A month in the life of CV Shed

Another year has flown by and it’s time for the fourth annual round-up of what I’ve been up to at CV Shed. I love to write these reviews – it gives me the chance to take stock of my business and look back at what’s changed since previous round-ups. It also gives potential clients some insight into what I do, to help them decide if they want to work with me!

The big news this year is that – after 12 years as a sole trader – CV Shed became a limited company! It all feels very serious and grown up, but in effect nothing’s really changed. I’ve got an Accountant to do the icky bits that I don’t enjoy, so I can focus on delivering the same great CV Shed services. So, what have I been up to this year?

CV evaluations

I introduced a CV evaluation service to the CV Shed offering, which has proved really popular! If clients are already happy with their CV, or don’t want to pay for the full rewrite service, they can request an evaluation in the form of personalised feedback on their document, with recommendations for improvement and an expert opinion on its strengths and weaknesses.

CV critiques

I started a new contract earlier on this year, providing CV critiques for a company based in Switzerland. There’s a real mix in the variety and quality of CVs I receive and, based on the feedback I get, the clients find the critiques really helpful. This has rapidly become my biggest contract, taking a few hours of every day. I also have a similar contract with another company in the UK, where I do far fewer hours but provide a similar CV critique service.

Content editing

I’ve continued to edit and publish articles for a company based in America. I edit 25 posts a month across 3 UK and US blogs, to ensure they meet the requirements of the brief and are written in line with the style guide. The writing team is fab to work with and this is a fun, if busy, contract.

Blog writing

I’ve also started writing posts a couple of US blogs. I find the writing process really enjoyable (most of the time!). You’ll also see some of my posts on the British Association of CV Writers’ website and, of course, on the CV Shed blog.

CVs for private customers

As always, I’ve carried on writing CVs for my private customers. I've had a real mix this year, from recent graduates to senior executives and everything in between. I've also updated a few CVs for a previous customers, adding their latest jobs as its time for them to move on again.

Staff profiles

I still write staff profiles for new staff at a construction company, for use in their bidding packs. This contract doesn’t have a huge volume, but it’s great to be able to write for a different audience – the readers of these profiles are potential business clients, rather than recruiters and employers.

Attending lunch & learn sessions

As a certified member of the British Association of CV Writers, I regularly attend their Lunch & Learn sessions to stay up to date with developments in CV writing and to get business advice from the various speakers. I even had the opportunity to meet several of them in real life in November, when the first in-person gathering was held at the British Library!

Studying

Somehow, around the busiest year in CV Shed history, I’ve managed to complete the first year of my master’s degree in Applied English. Studying remotely has provided the flexibility I need to fit assignments around work and I’m having fun exploring new topics I’d never considered before.

January is always my busiest time of the year, so if you have any projects that you’d like me to work on, please do get in touch sooner rather than later. New year, new career? I can make you sound amazing – let’s do it!