Any thoughts on Resume writing services?

[Nickster]

I'm looking at places like careerbuilder and looking at their links to resume writing services and before I pull the trigger I wanted to hear other peoples opinions. I consider myself a fairly decent writer, but I'm not getting any hits so I wondered if bringing in a pro might help.

Should I bother?
Anyone had success/failure with a service in particular?
Any referrals to good resume writing services?

etc,etc,etc.:-)

[lukasahero]

1. I'd start with books

Some resume writing services are worth the money and others are definitely not. Trouble is, how do you know which is which?

There are a bunch of books on the market (try some that are "interactive" rather than those that just tell you what to do - these will ask you to write things down, brainstorm and then help you refine your brainstorming list down to how to use it to your advantage in your resume.) I don't have any names handy but will see if I can come up with some for you.

I think you can also find free help at your unemployment office and there are probably other free resources available to you (especially if you are in a minority). Otherwise, stop by your local Dept. of Employment and ask to see a counselor. They should be able to help you tweak your resume.

I've also had some luck using the tips/tricks offered on monster/career builder.

I can give you a couple of pointers:

1) Use real numbers and cite tangible achievements (increased sales by $x, reduced network downtime by xx%)

2) If you're posting your resume electronically, use keywords ALOT. These are industry buzz words (like .Net, Java, XML). The more times a word is found in your resume, the more likely it will be returned in a search. (I'm a software engineer so my examples are skewed that way but it should give you an idea for your own area of expertise - I assume you know your own buzzwords - the point is, don't just get them in there once. Get them in there a few times.)

3) Also re: electronic postings, see the other thread in this forum for re: how to get your resume to bump up to the top of the search by "updating" it regularly. THAT is a huge deal.

4) Now that your resume is being returned at the top of the heap, make sure you highlight your foremost experience in the top third of the page. Electronically, your personal info (name, addy, etc) can go at the bottom. Get your best selling points right there at the top so it is the first thing they see when they pull up your resume. You don't have much time to win them over.

Good luck!

[Nickster]

2. Thanks for the info. If you come up with any specific titles, please be

sure to pass those on as well. Muchas Gracias!:-)

[lukasahero]

3. I'll dig around tonight for some titles

I can tell you my husband did not have good luck with a paid resume service. I had gotten excellent results from an outplacement group I went to and we ended up changing my husband's resume to look more like mine. (He went from getting next to no interest to getting 5 or 6 calls a week.)

The best advice I got from the outplacement group was to sit and think about the things I did at my last job. While looking at each project, begin to identify the skills required to perform the task and the benefits to the company in having the task performed. These are the things you want to put in your "specific achievements" bullets (list them under your job title). What you did, how you did it and why you did it. (Task, skill, benefit.)

If you just want an extra set of eyes to take a look at your res, feel free to IM me.

[calico1]

4. I bought and recommend

"e-Resumes" by Pat Criscito. See if your library has it. The book not only guides you through putting your resume together, but it also shows you how to make your resume scanable, which is very important in today's job market, and how to make a resume for e-mailing. You need to have your resume in two or 3 different forms, depending on how you are going to send it and this book shows you how. It also gives you lots of internet resources on career sites, networking and other subjects. It has been well worth the money for me.

Also like to add: When I got laid off the company paid for a professional consulting firm to help with the transition. Among the services was resume writing. I had a very nice one done by them but unbeknownst to me until I got this book, it was not scanable! Having a scanable resume is important if you are applying to most any company that employs 1,000 or more because most of them scan resumes now.

I would also check out your local labor department to see if they have any services which help job searchers. I am very fortunate that CT has a top notch service. In fact, they have been more helpful than the company hired by my former employer. I got my resume reviewed there and the woman who helped me gave me some tips to make it better. This was all free of charge. So do check to see if you have any services like this in your area before you spend money.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

5. I actually bought "Job Hunting for Dummies"

and found some good tips in there (interview prep, resume tips, writing thank yous, etc.). I've gone back to it several times during my job hunt.

Just finished my first week at a new job. The only glitch was the HR dept. screwed up and didn't tell payroll that my signing bonus (they didn't know I was to get one, apparently...nice!) was to be included in my first paycheck (I started at the end of a pay period, so I got paid for the first two days of the week). The head of HR was gone yesterday, as was my boss and they need two signatures to get a check signed, so I'm supposed to get in on Monday. Other than that, it went pretty well.

Good luck with your job search!

[Nickster]

6. Thanks for the referral. I got a bunch of Borders coupons, so I'm going to

go check them out and see if I can find the two books that both of you mentioned.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

7. Good luck! :)