Coffee Stories: Good Copy (aka You, On Paper)

For our next installment in the Coffee Stories series, I had the great pleasure of connecting and chatting with Lo Constantinou, founder of Good Copy UK.

We actually connected through Anna Whitehouse’s (aka Mother Pukka) Sunday night virtual discos, and got chatting about the importance and complexities of not just writing your own CV but doing so with maternity leave gaps, a desire for flexible working conditions or in general while juggling motherhood and a pandemic.

Lo is an absolute gem, and the one-woman-power house who launched Good Copy UK while still working a day-job AND homeschooling, mid-lockdown. She has also successfully negotiated flexible working opportunities for herself, and is incredibly passionate about supporting other women (regardless of their reasons) in achieving the same.

Enjoy the interview below, and do make sure to pop by Lo’s @GoodCopyUK to say hi, or perhaps even get some support with your CV or job -hunt / interview coaching!

Hello Lo, and thank you SO much for taking the time to chat!

Could you please briefly introduce yourself and your business ‘Dear Good Copy’? 

Of Course! Hi, I am Lo, founder of Good Copy UK. My business is a modern and creative approach to CV writing. I specialise in resumes, cover letters and personal statements, as well as CV reviews and confidence coaching.

My aim is to breathe life into the dated CVs we think of when we hear the word, and my goal is simply to put you, on paper.

Home-schooling AND launching a new business, in the midst of a pandemic… HUGE Congratulations are in order (and I hope wine has been made available).

Can you talk a little about how this year has impacted you, as well as how you would hope businesses and employers might support not just existing employees who happen to be parenting / mothers, but mum’s returning to the professional sphere after the pandemic (/schools starting up again) in general? 

Even pre-covid, this is a subject I have always incredibly passionate about.

Having been declined a flexible work request (“There is no way we can make that work”), then declined the option to work from home two days a week (“What if your baby falls over, how would you possibly answer the phone!”) and then subsequently managed out of my previous role while on maternity leave in 2015 (“THIS is why we don’t usually hire women”), I have made it my mission to forge a career path for myself and to help others manage theirs.

I think that the conversation around flexible working and what this truly means is slowly changing, but that employers have to put in the work and listen to how it could look for both parties. Flexible working isn’t a mum slinking off in the background hoping nobody notices so that they can grab a coffee before the school run. It’s men and women structuring their working days to fit around their needs, while simultaneously working to meet the needs of their employers.

In the right hands, it can be the most powerful tool an employer holds to increase productivity!

As for the last year, I think I speak to parents everywhere when I say that wow… we thought we could multitask before?! We are masters of the art now! I am blessed to have spent an amazing year teaching my six year old daughter on and off, and also allowing her to gain an insight into how Mum earns a living!

Let’s chat CV writing… Most people (myself included) tend to really struggle with creating their own resume. Perhaps this stems from a lack of confidence or comfort in promoting oneself or the ability to create relevant copy to describe achievements, or any number of other things. 

What would be your number one piece of advice when looking at creating a CV, what is one of the more common faux pas you see, and why is seeking support to maximise your resume potential so worthwhile?

You are definitely speaking for the majority when you say that you struggle in the art of self-promotion. I think it inherently makes us uncomfortable to talk about ourselves, which is one of the main reasons that my clients seek out an unbiased approach to writing their CV.

One of my go to pieces of advice is “Talking about your skills and achievements is NEVER a bad thing. Normalise feeling confident and proud, it will change your entire approach to finding a new job”.

Truly the most common faux pas I see are people selling themselves terribly short. After the year we have all had, the job market is more competitive than ever, and it’s so very important to sell yourself on that piece of paper!

With over 70% of online applications never even reaching the eyes of the employer, at Good Copy I maximise your chances of making it through what’s called an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) by researching the roles you’ve worked in and are applying for, to implement crucial key words and phrases into your CV, and get you to the top of that virtual pile!  

For women in particular, explaining a potential maternity leave (of whatever length, from months to years) on the CV can seem daunting (even though it absolutely shouldn’t, as it is one of the toughest and most relentless jobs one can do). 

 What are your thoughts around maternity-leave ‘gaps’ on the CV, and how women can approach them?

That’s a great question. From my experience in recruitment, I would advise that you should always be honest, because if you are going through a recruiter in particular an unexplained large gap in your CV can sometimes flag up.

I always approach a maternity break with a short paragraph, rather than the structured layout you would typically see on a CV eg;

Employer

Dates

Job Role

Responsibilities

Anyone who has stayed home and taken on not only the physical load of keeping a home, but also the mental load of managing a household and it’s inhabitants day to day, knows that if you started making a list of responsibilities, well frankly the list would never end!! A small explanation of the time you’ve taken away from a conventional “job” and why works perfectly, and thankfully now you will find that most employers have experienced something similar themselves!

We both feel passionately about women supporting other women, especially professionally. Can you talk a little about how your services at ‘Dear Good Copy’ can support women in general (and mamas or care-givers in particular) who are navigating their career?  

Absolutely! Let me tell you a bit of a story...

When I was managed out of my job while on maternity leave, I was left with a small amount of money from accrued holidays, a mortgage to pay, and a 5 month old baby on my hip. I took the only job I could find that worked around my partner’s job (he worked away the majority of the week) and didn’t require me to pay any childcare (I quite simply could not afford it).

This job was in a local SPAR, working evenings on the till, and was a world away from the busy company life I had been used to. My Area Manager was a woman, and a mother, and allowed me to secure agreed flexible working hours through HR so that my shift pattern didn’t change or impact my childcare – a struggle that many other working parents will understand.

Two years later, when my daughter was able to utilise the government funded childcare hours, I applied for a job in retail. Wanting to spend more time at home with my partner and daughter in the house at the same time, instead of as passing ships, I was looking to move back into day-time working hours.

The day I was offered an interview I had no childcare, and explained that I could come in but would have my three year old with me. “Oh that’s fine! I’m a Mum too, I’m sure we can occupy her while we have a chat!”

I got the job, and my life began to change. Doors started to open again. Not little cracks with signs saying “no mums allowed” but real doors swinging wide open. I was promoted, twice! Nobody treated me like I wasn’t capable just because I had chosen to have a baby.

I know my story is a little wordy, but THAT is exactly why I support working Mums with career advice, confidence coaching, and a cheaper option in the form of a CV Review if they can’t afford a full rewrite at that moment in time. Sometimes we just need someone to open the door!

That makes me so happy to hear! Good on you and them for supporting and normalising the reality of job hunting and childcare juggles!

In terms of that process… Once you get across those first hurdles (CV, application letter, initial interview), and perhaps even get to the stage of negotiating an offer, there are new questions to consider.

How can anyone, but perhaps in particular women, raise the topic of flexibility, without feeling like they are having to settle or downgrade the value of their experience and expertise? 

I have successfully negotiated two flexible work arrangements within my own career, and been declined once.

I would say that you need to initially do your research. You need to know your rights around flexible working, your company’s policy if possible, and the size and structure of the team you’re joining. If you arm yourself with knowledge then you can work WITH your boss to come up with a flexible solution that works for everyone.

I think that if you raise the subject where appropriate in the interview stage (usually toward the end), and can back up your initial request with an idea of HOW this will work for both parties, and the research you have done into how you can make this work (for example their opening hours, size of team etc) then there is no reason that your hiring manager shouldn’t hear you out and take what you are saying seriously.

My first flexible work request wasn’t denied solely because of the company’s ignorance around working mums. It was also my fault for not doing my homework. I wasn’t prepared at all, and naively as a new Mum I assumed I would be welcomed back flexibly with open arms and an open mind. This was not the case, and I promised myself to never let that happen to me, or anyone I could help, ever again.

Let’s chat a bit more about your services specifically, and what sets you apart from the crowd. Can you talk a little more about your career, and what makes Good Copy UK so special? 

Good Copy UK is special because it is a one woman band. I write every single CV from scratch, with no external input or influence from a third party company.

My career had always been in Visual Merchandising and retail store management, however when a store of mine sadly closed down I made the move into fashion recruitment and started working for a recruitment agency on a nationwide drive to find a team of Window Dressers and Visual Merchandisers.

Working in this industry opened my eyes to the behind the scenes of “getting a new job”.

I have always written freelance copy for brands and retailers, but here I honed my skills writing candidate CV after candidate CV, and after our recruitment drive ended I established myself as our office’s go-to for a concise and creative CV for any and all industries and roles.

Since leaving there I have worked freelance since my daughter was born, while also progressing into management at my current “day job”.

My life is busy and my brain is always ticking away and flipping both sides of the coin (retail and recruitment, creativity and commerciality, coffee and gin etc etc), but I wouldn’t have it any other way, and when I was furloughed during lockdown 1.0 I suddenly found myself (in between homeschooling and not going insane) with the time to carve out Good Copy as a real business.

I am so glad I made the decision to launch, because receiving feedback from clients who were made redundant during the pandemic and are now back in work, or clients who have been promoted internally, or clients who have just had their first job offer since becoming a mum, is the most rewarding feeling!  

When approaching you for help, what should a candidate think about in advance of chatting to you? 

 Honestly, just say Hi and we can go from there.

If you need a full CV from scratch, I’m here.

If you want some advice on the CV you currently have, I’m here.

If you want to bag that promotion, I’m here.

It all starts with just saying Hi...

Finally, Age old question… Can a CV be longer than 2 pages and still be acceptable? 

YES! I love to bust this myth wide open! It is like the age old one that you can’t take your own chocolates into the cinema haha!

There is no blueprint, and when it works it works. Your CV is dictated by YOU, and the type of role you are aspiring to move in to.

I mean don’t get me wrong, if I receive 4 paragraphs about the walks you take the dog on, best believe that is getting the chop! But if you are a VM Manager with 10 stores under your belt, and a selection of portfolio photos you’d like to show the hiring manager to set you apart – I don’t think an extra page is going to be a problem!

My tagline at Good Copy is ‘You, on paper.’

And that’s exactly what I try to do. Every person is different, so every person on paper is different to.

Q U I C K  F I R E

How do you take your coffee?

Over the last year I’ve taken it via in IV drip straight into my bloodstream, but on a regular basis with milk and 2 generous sugars!

What are you watching? 

Interior Design Masters on BBC, and Modern Love on Amazon Prime!

How does a moment just for YOU look on an average day (if it exists)?

A hot bath and a good podcast!

Quotes that has stuck with you as you navigate your professional endeavours? 

“Be so good they can’t ignore you” – Steve Martin

And one that has stuck with you through motherhood?

“Be a maker of magic”.

If you are looking for advice on how to approach job hunting, updating your CV, or just fancy saying hi to a fabulous fellow woman, business owner and mama, head over to Good Copy UK and slide into Lo’s DM’s or email.