The CV - your Passport to Success

I was - well, yes - horrified to discover the cost of creating a jobseeker's cv could be as much as £499 plus VAT! That such a vital tool in the struggle to catch the attention of a potential employer should be such a financial burden at a time of deep insecurity is nothing short of shocking.

You may have been watching the BBC TV show Jobless, about four families and the efforts of the laid-off breadwinner to find new jobs.

It was a bleak story of frustration, insecurity and fears doubtless shared by many viewers and which will sadly become familiar to many others in the months to come as casualties in the fight against the recession increase.

The best chance of returning to the workforce is an effective cv - passport to the successful interview.

One of the fathers featured was offered a cv service demanding more than £500 from his unemployment benefit.

The Curriculum Vitae needs to be a carefully constructed document, designed to showcase the skills and experience of the individual for whom it is prepared with a format that should almost at a glance present the qualities and required qualifications and experience. It should answer most of the questions a prospective employer might have in order to select for interview this application from the host of other hopefuls.

Focus for Change www.focus4change.co.uk have for many years been creating cvs for jobseekers, successfully supporting a vast range of clients from executives and academics to workers from the shop-floor.

Anyone can write a cv. But it takes experience, application of the right words and understanding of the requirements both of the likely employer and the jobseeker to craft a powerful and effective document with the potential to progress through the interview to secure the goal.

And it really doesn't cost the earth.

Does yours work for you?