Every now and then prospective clients want us to write applications, resumes or selection criteria (which we don’t write anyway) for the Australian Federal Police, ASIO or one of the secret communication agencies.
We don’t write them because they must be the applicant’s own work.
Working for the security services isn’t like applying for a job in an insurance or mining company.
The ADF and other agencies conduct strict diligence on who applies for their jobs. You can understand why as the candidate may be working on the front line of national security investigations or enforcement.
Note that in the case of ASIO, it states emphatically on its employment website that:
“ASIO holds all employment applications in the strictest of confidence and it is essential that you do the same. Do not discuss your application with others and consider that you will be expected to exercise discretion throughout your career.”
That means applicants can’t liaise with third parties, such as professional writers. I have some self-interest too.
Government recruiters and chiefs of staff would be extremely displeased if they found out their candidates were using professional writers to maximise their entry chances.
The candidate would be expelled and the resume writer and the business would be identified by the media. The brand destruction would be comprehensive.
I’ll leave you with the story below. It’s a shocker as there are so many flaws on both sides (client and resume writer), that it’s hard to know where to begin.