City CV

What City CV does

City CV is a London-based, privately held career consultancy founded by Victoria McLean (a former recruitment manager at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch). The company delivers professional writing and coaching services across individual and corporate buyers in the UK and internationally. Its core individual offering comprises CV writing, LinkedIn profile writing, cover letter writing, and a portfolio of coaching services covering career, executive, interview, career transition, and Non-Executive Director (NED) pathways, delivered via one-hour video consultations with industry-matched expert writers and coaches. The company has served over 30,000 clients and is the only UK CV writing firm with multiple TORI ('Oscars' of the resume industry) wins across categories including Executive, Finance, Graduate, Hospitality, International, and Marketing CVs.

City CV's underlying technology is the proprietary Career Refinery Portal & App, a DIY career development platform priced at £199 for 12 months' access. The product combines e-learning, weekly live masterclasses, a 25,000+ recruiter database, an advanced LinkedIn networking tool, and interactive tools including CV builder, cover letter builder, interview simulator, and aptitude tests. On the corporate side, the company delivers tiered outplacement programmes (Leaders, Professionals, Junior Team Members), Employee Engagement & Retention programmes (Essentials, Professional, Executive), and Higher Education employability programmes for Russell Group universities and international business schools across EMEA, MENA, Asia, Americas, and Australasia.

The revenue model blends one-time professional writing fees, professional services coaching engagements, and a growing recurring revenue stream from the £199/year Career Refinery subscription. Bespoke corporate outplacement and engagement contracts are quote-based. Go-to-market is sales-led via UK and US phone lines and online ordering, with secondary channels including a partner programme for recruitment agencies, professional bodies, and membership organisations. Around 2023-2024, City CV's executive, board, and senior leadership services were aligned under Hanover Talent Solutions, while the City CV brand continues to serve individuals and organisations.

Name

City CV

Legal name

City CV Ltd

Website

https://citycv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

London-based career consultancy offering expert CV writing, LinkedIn optimisation, and coaching to individuals plus tiered outplacement, engagement, and higher-education programmes to organisations globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Professional CV & LinkedIn Writing Services: One-time professional writing services for CVs, LinkedIn profiles, and cover letters delivered through expert consultants with industry-specific expertise. Services include executive, professional, graduate, and NED packages.
2. Career Coaching Services: One-to-one coaching programmes including career coaching, executive coaching, interview coaching, and career transition coaching. Delivered by former executives, headhunters, and HR professionals.
3. Career Refinery DIY Portal & App Subscription: Annual subscription access to self-service career tools, masterclasses, e-learning content, and job search resources. Priced at £199 for 12 months access.
4. Corporate Outplacement Services: Bespoke outplacement programmes for organisations covering leaders, professionals, and junior employees. Includes writing services, coaching, executive support, and access to the Career Refinery Portal & App.
5. Employee Engagement & Retention Programmes: Organisational programmes including Essentials, Professional, and Executive tiers, combining coaching, workshops, masterclasses, and the Career Refinery platform.
6. Higher Education Student Employability Programmes: Partnership programmes with Russell Group universities and international business schools providing tailored employability services including CV writing, mock interviews, and career workshops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

City CV provides professionally written CVs, LinkedIn profiles, and cover letters, supported by career coaching, executive coaching, interview coaching, and career transition coaching. The company also delivers outplacement services to individuals and organizations, plus engagement & retention programmes for employers and higher-education services for universities and business schools. It complements these human-led services with the Career Refinery portal and app, which provides an AI-assisted self-service option.

Product overview

City CV operates as a career consultancy offering a portfolio of human-delivered professional services. The core offering consists of CV writing, LinkedIn profile writing, cover letter writing, and various coaching services (career, executive, interview, career transition, NED coaching). These services are organized by career level: Graduate Programme, Professional Hub, Executive Hub, and NED Hub. A key add-on is the Career Refinery Portal & App (DIY platform) providing e-learning, masterclasses, recruiter database, and career tools. For organizations, services include outplacement, engagement & retention, and higher education programmes. Industry-specific specializations cover accountancy, legal, banking & finance, consultancy, IT & technology, and marketing & creative sectors. All services are delivered by former industry professionals, headhunters, and HR experts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Career Refinery Portal & App: A DIY career development portal and mobile app providing e-learning, personal branding tools, masterclasses, job search resources, and interactive career tools including CV builder, interview simulator, and aptitude tests. Priced at £199 for 12 months access.
• Outplacement Services

Products and services

• CV Writing Service A professionally written CV delivered by a sector-specialist writer, including consultation, drafting, and revisions, intended for professionals, executives, and job seekers across industries.
• LinkedIn Profile Writing Service A professionally written LinkedIn profile, including headline, summary, experience, and skills, designed to improve visibility and recruiter engagement for individual professionals and executives.
• Cover Letter Writing Service A tailored cover letter written by a sector-specialist writer to accompany a CV and support job applications.
• Career Coaching One-to-one career coaching for professionals seeking career direction, planning, and progression support.
• Executive Coaching Confidential one-to-one executive coaching for senior leaders focused on leadership development, performance, and career progression.
• Board | NED Coaching Specialist coaching to support executives preparing for board appointments and non-executive director (NED) positions.
• Career Transition Coaching Coaching support for professionals navigating career transitions such as redundancy, restructuring, or significant role change.
• Interview Coaching Structured interview preparation support, including mock interviews, feedback, and competency-based question practice.
• Graduate Programme A package of CV writing, LinkedIn, and coaching support tailored to graduates and early-career professionals applying to graduate schemes and entry-level roles.
• Career Refinery Portal & App A proprietary self-service portal and mobile app that provides AI-assisted CV building and career tools for candidates who prefer a do-it-yourself approach.
• Outplacement Services (Individuals) Career transition support for individual outplacement candidates, including CV writing, LinkedIn profiling, coaching, and job-search guidance.
• Outplacement Services (Organisations) Corporate outplacement programme delivered to organisations to support groups of departing employees with career transition services, often following restructuring or redundancy.
• Engagement & Retention Services Career-development and engagement programmes delivered to employers to support retention, internal mobility, and employee career progression.
• Higher Education Services Career-services support for universities, business schools, and graduate employers, including CV workshops, interview preparation, and employability programmes for students.
• Industry-Specific CV Writing Services Sector-specialist CV writing services covering accountancy, legal, banking & finance, consulting, IT & technology, and marketing & creative professions, delivered by writers with direct industry experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conversion rate improvement from 7% to 40% for one client
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments15 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Russell Group UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnerships with Russell Group universities providing student employability programmes including CV writing, mock interviews, career workshops, and specialist coaching for banking, finance, and law sectors.
• International Business SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with international business schools delivering tailored employability programmes as stand-alone offerings or add-ons to undergraduate and postgraduate pathways including MBAs. Supporting students across EMEA, MENA, Asia, Americas, and Australasia.
• Financial Planning PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with leading wealth management firm providing free Financially Fit workshop and 1:1 sessions with financial advisors for outplacement programme participants.
• Recruitment AgenciescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEstablished partner network of recruitment agencies providing webinar programmes and content access. Partners can enhance brand, increase member/candidate numbers, and provide added value through career content.
• Professional BodiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner programme enabling professional bodies to offer City CV expertise through webinars and content to their members. Provides passive revenue stream and full event reporting.
• Membership OrganisationscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner network including membership organisations sharing common goal of empowering job seekers. Partners receive branded landing pages, promotional materials, and organisational support.
• Hanover Talent SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity CV's executive, board and senior leadership services are delivered through Hanover Talent Solutions. City CV is described as 'Part of Hanover'. Victoria McLean is CEO and founder of both City CV and Hanover Talent Solutions.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison): Global outplacement and career transition services firm, part of the Adecco Group. Direct competitor to City CV's corporate outplacement and career transition coaching offerings, serving similar enterprise clients with bespoke programmes.
• Right Management: Career transition and outplacement provider owned by ManpowerGroup. Comparable to City CV in delivering outplacement, career coaching and talent development services to enterprise customers globally.
• TopCV: Online CV writing and professional resume services platform operating across multiple markets. Directly comparable to City CV in offering CV writing, LinkedIn profile writing and career tools to individual job seekers.
• StandOut CV: UK-based CV writing and career consultancy providing CV writing, LinkedIn profile writing and cover letter services. Closely comparable to City CV in geography, target customers and core service offering.
• ZipJob: US-based professional resume writing service offering CV writing, LinkedIn profile optimisation and career coaching. Comparable to City CV in core writing services and individual job-seeker customer base.
• The Ladders: Premium career platform focused on $100K+ job seekers, offering CV tools, career coaching and curated job listings. Comparable to City CV's executive and professional segment positioning.

Emerging players

• Resume.io: Online CV/resume builder platform with templated, self-serve tools. Competes with the DIY dimension of City CV's Career Refinery Portal & App at a much lower price point.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organisational consulting firm with executive search, talent development and career transition services. Comparable to City CV in executive outplacement and senior leadership advisory, though operating at vastly greater scale.
• LinkedIn: Global professional networking platform serving as both a market enabler and competitive force for City CV. The primary platform City CV helps clients optimise for, while increasingly bundling AI-driven career tools that overlap with City CV's writing services.
• Hays: Global recruitment and workforce solutions firm. Tangentially comparable to City CV in serving professionals navigating career moves, though primarily an employer-side recruiter rather than a job-seeker consultancy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CityCV
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-cv-ltd
• Xx.com/VictoriaCityCV

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City CV