What To Look For When Hiring a Resume Service or Writer

By Anna Johnson

I know, I'm biased - I help run professional resume writing service, Resume Writing Pro.

But whether or not you engage the Resume Writing Pro team or not, here are my recommendations for what to look for when hiring a professional resume writer.

At a minimum, they should:

1. Focus on getting you the job you want... not just any old job interview or "lots of job interviews". What good is having plenty of interviews if they don’t lead to a job... or if they lead to a job you don’t really want?

2. Focus LESS on who they are - for example, being a "certified resume writer" - and MORE on who you are, and more specifically, how they will help you get a job interview and the job you desire.

3. Provide a money-back guarantee. If you pay your hard-earned cash, and receive an unsatisfactory job application that does nothing to help you... you should be able to get your money back.

4. Tailor your cover letter and resume to each job (and employer) you apply for. See Resume Writing - The No.1 Mistake To Avoid If You Want a Job Interview for why standard cover letters and resumes - and especially those that are mass-mailed or "email blasted" - will almost destroy your chances of getting a job.

5. “Keyword match” your resume – meaning that they write it using the keywords in the job ad and/or job description for the job you're applying for. This is crucial, since many recruiters and companies manually (or use software to) scan resumes for specific words and phrases.

6. Not just provide your resume in a document format, but also offer to prepare your resume in HTML (web page) format suitable for uploading to a website or sending via email.

7. Aim to help your resume stand out in a meaningful and professional way. Your resume should stand out because of what it says, not because it uses fancy paper, strange fonts, and an over-the-top design!