Resume Writers - One Business That's Up in a Bad Economy, And You Thought Wall Street Was Unregulated...

Does anyone else get that slightly creepy feeling when you look at the sites of some of the folks who claim to be experts at creating resumes for candidates?  I know there are some good ones out there, but every time I go to a cut and paste, lame web site and see someone claiming to be an expert, I get that sinking feeling in my stomach, for some of the folks who are probably grabbing at the services.

Apparently, my instincts are correct.  From the Wall Street Journal Careers Section:

"Hoping to find an Internet marketing spot fast, Christopher Cicero hired a professional résumé writer last winter. He paid her about $500 and completed her 20-page worksheet. She promised to polish his résumé soon.  The revamped document didn't arrive for nearly four months, however. And Mr. Cicero disliked the result. He believes the résumé failed to describe his accomplishments because the writer never interviewed him. "She didn't know who I was or what I was looking for," the Westchester, N.Y., resident complains. So he switched writers.

Anxious applicants increasingly use professionals to assemble impressive-looking résumés, forking over as much as $2,000. TheLadders.com expects its 100 writers will prepare more than 20,000 résumés this year -- quadruple the number in 2006, the year its service began, reports Marc Cenedella, president of the Web site for high-paid candidates.

To say the quality varies widely is an understatement," says Louise Kursmark, a veteran résumé writer in Reading, Mass., and co-founder of a writer-training academy.

Careful shopping will help you dodge rip-offs by résumé writers. It's wise to review their work, making sure samples look customized, and not like cookie-cutter templates. Then, contact satisfied customers and verify claims of professional prowess. Five U.S. associations certify résumé writers, but "some are more rigorous than others," notes Ms. Kursmark in her 2008 directory of writers.

She earned the "master résumé writer" title from Career Management Alliance, for instance, by showing she had five years of paid résumé-writing experience, submitting a diverse portfolio of résumés and completing an exam. Every two years, she must be re-certified, which includes submitting a two-page essay and five résumé client presentations.

OK.  I know there are some good ones out there, and I guess my choice would be that they have some type of experience in the industry (recruiter, HR pro, power manager who has hired), rather than the only credential being a masters in English.

Another tipping point for me regarding identifying resume writers who can't help you?  Ask them for pro bono advice in terms of a career marketing strategy. If they tell you that they only do resumes, run like hell.  They either don't care, or don't have the experience to help you customize the resume in a meaningful way.

God help the folks who do an internet search and secure these services randomly.  I need to carve out some time to pay it forward and volunteer somewhere based on the economy.

Comments

[Marsha Keeffer]

Kris, people who are seeking to hire a resume writer should absolutely ask what the person's business background is. Just the ability to put words to paper won't result in a quality resume. Here's what to do:

1. Get a clear agreement in advance as to whether the person will even speak with you on the phone - most online resume writers won't.

2. Clarify how many edits you'll get. At a minimum, the writer should deliver the resume and do an edit to meet your needs.

3. It's vital that the time to delivery be specified - resume writing is a tight time turn business. If they say it'll take two weeks for your draft, walk away.

4. Forms are necessary, but 20 pages is another exit sign.

[Kyle Bruss]

Kris, one of the best resume writing coaches I have ever met (not that many mind you) is Brad Karsh with JobBound, www.jobbound.com. He is a former HRD from one of the largest advertising companies in Chicago (meaning he's reviewed his fair share of resumes), but set out on his own several years ago to focus on helping people find their next great adventure. Great post.

[Jeremy Hatfield]

Kris,

I totally agree with you on this one and question the qualifications of some of these services. I love that your giving quality and actionable advice that will save job seekers time, money, and there security. My advice for those going the vendor/agency route would be using Career Perfect. Their a long standing vendor of Beyond.com and are the exclusive vendors for the likes of Monster.com

See:
http://www.beyond.com/js/careerresources/reswriting/reshelp.asp?src=CRMain

Thanks!

[Josh Stomel]

Im reading your post and I have built a site that allows consumers to take their traditional resume and convert it to a highly optimized web resume.

Check it out; www.resumebucket.com

Takes, 10 seconds to sign up, and users will get a unique url that they chose like; www.resumebucket.com/joshstomel

We optimize the keywords in the resume and the meta description. Within 24 hours, if you did a google search for that persons name or a boolean search, they will be ranked at the top of the google search results.. We are in beta and very excited. New site coming soon :-)

Great post

[Louise Fletcher]

As a professional resume writer, I agree with you about the fact that there are a lot of unqualified 'experts'. I take my work very seriously and it drives me nuts. (btw - the person interviewed in the article, Louise Kursmark, is definitely one of the good ones).

I'm not sure about your tip to ask for pro bono career advice though. I'm a former HR exec and every resume is unique depending on the client's situation, but I would never offer career advice to someone calling me out of the blue. First, I'm not a coach. Second, how could I possibly be qualified to give useful advice to a stranger about his or her career plans?

Maybe a better idea would be to ask for pro bono resume advice - in other words, tell the writer: "this is my situation. There are my targets. How would you suggest approaching my resume."

THAT I would be qualified to discuss.

One more piece of advice to job seekers: Don't hire a professional resume writer if you don't know what you want to do. even the best writer can't position you effectively if your goals are vague.

[Louise Fletcher]

Oops - I just re-read and saw that I misread the first time. You didn't suggest asking for career advice but 'career marketing' advice.

Memo to self: Drink morning coffee before commenting on blogs.

[Louise Kursmark]

Kris, thanks for highlighting my book, "Directory of Professional Resume Writers." The first couple chapters contain a detailed description of how to find the right writer for you - what to ask, how to evaluate the information you receive, and factors that should influence your decision.

What's right for one person will not work for another! For example, Louise Fletcher, an excellent resume writer whose comments appear above, prefers to work with clients through written worksheets. She finds that process valuable for her and for her clients. The results are spectacular. But that process doesn't work for everyone. Some people strongly prefer a phone interview... when she gets those calls, she refers them to me. So it's not so much the specific process as the "fit" for the individual client.

Find out about the process. Read the samples. Ask about credentials and experience (by the way, there's absolutely no guarantee that a former recruiter or hiring manager will be a good resume WRITER). In the end, go with the person who inspires confidence and trust, backed up by quality you can see in their work.

As a fallback, just pick someone named Louise...

[WendyTerwelp]

Nice! I'm a fan of both Louises. :) And I agree with Kursmark's comment stating that a former recruiter or HR person may not be a good writer. The key word here is WRITER. I've actually written resumes for many recruiters and HR professionals. They know what they want, but it can be hard to capture your own value on paper. Hence, our help is needed.

I think it's good to ask about the resume writer's experience level, type of clients he or she works with most, and more importantly, ask about RESULTS.

If a resume looks pretty and gets no results, who cares? Check out success stories, letters from clients, and LinkedIn profiles for endorsements. LinkedIn profiles are awesome, because they cannot be altered by the person who receives them.

My background? Recruiter - and reporter. I've got a degree in journalism. :) You can check out my LinkedIn profile here:

www.linkedin.com/in/wendyterwelp

A good post and great comments.

[akio]

nice for share
---------------------------------------
Get Free Resume Making Tips Online Get a Job in Dream Company.
Download free At Here !!!
http://www.resume.pre4exam.com

[Essay Writing]

Wow !!!
this article is very informative and read full.
thanks for sharing us,...

[Dissertation Writing]

I read complete article this article is very nice,, This article has really helped me for some research, Thanks for your research on academic knowledge......

[Coffey27Lola]

The personal loans are important for people, which are willing to start their own organization. By the way, it's easy to get a sba loan.