Resume Writer Matthew Greene

Resume Services:
How to check them out (continued)

Checking out a resume writing service is not easy.  Those who ask you to complete a form online and send your money are usually second-class or even third-rate outfits.  You simply can't prepare a good resume without interacting with each and every client to obtain additional, valuable information.  Typing services also offer to write your resume and so does every corner print shop.  But a typist is a typist and a printer is a printer.  Neither has the required resume-writing know-how or self-marketing expertise.

And those resume outfits who advertise "from $9" will definitely charge you a further $100-200.  Believe me, I know.  Only elevator operators and truck drivers pay $9!  Such inferior resume products will cost you dearly in lost job and career opportunities.

Resume writers don't all have the same experience or degree of expertise.  Many are unskilled amateurs who offer to do a while-u-wait resume.  Very, very few know how to analyze your strengths and customize your resume in order to market your value to employers. Only 1 in 20 really know what they are doing!

What to look for in a resume service:

1. Do they offer a free evaluation of your existing resume or of your needs?  Initial consultations, by e-mail or 'phone, should be free.

2. How do they try to "sell" you?  Do they offer a form to fill in and mail with your money?

3. Do they quote you scare statistics to persuade you to buy? For example, "only one in 245 resumes results in a job interview," or "only one in 1,470 resumes results in a job offer". Both sets of figures are 45 years out of date and are terribly misleading. A skilled resume writer can help you beat 400 other applicants! As Disraeli warned, "There are lies, damned lies and statistics."

4. Who will be assisting you with your resume?  He or she might not be the same person as the party who sells you on using the service.

5. Does the resume writer guarantee you anything?  Be very careful!

Don't be too impressed by a sales presentation.  Focus on the content of the resume, as follows:

6.  Will they write a Job Objective that asks employers to "utilize" all of your ... whatever?  Nowadays, such "I-want-I-want" objectives are no no's.  Only "I-offer-you-value" objectives will impress today's employers.  (See page 45 of Winning Resumes –"Sure-Hire" Tactics....)

7. Will they include a Summary or Qualifications Statement?  Will individual items be real selling points or only a string of corny adjectives (reliable . punctual . dynamic . dedicated)?  Will they be powerful statements with "sell" to back up your Job Objective?  (See page 52 of Winning Resumes –"Sure-Hire" Tactics....)

8. Will they be using a standard chronological or functional design in your case? It is widely accepted today that combination presentations may be the best for marketing you because they present your experience, skills and "sell" in the same document.  (See pages 7, 9 and 11-12 of Winning Resumes –"Sure-Hire" Tactics....)

9. Will achievements or accomplishments stand out in the resume? Will they be indented and bulleted?  Or will they lie buried in a paragraph or two of gray-looking copy?

10. Do they try to sell you matching envelopes?  Why?  Is it to impress the mailroom or the wastebasket?  [Use brown or white Manila envelopes (9" x 12") so that your resume will arrive looking freshly printed and unfolded.  Never fold along a line of laser print.]

In short, skilled resume writers are craftspersons who help you market your skills and strengths in the best way.  But most resume services are simply paper mills that should be avoided like the plague!

Check them out very carefully.  Only five in a hundred (5 percent) are worth using, and the rates of a highly skilled professional may vary from $95 to $175 for an entry-level resume to $250 to $400 for senior executives.  But such an outlay could maximize your chances and help you find the job you are looking for in a fraction of the time.  That, in turn, will earn and/or save you hundreds and thousands of $ $ $.

In fact, a skilled writer could help you to rescue your entire career!

Austin Kiplinger, publisher of the Kiplinger Magazine, agrees about the importance of making an investment in your own career : "Look at your career as your primary investment. Keep your earning power at its highest level. The money you spend doing this will return more to you than all other investments you're likely to make. You are your own best investment!"

Site
Index

website maintenance by A B Web Designs

Modified: 01/27/2006