I have written, crafted and refreshed hundreds of resumes over the past 25 years.
A resume is NOT a simple thing. I would never recommend simply finding a resume format online or using a fancy AI program to write your resume. Getting your resume to the point of creating that ‘a-ha!’ moment in a future employer’s brain takes a great deal of time, work, editing, design and formatting.
Which bring us to the question, “Should you hire a professional resume writer?”
And the answer to this question is simply, “It depends.”
If you have a resume that you are confident with, is a representation of your background and experiences, your talents, successes, strengths , future ambitions, and (most importantly) it is securing you interviews and job offers, then no, I’d say go with what is working!
But, a lot of job seekers are NOT confident in their resume and they are not getting the types of job interviews and job offers they deserve. A well designed, sharply formatted resume will get attention. It will draw the reader into your experiences and successes. It will differentiate you from other job seekers.
Consider this: As a job seeker, you are a product in the marketplace of job seekers. As such your marketing strategies include important ‘touch points’ that allows your product to persuade and influence behaviors and decisions in favor of your product (vs. someone else!). There are several touch points in your job search that can influence an opinion in favor of you: networking conversations, cover letters, your LinkedIN profile, interviews and MOST important, your resume!
Investing in a custom ‘bespoke’ resume designed specifically with you and your career in mind, can be incredibly helpful in your current job search and as you manage your career in the future.
A professional resume writer’s craft is to organize your information and design and format how your information will be presented for the greatest effect – namely to get you a job interview and ultimately a job offer.
They know how to create a resume that is formatted for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) those dreaded pre-programmed computer systems that are ranking you based on a search for key words and phrases in your resumes. They know how design a resume that allows you to easily customize your information for different job postings.
A professional resume writer is an expert who will see the importance of your background and experiences in a different way than you do. They will understand context and nuance so that the BEST parts of your experience, your talents and the authentic value you offer is shining through and being noticed.
A professional resume writer should also be able to help you develop an effective LinkedIn profile that attracts recruiters and is consistent with your other job seeking touch points.
Many resume writers can also help you create cover letter templates that can be customized for each job posting you are responding to.
You need to think of a hiring a resume writer as an investment. Resume writers can be expensive – senior level professionals will be more costly than a mid or an entry level professional. Usually there is a menu of fees depending on what you are looking for.
An inexpensive alternative is to work with a career consultant at any of the Colorado Workforce Centers. They have career experts to help you with your resume, cover letters and any other job seeking challenges. These are free services that the state provides to any job seeker. You can access their locations and contact information by clicking here.
In addition, if you attended college, many colleges offer career services to their alumni, so you should check with your university.
As mentioned, I have consulted with hundreds of job seekers and have written hundreds of resumes, LinkedIn profiles and cover letters for professionals and I’d love to hear from you.
I’ll offer a 10 minute free consultation so you can determine if you’d like my assistance. Just be forewarned that I usually have about a month-long que for new clients.
However, if I can’t help you right away, there are other resume writers I can recommend.
Give me a shout! I’m at ahudson@ahjobslist.com
