Monday, September 13, 2010

Should recruitment agencies be allowed to design a person's entire CV/resume?

One time I complemented a man on his wonderful CV - the layout, elegant language, perfectly worded sentences and meticulous punctuation usage - to which, he raised one eyebrow and obviously tried to explain in his native tongue that he did not speak a word of English.

His friend explained to me that the entire CV was constructed by a recruitment agency. They simply noted down his personal details, education (a BA, MSc and MBA) and his employment history, and filled out the rest of the CV for him.

This man was applying for a PA position which paid £28k a year. He was in his 30s and had plenty of admin experience but, according to his CV, had never gained a job in the UK which paid more than £20k a year. He would obviously get turned down at the interview stage for his poor English.

I'm glad there are opportunities to get assistance with CV writing, but I can't help but feel sorry for the people who miss out on an interview because the employers are misled by one of these CVs.