External CV Company

Post Reply
Spawnboy99
Posts: 139
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:14 pm

External CV Company

Post by Spawnboy99 »

Has anyone used an external CV company and had positive results, there was an interesting post on FB and teachers were recommending a few different companies, some in the past where teaching but have since made a career change. They all seem to be doing the same things, for example, Teacher Resume, Teacher Cover Letter, Teacher LinkedIn profile, 1 x 50min Zoom call (initial), 1 x 30 min Zoom call (follow up) etc also they teach you how to adapt your cv and cover letter for each job and school you are applying for. There are a few other bits they offer. Prices are around $800-1000USD. Would be interesting to know peoples experience and feelings on this.
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: External CV Company

Post by sid »

Way too expensive for my blood. Find a friend or colleague who’s good at this stuff and get their help for a cup of coffee.
Alexandru
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:00 am

Re: External CV Company

Post by Alexandru »

I agree with sid. Find a friend or colleague who can do it for you. If you don't know anyone who can do it, pay for someone to do it for you on Fiverr. I did that years ago.
chemteacher101
Posts: 112
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:57 pm

Re: External CV Company

Post by chemteacher101 »

I did mine through resume.io . I liked the results, and it was very easy. The free version does not allow to download it, but gives you a link where you can view it, so you can always"print it" as a PDF for free.
Illiane_Blues

Re: External CV Company

Post by Illiane_Blues »

$800-1000USD???
If there is a big market for this I'm switching careers.
Thames Pirate
Posts: 1188
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am

Re: External CV Company

Post by Thames Pirate »

Illiane_Blues wrote:
> $800-1000USD???
> If there is a big market for this I'm switching careers.

Seriously! In today's world, with so many templates and how-to guides on the internet, how are people not able to do this themselves? I've always had friends and trusted coworkers--including HR--look over my work periodically, but we expect a minimum of this level of work and thinking from our students. My husband and I have always had great success getting what we want with our paperwork.

If you are friends with your school's HR department or person who normally screens the applicants, see if you can pick their brains for what they like or what gets an application binned. These gatekeepers, particularly at desirable schools, are no longer gatekeeping you. They may be willing to share, especially if they are venting about the annoyances of their jobs. These people are often the first hurdle, so knowing how to get past them is important. Most of it is also obvious stuff. For example, emails that are sent to multiple schools, sometimes with a failed BCC, are tossed. Ones with the name of an administrator or other appropriate individual are more likely to be read. Following directions is also a requirement for getting past gatekeepers. Provide everything they request in the format they prefer, and nothing extra. Anything that requires extra work to decipher is not worth their time when they can get 1000 applications per job.

If you offer to swap CVs or cover letters with friends for proofing, you also get to see the styles they use to see what you think is good or bad about each one. Judge those against the response rate the friend later gets. Doing it over coffee allows you to discuss as you go, so you can see people's reasoning for and experience with different elements of formatting, etc.

I cannot imagine paying for a service for something so simple. Saving cover letters you've written gives you a template for future applications as well, particularly if it got a response. It isn't hard to make quick tweaks or personalisations based on the particular job or school to which you are applying.
shadowjack
Posts: 2140
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: External CV Company

Post by shadowjack »

I don't know. I have seen a lot of teachers shoot themselves in the foot with sub-standard CVs that don't really highlight effectively and present logically what they bring. It definitely puts them further down the list of hires.
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: External CV Company

Post by sid »

True. A bad CV is not helpful. But does it really take an expensive company to take a CV from bad to good?
PsyGuy
Posts: 10849
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

I cant possibly imagine anything they would do or offer that would be worth that amount of coin. Most consultants dont know how to write edu resumes for IE, and doing so isnt that hard. LinkedIn is gaining some traction in IE, but its still not common place yet in IE. You could pay a fraction of that for SA and just ask your associate to look it over. I wouldnt ask HR in an IS. Always follow the directions in the post.
Its been written about extensively on this forum. Rank: academics, experience, skills by whats your strongest and lead with that first in your resume and work your way back. No more than one bullet point achievement per contract. Keep the fluff out.
I agree with @Sid it shouldnt and doesnt take $1000 to take a bad resume to good.
Post Reply