If you ask anyone what makes a top CV writer, most people, recruiters and advisors will cite things such as good grammar, career sector experience, HR familiarity, and an eye for presentation etc. They are not wrong, but what most people don’t immediately cite (if at all) is creativity.

I’ve received lots of applications over the years, mainly from CV writers from other firms wanting to work with me. Most of these applicants don’t mention creativity either. They tend to just talk about their experience, the sectors they are used to, and in some cases their ability to churn out lots of (so-called) ‘professional’ CVs ten to the dozen (as if that’s a good thing!).

It seems then that I’m very much in the minority in that I consider, not just writing talent, but natural creativity, to be a crucial aspect of top-quality CV writing.

I’ll give you an example why this is important.

Some clients do the rounds of cheaper firms before they realise that you get what you pay for, and come to us. At that point, rather than just send us one CV, some clients send us two or three CVs from other professional firms that had failed them. Interestingly, while the layout and format might be different, frequently many of the (minor and major) issues are the same. So for example, while company A, B and C might create different looking CVs on the surface, underneath each company might overcomplicate the candidate’s career and experience to such an extent that the CV presents them as a ‘Jack of all trades’ rather than e.g. a top CFO (if CFO is their target).

That’s just one common issue. There are many others, and they all seem to raise the same question; namely the fact that most CV writers never look for the cause of the problem and creatively fix it. Instead, many problems (including major issues) are frequently ignored (if they are clocked at all).

If you’ve read The Executive CV Services Story then you’ll know that I’m not really one to do anything other than my utmost to help. Our special methods and CVs come a long way over 20+ years. That wouldn’t have happened without the desire to genuinely help clients. But it wouldn’t have happened without persistence and tenacity, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened without creativity either.

I can only speak for us, but on a personal note, I count my creativity as my biggest asset, and my talented colleagues make the most of their creativity too.