Should I pay between $99 - $350 to have my resume professionally written an polished for today’s (electronic) job market? A friend argues it will take my resume beyond the first-round of keyword seeking algorithms giving me a fighting chance.
Will it really?
If I am a project manager, for example, my experience will be expressed in project management “speak”. Isn’t my job lingo “the right stuff” these algorithms seek?
Besides, who can guarantee they know what keywords or magic phrases these algorithms seek out. It sounds like the pros are betting these algorithms are coded (programmed) the same, and they have the secret decoder ring.
So, what does the SD say about all this? I don’t have $99 to throw away. Does it really make a difference? Please mention if you work in HR. I’d love to hear the inside story.
theres lot of opinions on what makes a good resume
If someone was genuinely a recruitment expert, would they devote their career to writing other peoples resumes for them for 99$ ? And how would Expert McResumewriter diffferentiate themselves from Scammy McBullshit?
The higher cost services focus on people who are fairly far up the management scale. A project manager for a small project isn’t their world. They rely on canned stuff to cobble together to make a resume sound 10x better than it really is. (Lying, of course, is just puffery to them.) They may not have the right buzz phrases for your situation.
Also, the resume padding they might do is easier to detect at a more modest level. When interviewing top managers, they expect to hear a lot of BS. They are actually interested in finding people who are good at that. Lower down the line, the padding sticks out more, is easier to spot, and is viewed more negatively.
OTOH, having someone to check for grammar and style issues is a really good idea. But that doesn’t cost a huge amount of money.
I’ve read hundreds of resumes and my advice is to not waste your money. If you are in project management you are going to do a much better job at putting in the buzz words than some random person who can’t find a better job than resume rewriting. It might pay for someone who doesn’t speak the language very well.
Our filters are to keep out those not even close to our requirements. Anyone having the slightest clue about my field will use one of the right terms. What I look for is job experience with specific accomplishments. For you, it could be something like “Project I managed came in one month early and 10% below budget.” (Yes, I write fantasy.)
I would save the money and use the free advice on the web.
I’ve looked through resumes to hire people and I just briefly glance at them to see if they have the experience I am looking for and that the person can be professional and write above a high school level.
Hard facts and signs you’ll behave professionally is what you need in a resume and you can figure that out yourself.
The rest of the time should be spent applying for work or networking.
I’ve done hiring and looked at literally tens of resumes! (Ok, we’re a small company, and it was interns, but what the hell).
I also moderate a forum dedicated to career advice for my industry, and resume advice is part of that.
Don’t waste your money. I’ve seen resumes that people spent hundreds that came back laughably bad. Free advice from people that have actually hired in whatever your field is happens to be easy to find. I’d just use that.
Alternatively, if you’re using a third-party recruiter, which is free to you, they will often offer to spruce up the resume for free and let you see it. In fact, I would demand they let you see it before they forward it to anyone in case they put blatant lies on there.
What field do you work in? I work in HR and used to be a career specialist, so I’ve done the resume writing for people. I’m happy to take a look and see if I can give you some feedback.
I, personally, have taken the free advice rather than pay for it.
Yes, there are algorithms, and they are laughably easy to fool. Lard it up with buzzwords and spell-check it. Make sure you have “agile” in there somewhere.
Not in HR, but I am a hiring manager. If you are thinking in terms of fooling computer algorithms or HR, you will be job hunting for a long time.
You are far more likely to get a job if you contact me directly and ask for an informational interview. We might not be hiring at the time, but you will stand out from the random resumes HR forwards me.
Networking is how you get jobs. You network by going to places where you meet people who are in a position to hire you.
If you are a project manager, you would be better off using that money to attend PMI events in your area and see what resources they offer.
You can also ask people you know are fairly successful in the field you are interested in to look at your resume and make suggestions. Most people are happy to do it. I have done it for lots of people at many different levels over the years. The next best thing is to just compare your resume to other people that have jobs like you want (Linkedin is a good way to find those) and modify yours to best match the style, layout or general approach of the best ones that you find. You don’t copy anything directly but there are many different ways to structure a resume alone and some optional sections that can be added to best highlight your skills. You will probably see that some people have general ideas that you can use yourself but hadn’t thought of.
I’ve been involved in hiring, although I’m in academia and not the business world, and IME where people usually blow it isn’t the resume but the cover letter. I’ve seen some shockingly bad cover letters from people with okay resumes. They went into the reject pile.
This also. But I’m not sure the algorithms are more sophisticated than fgrep.
Don’t worry about the hiring manager being swamped with calls. Hardly anyone takes this excellent advice. Do some research on the company and on him or her, and you’ll be golden.
Informational interview? I have never heard of that. I am assuming people do indeed ask you for these and you accommodate them. How often does that happen?
No, if someone else does your writing for you, then you get the job and don’t write in the same style, they will not be getting the person they thought they were hiring! Might let you go!
Be honest about yourself and your skills. Do your own writing, but get other people to proof read it, then make the changes yourself.
FYI - Managers may get a stack of resumes. They may not have time to read a lot of nonsense like cover letters and long multi-page resumes. Get to the point on the first page. Short and sweet. They want to know your qualifications for the job. Education, experience, hobbies.