Hey, I get your point that resume writers are worth the money. I even agree with you. But, I also think that, for example, a laptop (which I really need right now) is worth the money, but unfortunately, that would run me into debt, so I am not buying one despite the fact that I need it.

Especially for younger workers near the beginning of their careers, who typically don’t make a ton of cash, hiring a resume writer is a luxury, not a necessity. I’m sure a resume writer could do a better job than I could, but I’ve yielded quite good job search results with the resume I created myself: I’ve been offered interviews and jobs at good companies that I want to work for.

I guess it’s a matter of priorities. I think that when one is in job search mode, cash is often tight. That’s not the time that a resume writer is necessarily affordable.

Having said that though, this is the type of service that could be considered an investment in your future. And since you should be constantly updating your resume, rather than just when you’re searching for a job, maybe the services of a resume writer would be money well spent when you’re happily employed at a plum job that pays well.

Laura, your comment reminds me of something I wish I had written in the post: Career centers at colleges and universities are a good place to start. The staff is usually knowledgable and it’s always free advice — even if you have already graduated.

Hey good thinking, that hadn’t occurred to me! Too bad my school is 5000 km away :) But useful for most people.

For the youngsters reading this, there’s some excellent helps if you search “killer resume” in google..

lifeclever has a nice tutorial on revamping your resume to make it look sexy compared to the bland Word 97 templates

http://www.lifeclever.com/2006/10/24/give-your-resume-a-face-lift/

(your blog rules..!)

Laura, I can’t help but to disagree with this notion of getting someone else to write a document about -me-. I think you made a good argument, but it misses a salient point - nobody, not even a professional can write better about yourself than you.

It’s perfectly reasonable, no, recommended and a must to get your resume proof-read and edited by a 3rd party. It can be a friend, or for better results it should be a career advisor or a coach. But the point here is, the document is -your- face, it’s not a generic persona created out of thin air by a hired professional.

The bigger underlying problem in writing the resume is that you have to face yourself and actually spend the time to realize what you are. You do need to spend the time to list and prioritize your goals, your aspirations, your strategy. This is no small feat, in fact it’s very hard. And rightfully so - if you don’t know what you want, who will? Your career advisor? I don’t think so.

It’s a process of self discovery. A professional can assist you in that, in fact, I’d claim that the really good ones will just motivate (and assist) you to do the work you tried to avoid in the first place. You’ll start scribbling your goals, your strategy, what makes you unique… And what do you know, at the end of it you’ll have a great resume! Resumes are all about positioning against competition; you need to put your strengths against others’ weaknesses, but for that you need to know your own strengths in the first place.

Ilya, if you can do what you say good luck to you. But as author of more than 6000 resumes, my experience is that you are 1 in a 100. The other 99 could not analyse, nor write about themselves, let alone sell themselves if their mother’s life depended on it. Most people are consumed by low self esteem and an appalling (or no) command of the English language. They cannot spell, have no knowledge of grammar, sentence structure, language dynamics or syntax (and here I even include most school teachers). As for performing the out of body experience needed to be totally objective about themselves, forget it! It ain’t gonna happen, not in my lifetime. Add to this mass of humanity the poor buggers who need to find work but for whom English is their second language at best, in an English speaking society, and you are talking about millions of people needing professional help. You go for it, but don’t presume everbody has your skills or confidence.

John, that’s fair enough. However, I don’t consider myself ‘good’ at writing resumes. Heck, I know I suck at it - I use career advisors before every round of resumes I send out (or, at least, a couple of friends).

However, my point is, people may suffer from low self-esteem (true), but we don’t have to lower it even further by telling them that frankly they just can’t do it themselves. The vibe of the post told me “don’t bother” - I disagree.

I’ve invested a lot of time into this whole process of self discovery. There is a myriad of great books out there on the subject. To name a few good ones (in my humble opinion):
Never eat Alone (Keith Ferrazzi)
U R a Brand! (Katherine Kaputa)
Shyness (Bernardo Carducci)
Positioning (Al Ries / Jack Trout)
Any of Seth Godin’s works…

I’m guess I’m just trying to be positive about it!

Resumes are not about self-knowledge, they are about sales and marketing. It’s a specialized document. People who are serious about building their own brand hire many different types of people to help them — just like a business hires a lot of different experts to build the company’s brand. This is an example of someone an individual should hire. Individuals who try to do everything themselves are like startups who try to do everything themselves. At some point, to grow bigger, you have to bring in experts.

Spot on Penelope. Many people who are trying to “learn about themselves”, are so inwardly focused that they haven’t a hope of being objective about themselves. I have seen thousands of homegown resumes and mostly they are rambling incoherent diatribes. Full of borng irrelevant material that simply turns employers off.
And the last person I would ask to critique my resume would be a friend or a family member. They are so well meaning but when invested with the power of such a compliment, they usually confuse the picture with “non professional” advice which has suddenly sprung to mind, or comes from their own, not relevant, experiences.
I always say to my clients, “if a recruiter or an employer provides feedback that needs actioning, then come back to me and we will work through it. But please don’t tell me what a friend or family member has said!” The only people that cout when it comes to judging a resume are the people that can give you the job or block you from getting it.

OK
so how about some recommendations for resume writers? Because I can imagine few jobs that are easier for charlatans to get into.

* * * * * *

Yes, the charlatans. That’s a good point. I am thinking of a good way to answer this question. In the mean time, you can send an email to me at penelope@penelopetrunk.com and I’ll give you some names of resume writers I can vouch for.

This topic and these comments have inspired a great conversation! To the poster who says that the best person to write about you is yourself, I simply must disagree. How about all the great journalists and interviewers out there? Just like them, a good resume writer knows how to draw out the most appropriate information from their clients, and articlulate it properly in a resume.

Think of it this way; the best managers and leaders all have one really great skill in common: the ability to delegate. You simply can’t do everything yourself and expect to do everything well. The secret is to make sure to gather the best people for your team. (I did!)

Whether I’m writing a resume for a CEO or recent graduate, I make sure my clients literally come to life on paper. No templates, no form letters. Resume writing is a finely-tuned skill that should be left to the experts. (And yes, I did try cutting my own hair. Once.)

To those with financial concerns, here’s a bit of advice. Ask your parents or extended family to help foot the tab. They want to see you be sucessful. Most college graduates can’t afford to purchase these services, but mom and dad can! And trust me, they are looking for some kind of return on their investment into your education.
For those of you that are able to write off tax deductions, the fees associated with a job search is deductible, within the guidelines set by the IRS. Need another write off for 2006? Update your resume!

How do you find a good resume writer? Call one up and ask them about their experience. What type of clients are they accustomed to working with? Do they ask you questions relating to your experience? Do they understand your industry?

You’ll get a good sense whether this person is a good match in just a few seconds, because that’s human nature.

Good luck to all the jobseekers; I wish you a prosperous 2007!

Please help. I have a lot of work history for a job I really really want. I need to get it done this week. Please call me when you get a chance, I would love to use your services, but I wanted to ask you a few questions. Thank you
Randy Hultgren
209-676-9621 I will be available tomorrow at 1pm if that works for you.
Thank you

For graduating college students who would like professional resume writing help try your careers department at your university. My university has excellent courses and personal consultation services free for students and a small fee for alumni (this is for UBC in Canada). I’m sure that many other colleges/universities in North America would have similar services.

* * * * *

Great comment, Patricia. I don’t understand why more students don’t use career centers. Almost every student I talk to tells me their’s is terrible, and I can’t think of one time that the career center actually did turn out to be terrible once we investigated.

Penelope

i really ned help with a resume

Typo, second paragraph - becuase

:)

Julie

Your blog entry is long on attitude and short on demonstrable fact…what you present as fact is at best informed assertion…get real: most resumes suck because the writing is poor, typos are common, and the organization is loose…I should spend $1,000 for a common sense approach to writing resumes? Give me a break.

Bill,
Who is charging $1000 for resumes? If I were you, I would do some fact checking myself…

* * * * *

I paid signifcantly more than $1000. There is wide range in the resume world – A range of what each person provides, and a range of what experience each person brings to the table.

–Penelope

You’re paying $1000 for resumes?? For that price, i’d expect no less than an NLP expert like Joe Vitale or Grinder to whip that up.

Complete with hypnotic commands “HIRE ME NOW!”

I agree it is important to seek out professional advice on resumes. Even though many think they are best suited to write about themselves, that is hardly the case. You need to know what recruiters and employers are looking for. I suggest checking out http://www.precision-resumes.com. They have a knowledgeable writing team and are very reasonable. Good Luck!