Not all professional resume writing services were created equally. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve spent more than we wanted on a pair of boots that broke apart within a few months. The following tips will allow you to see through the fake marketing and the glamor, and ensure that your resume writer will deliver on their promises and your expectations.
They’re Not Online
Having a website presence is more than a simple demonstration of initiative and commitment to the trade. Hiring a resume writer without an online portfolio and a modern site to host that portfolio is a clear indication that your resume writer lacks both digital competency and an adaptable mindset.
Once written and deployed, your resume is destined to live the remainder of its digital life in the nooks and crannies of online job portals and HR inboxes. To avoid having your resume become another neglected byte on the web, you need a resume writer that understands the importance of personal brand promotion and differentiation. A clean, grammatically correct, updated, and aesthetic website shows such appreciation, while a lack of it is clearly a warning sign.
They’re Online Way Too Often
We’ve all seen those videos exposing fake Instagram gurus who have built a massive reputation and business from their prolific tweets and engaging social media posts.
Proverbially speaking, they’re often caught ‘talking the talk’ without ever having been seen ‘walking’. The same issues apply to resume writing. A prospective writer who tweets more than he or she writes is usually compensating for a lack of experience or credentials. Often, many writers are only captivated by the persona they’ve created on social media and tend to hand off the actual work to a budget freelancer.
It would be worthwhile to peruse your potential hire’s Twitter & Facebook feed to gauge how much time they’re actually spending on their clients’ projects. Many writers do in fact use automation tools that schedule and post tweets on their behalf, but if your resume writer is incessantly tweeting boastful self-promotional posts that appear to be personally typed out, then you’ve clearly come across a red flag.
Of course, many career sites that have a strong online presence are legitimate though and can benefit you significantly when tapping into their resources. It’s important to access each and every site yourself to weigh it’s benefits.
A Lack of Credentials
A resume writer with a lack of credentials isn’t always a bad thing. There are many successful entrepreneurs and founders without a degree. However, in a service industry as saturated as resume writing, there is often an abundance of misinformation and an absence of relevant information. In order to profitably navigate this complex world as a future client, credentials will always serve as an essential pathfinder.
To filter out the false prophets, look for certifications awarded by either the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches or National Resume Writers Association.
A Lack of Experience
There are two indicators of solid resume writing experience that can be evaluated before making a judgment as to whether your candidate is a winner. The first is actual resume writing experience, demonstrated by several years worth of results awarded with compensation.
The second indicator is front line experience on the other side of the token, whether it’s in HR, corporate recruitment, or especially executive headhunting. A starting resume writer with little direct resume writing experience can still be an extremely valuable resource if they’ve evaluated hundreds upon hundreds of resumes for a specific position. An HR-experienced writer knows the type of resume content that would stand out across several industries or a very specific niche.
Average Quality Resume Samples
Many resume writers use fluff and filler words to liven their clients’ resumes. These improvements are at best superficial and will not increase your chances of landing your dream job. Writers who display resume samples with words replaced by their more jazzy synonyms are letting you know that they don’t have a deep understanding of resume tailoring.
Another red flag to watch out for is with regard to the layout of the resume. If your resume writer simply changes the aesthetics of the resume to look more modern, it won’t help. Hiring managers look for conciseness and readability, and traditional resumes will always be the gold standard in making resumes readable to both humans and filtering algorithms.
A competent resume writer usually exhibits work samples that show a strong ability to summarize the client’s work history into a coherent, relevant, and cohesive narrative. Stay away from decorative words and visual makeovers.
Suspiciously Inexpensive
The word ‘cheap’ should evoke positive feelings only when used in conjunction with fast food and dollar store items. Paying under $300 for a resume writer is akin to buying a penny stock and hoping for Amazon-caliber returns. An executive resume package ranges from $900 to $2500, but it’s well worth it because it gets your foot through the door. Once you land that well-paying job, the numbers start adding up and the money you dropped on a qualified and designated writer becomes completely worth it.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the math. Let’s say you pay $100 for an alleged resume writer. Statistically speaking, your chances of landing a job are the same as anyone else who has taken five minutes out of their day to quickly draft up a CV. Thus, your potential returns relative to your investment have not changed. Your investment of $100 effectively becomes a $100 loss.
Now let’s suppose you weed out all the standard warning signs and decide upon hiring a $1500 resume writing professional. Your chances of getting hired increase exponentially relative to your competition, and if you do get the job, your $1500 initial investment will quickly become an insignificant cost when taken into consideration with the money you’ll be earning throughout your lucrative career.
Long story short, never settle for cheap. With all other aforementioned red flags considered, a well-fed and well-designated resume writer will launch your career to heights you never thought you could reach.
Best wishes and good luck!
