But the Resume Writer Guaranteed I’d Find a Job!

We’ve all seen the ads. They’re a variation on this: “We guarantee you’ll get a job or we’ll refund your money.” Usually they’re placed by some ridiculously cheap ($75 or so) resume service run by “professional” resume writers. They may even guarantee you’ll be employed within a time limit, or include quotes from former customers proclaiming their praises.

Dear reader, if you see an ad like this, or if a resume writer anywhere promises you’ll get a job as a result of the resume s/he writes for you, you should RUN, not walk, away from that person.

FACT: A resume is a marketing tool, designed to present you in the best possible light to a prospective employer. A successful resume is one that entices a hiring manager or HR person to decide to bring you in for an interview.

FACT: After the interview, you have to do the work. Not that there aren’t plenty of legitimate career and interview coaches out there who can help you with the interview. Some resume writers provide this service, either as part of a package you’ll pay for, or as a value-added service.

But the fact remains, once you’ve earned the interview, the resume has done its job. And an honest resume writer will lay all this out for you right up front.

Another fact: Many resume books will tell you what I’ve just said. Leading the pack is Resume Magic by Susan Britton Whitcomb, followed closely by any of the many books by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark, who write separately and together. You can find these authors at any bookstore and at many libraries.

OK then, you ask, if a resume won’t guarantee me a job, why should I bother writing one? Or paying someone to write one for me? The answer to that is a simple one: If you don’t write and present a resume, you won’t even get an interview, much less a job, no matter what industry you’re in. And if you don’t present a correctly written resume, rich in keywords and keyword phrases, with action verbs and accomplishments to present you as a doer, not simply a clock-puncher, you also won’t get an interview.

There’s the reality: Unless you’re a savant, you’ll need the help of a professionally certified, honest resume writer, one who won’t make unrealistic promises, who does excellent work, and who can show you samples of his/her work. The best place to find such a person is at the National Resume Writers Association website ( www.thenrwa.com ). NRWA resume writers are the cream of the crop.

And you won’t find any $75 “guaranteed employment” writers among them.