Spotting the dodgy CV Writers
I know we recently ran a post on Choosing A Professional CV Writer but over the last week we have had a few questions emailed to us asking us how to avoid people who claim to be expert CV Writers, so we thought we’d put together this simple tip sheet on spotting the dodgy CV Writers out there:
Disclaimer:
The tips we have posted here do NOT mean that you should avoid any company that carries out one or more of the following it just means that you should be more careful and check them out further before parting with your money.
Reasons to be wary
1. The company in question only provides you with an email address to contact them with
2. The company in question refuses to provide you with a UK Landline number
3. The company in question claims to be a UK Limited Company but does not appear on the www.companieshouse.gov.uk website
4. The company in question does appear on the www.companieshouse.gov.uk website but has a status of Dormant or Proposal to strike off
5. The company in question doesn’t provide their full postal address (under the Companies Act 2006 this is a legal requirement, to publish their address in a prominent position)
6. Companies that don’t provide any address on there website, you should ask yourself what are they hiding that they can’t tell you were they are based?
7. Although it isn’t illegal to use a POBox number, a general rule would be to question why they use a POBox number and not a real address, afterall it will be so much harder to track down someone with just a POBox address should something go wrong and you are trying to get your money back
8. Only giving mobile numbers, how many reputable companies do you know that will only give you a mobile number?
How to check them out
If the company in question has given their phone number call them and ask them the following questions:
1. How long have you been writing CV’s
2. What are your qualifications/experience and or professional memberships
3.What experience do they have writing CV’s for your specific industry
4. If they use 0870 or other non UK Landline numbers ask them to call you back
Other Checks you could run
1. If they claim to be a UK Limited company check them out on www.companieshouse.gov.uk website (its FREE)
2. Ask around and see if you know anyone that has used the company and get some feedback
3. Check them out on Google a simple search like “company name reviews” or “company name rip off” will reveal if there are any complaints about the company on the internet
By following these simple steps you will be able to asure yourself that you are dealing with a reputable company, just because they claim to be The UK’s Leading or The UK’s best it doesn’t mean they really are, check them out and if they are an honest company they certainly won’t mind how many questions you ask.
And don’t be supprissed if whilst you are checking out a particular CV Writing business if you find they are working from the owners home address, its a common thing for many small CV Writing businesses to work from there owners home.
© The Career Engineer
WoWMyCV.co.uk
Tags: career, Career Advice, Careers, Curriculum Vitae, CV, CV Writer, CV Writing, dodgy business, dodgy cv writers
