Why You Should Have a Professional Write Your Resume

Where’s your resume in the pile?
(flickr image by: woodlywonderworks)

Your basic resume has gotten you to where you are today so why would you pay someone hundreds of dollars to write or rewrite your resume? Here are a few reasons why you should reconsider:

1. They’re experts at making you look like an expert.

You’re great at what you do but what you do isn’t writing resumes. Unless you’re a mechanic you likely don’t change the oil on your own car because you’re not an expert at cars so why would you try to be an expert at resume writing? A resume writer’s job is to make you look like an expert in your field. A strong resume writer will work with you to understand and highlight your strengths. A true resume writer isn’t just going to reformat your existing info. There should be several conversations, live or via email, that breakdown your strengths and provide the writer the opportunity to communicate how you accomplish all that you have in your career to date.

2. You’re not good at talking about yourself.

We’re taught to be humble in our society. While humility might be good for society (I’ll argue against that another day) it’s certainly not good for your resume. It’s hard to talk ourselves up so leave it to the professionals to talk you up. I once had a client say, “Wow, I didn’t know I did all that.” It wasn’t because she hadn’t accomplished all of those things (true professional resume writers never lie) but she was so busy accomplishing them that she hadn’t given much thought to all that she’d done. This not only helps build a strong resume but it will also help you see all that you’ve accomplished and help you become comfortable talking about those accomplishments in the interview process.

3. Resume writers are up to date on the latest trends in resumes

Professional resume writers are always working to improve their skills and be aware of the latest trends. They know what works and what doesn’t. For example, does your resume have an objective? If so, you’re probably not aware that modern resumes rarely use them today. A professional is going to help you determine when to add a little color or flash and when to move to a more traditional resume. You stay up to date in the latest trends in your field, trust your resume writer to do the same.

4. Time is money.

Job searches or bids for promotions take a lot of time and effort. Time is money and you’re likely short on time if you’re trying to balance everything in your work and home life. Want to know what your time away from the office is worth? Take what you make per hour and multiply it by 2. That’s what your personal time is worth. This means if you make $100K per year your personal time is worth $100/hr. It will take you approximately 10-20 hours to do the research on current resume formats, verify past employment data, write the resume, edit the resume, seek out a friend or two to edit it and then not be 100% certain it’s what you wanted. That equals between $1000-$2000 worth of time. That suddenly makes spending $300-$500 on a professional resume a bargain.

5. The competition is fierce.

The competition in getting the right job is fierce. Internally you’re dealing with company politics and potential popularity contests. If you’re an external candidate you’re not only up against potential internal candidates but candidates who can literally be from anywhere around the globe. The smallest things will set you apart. Your resume is the foundation for interviewing success. You can’t build without a strong foundation. Hiring a professional resume writer will lay the foundation you need to continue building a great career.