Professional Resume Writers – The Pros and Cons and How to Pick a Great One
Pros: Professional Resume Writers know marketing. They function as a personal Copywriter selling your unique skills, talents and abilities. Faster results include more interviews with better companies and this usually means you will be hired faster saving you months of lost salary because you typically get hired in half the time. Having the right keywords included for example is a big difference maker for many candidates.
A typical professional monthly income is about $4000. So the difference between a job search that is three months long and one that is six months (or longer) is at least $12,000. So the typical fee ($200) of a professional Resume Writer for cover letters and resume writing costs less than two percent of the savings they typically create. Obviously the higher your income, the more you will likely benefit financially from a professional resume writers help.
You can also earn a higher salary with professionally written resumes and cover letters, because it will appear you mean business. It sure beats a decent attempt at a self written resume that has grammatical errors or is skimpy on benefits that motivate an employer to pay more. Professional writing, editing and proofreading takes considerable time and effort and generally results in a positive and lasting first impression. Mistakes, typos and grammatical errors normally end a candidate’s chances for an interview. If English is not your native language, the benefits can be enormous, as you will be overlooked without the considerable advantage of appearing smart on paper first.
Cons: Some resume companies are simply concerned with pumping out work. Be advised never settle for less than a personal phone interview, after all they are getting paid well to service you and do all the typing. If you cannot talk directly to your resume writer, it is because they are not experienced enough or competent enough to speak with you or worse, they outsource to the lowest bidder. When you are having a resume written one of the worst things that can happen is you get the resume back and it seems as though it was written for someone else. This can be easily avoided by making sure your Resume Writer offers a phone interview instead of a typical questionnaire that you fill out. Obviously the whole idea behind hiring a Resume Writer is to have a customized resume written that will generate interviews.
Lower priced resume typing services are often reluctant to show professional samples of their work and often boast about their speed. Obviously viewing samples is an absolute must. Usually you will be instantly able to tell the difference between a bare bones generic style and a fully loaded powerfully written resume that is truly compelling. Finally, does the resume service plainly post their prices for all to see? If not, you can be sure they are expensive. This is important because quality resume writing services vary widely.
Another great idea would be to check out the Writer’s background and website too. Were they previously a Manager who did the hiring? Or were they a Recruiter, in Human Resources Manager or a Copywriter which could also be most helpful indeed? If your profession is highly technical like an IT Project Manager or a Biotech Research Scientist, obviously you want to ask your writer if this would be an area they excel in.
Conclusion: If you have a merely average resume and cover letter perhaps you could easily benefit and save some serious money by getting hired faster. But beware of the pitfalls listed above. It also seems that professionally written resumes are on the rise over the last ten years. So if you write your own, be aware that you will be competing more and more, against others that have benefited from professional help.
In every case, it might at least be a wise move to obtain a free resume review via email which most resume writers offer so you can at least have your weakest areas identified. One final word of warning, your own resume is not something you want to pay the lowest possible price for. So, focus on the previously mentioned evidence and good common sense when seeking professional help and you will be better served.
