One of the best indicators of quality is word-of-mouth recommendations. However, even this is not foolproof. For example, if you have a friend who says their new CV “looks good” then while this is useful information it is probably not.

One thing I get asked from time to time is ‘do you have a background in such and such a sector?’ The main reason people ask this is because they are under the false assumption that the best person to.

As far as writer experience is concerned I do feel that this is important - the best CV writers are vastly experienced - but experience needs to be considered in perspective. For example, I have lost count of the applications.