Should You Hire A Resume Writer?

Should you as a job seeker hire a resume writer? This is a dangerous question for me because I work with and partner with resume writers in my business as an career coach. Let me answer it in three words – Yes and No. While I enjoy working with the ladies I know as resume writers, I believe that a job seekers can write their own resume and be as successful landing job interviews as those who use resume writers. I also believe that job seekers need to be intricately involved in the development of their resume. If the resume writer is writing the resume with limited information about your accomplishments and job responsibilities, than the information in the resume becomes questionable to me. How valid is the information if you as a job seeker are relying on someone else to develop the heart of your resume.

Here is a list of reasons for using a resume writer:

1. Someone else is paying the bill. In other words, your organization offers the service for you as a result of a layoff or merger/acquisition. The service of a resume writer is included in the severance or separation package.

2. Partnership with an excellent experienced/certified professional that will help you present your skills and abilities.

4. Multiple drafts will be available to you until you gain agreement on a satisfactory product.

5. Here’s the value that I see with professional resume writers, they can help you develop your resume.

If you are going to use a resume writer, get someone else to pay for it. Organizations that release employees should include resume writing as apart of the separation agreement. If you have the opportunity to use a resume writer through a separation, go for it. Just make sure that you are involved in the development of the resume. If you don’t agree with what has been written, speak up. Don’t just accept it and than get caught in an interview. You should be able to validate what is on your resume by having a story – and accomplishment that supports what is being said about you.

Reasons I say you don’t need a resume writer:

1. You know you better than anyone else.

2. You can collect sample resumes and develop your resume that best presents your skills and abilities.

3. You can find free online resources that will help you develop a great resume

4. You can develop a strong resume with no cost.

I believe that you as a job seeker should be an expert on your skills and abilities. You should be able to develop a strong resume and cover letter and not pay one cent to get it. If you are an expert on who you are and what you bring to the table, you don’t need to pay a resume writer one nickle to develop a resume. Make sure that the resume has been reviewed by someone with good editing skills. Check for grammatical errors and spelling errors.

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the job seeker to ensure that the resume presented to organizations is accurate. If a resume writer writes the resume, the job seeker must ensure that the information is represents what you really did. Anything less than that can be an issue with a savvy hiring manager, recruiter or HR professional. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Scroll down and leave a comment.