CV review sites
There are a number of CV review sites that probably all think they are the best CV writing service UK. It’s important to have a well-rounded view of what is available before you commit to one to bring your CV to life. Let’s have a look at five CV writing service options.
Purple CV
Purple CV is one of the speediest and most affordable services around. The express service is turned around in just 24 hours! An early career CV will only set you back £45. You’ll have access to your own specialist writer with unlimited revisions included, for 12 months. They push a 100% satisfaction guarantee and have been featured across the media including The Sun, HuffPost and Marie Claire. Prices starts from £50 for a CV review.
Purple CV has a decent TrustPilot rating too. 4.8 stars from almost 3000 reviews. 93% of reviews rate them as Excellent with only 3% of reviews giving the service 3 stars or less. Key takeaways from some of the reviews include efficient, prompt and highly recommended. Get your cv reviewed here
TopCV UK
TopCV UK has helped more than 600,000 professionals secure more interviews and get hired fast. The company have 3 packages available, so there is something for every budget. You can even spread the cost of three payments if money is tight right now. The career evolution bundle gives you everything you need, including A cover letter, CV and two revisions. The service also included a 60-day interview guarantee.
The TrustPilot reviews of TopCV UK are less impressive. The company has a four star score from over 7500 reviews. 67% rate it as Excellent, however, 17% only gave it one star. That’s almost one in five people having an extremely poor experience. There is a mixture of great job reviews alongside posts stating awful and avoid.
CV Centre
CV Centre offer professional CV writing from only £40 with the first draft usually delivered in two days. You can chat with your CV writer, have a flexible design of your CV template and have access to unlimited revisions. You can save money by buying a package rather than individual products, with the Specialist Package Deal saving you £100. For £190, senior CV writers will take on your job, providing a specialist CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.
84% of reviews on TrustPilot give the CV Centre four or five stars. The company have a 4.6 star rating from over 1800 reviews. There is high praise with simply amazing and blown away as part of some reviews, however, some customers have questioned the speed, saying they experienced slow service. You can also get a free CV review, which is very useful.
CV Knowhow
You can upload your document to the CV Knowhow site for a free review. The company will offer to improve your CV with their professionally written and prepared CV service. You can pay more for access to an executive writer, the top 10% of the CV Knowhow network.
The TrustPilot score for CV Knowhow is only 3.5 out of 5. Whilst 79% of customers give it an Excellent rating, 9% only give it one star. Some positive comments include excellent service whilst one of the negative reviews calls the company absolute charlatans. A mixed bag.
The Fuller CV
The Fuller CV has been writing professional CVs for over 15 years. hey have different services at different budgets, so it’s an accessible service for everyone. They turn everything around in five days and have free alterations for a limited amount of time depending on the package you buy. There are more affordable questionnaire-based packages where you fill out your details and send them over to be turned into a professional CV. However, you can pay a little more for a telephone consultation where the writer will ask you questions to pull out all that valuable information for your CV. They also offer career coaching.
There are only 188 reviews on TrustPilot, however, The Fuller CV has a 4.8 score. 69% of customers give the service five stars with one of those reviews stating that they always recommend friends use Fuller CV.
It is worth noting that more and more hiring companies are using ATS (applicant tracking systems) when screening CVs. This saves time and money. You need to ensure your professional CV is a good match for the job description, with keywords that will get you through this process. Look for the best CV writing service UK that takes this into consideration and is aware of this software.
What do you look like online?
Companies go for more than just your CV. They will often look at your LinkedIn profile and do a Google search on you. What is a search engine saying about you? Are those photographs of you at the beach still showing? What do those tweets about politics really say about you? Is your online profile doing more harm than good? It’s a good idea to view yourself through the eyes of potential employers and make changes accordingly. You don’t want to invest in the best CV writing service UK only to be let down by an internet search.
If you try it yourself
Of course, money can be tight, especially if you don’t have a current job and are on the hunt for one whilst watching your finances. Remember to be clear and concise, being aware that recruiters often only spend 5 seconds looking at a CV. You need to show professionalism. Do you still use that daft email address you created in high school? 76% of CVs are ignored if there is an unprofessional email address! Now is the time to get professional and make a new one, just using your name rather than your favourite band lyrics. When you see that every job vacancy has an average of 118 applicants, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
