Is it worth it to pay for someone to redo my resume?

[Late Start]

So my first step on getting out of the slow lane is to get a job that doesn't require two hours of my time each day in a car. The downside to this is that I live in Southeast Kansas, where IT jobs aren't super plentiful. My goal is to score a telecommuting job, and I've been a member of FlexJobs.com for a couple of months now. Around here, I can get my foot in the door pretty easily (last summer I turned down two jobs before accepting my current one), but I'm having trouble getting so much as a phone interview competing on the national level.

Is it worth paying a service like TopResume to rewrite it for me, or finding a freelancer online? If so, does anybody have any good recommendations?

 

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[theag]

Depends. Do you think some random guy from a service like that can sell you better than you could sell yourself?

If the answer is yes, you have bigger problems than your resume.

 

[Vigilante]

So my first step on getting out of the slow lane is to get a job that doesn't require two hours of my time each day in a car. The downside to this is that I live in Southeast Kansas, where IT jobs aren't super plentiful. My goal is to score a telecommuting job, and I've been a member of FlexJobs.com for a couple of months now. Around here, I can get my foot in the door pretty easily (last summer I turned down two jobs before accepting my current one), but I'm having trouble getting so much as a phone interview competing on the national level.

Is it worth paying a service like TopResume to rewrite it for me, or finding a freelancer online? If so, does anybody have any good recommendations?

First step? New profile pic.

 

[Late Start]

I can sell myself exceptionally well on a local level, but if you believe what is out there, larger, national employers put your resume and the hundreds of others through Applicant Tracking Systems that mine it for various metrics and keywords they are looking for, and you have to know how to get your resume through the gatekeeper before it is even read. Marketing BS? I have no idea - I've never gone job hunting on a national level before. I've never worked for a company with more than 500 employees, for that matter.

I'm just trying to glean some wisdom from the forum on how best to position myself.

 

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[Late Start]

We've got avatars of Putin, Leo as Jordan Belfort, etc, but Mantaur is too far? Okay, I'll yield to peer pressure. How about Barry Champlain?

 

[iAmTrade]

How about having your sister or female friend or someone "smart" review and edit it for you. Just takes a new pair of eyes to see what you've been missing.

Review it yourself and just reword things to sound much more intelligent.

You should be applying to jobs left and right- dont entirely qualify? Hit apply. Sometimes the company will see it and forward you to something you do qualify for.

A resume is words on a paper-make yourself sound like a lottery. Put it in terms of what you can offer them- not what you know or do...but what value* you can give them.

Good luck...or find a staffing agency


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Vigilante]

Also hit LinkedIn pretty hard. Great research and networking.

 

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[Andy Black]

I was pretty good at getting IT contracts back in the day. I lived and died by my CV, and interview skillz.

I'll do a new thread about it.



EDIT: WOW... I presented my strategy and tactics to my team years ago, and one of them literally just LinkedIn PM'd me linking to an article he wrote about it here:

• http://legalcareers.lawyer/cv_and_recruitment.htm

I'll do a video of it and drop it into my thread over here.

 

[Late Start]

Dude, you're awesome. Thanks!

 

[BellaPippin]

I would say it's not just because there are plenty of examples/template/inspiration available online for free. Like someone suggested have another pair of eyes look at it. I've redone my resume many times over the past five years with all the travelling back and forth until I settled in Chicago.

Formatting: ONE font. 12/14pt.Two at most and that's pushing it. Name fairly big, in bold. I used to pick a single color and use it there and for categories titles. Subtitle-like line should be phone and email so its easy to find where to reach you. Underline categories and make them a couple points bigger for good organizational and ease of reading (that's a big point there). Double space your lines and a little extra between categories (again, ease of read). Using cursive/italic for time frames is a good detail.

Highlight your experience at the top, don't start with the "professional objective" thing. The HR person reads hundred CVs a day. You need to be brief and concise. Same with work/tasks descriptions. One sentence at most with the most impact.

After work experience follow with "Skills and Expertise" and name your best. Kinda like the LinkedIn endorsements. Responsible, dependable. Meet deadlines. Don't need somebody to hold my hand (important for telecommuting). HTML. CSS. Archiving. Bilingual. Etcetera.

Then after that, your education/courses. 2000-2004. Place. Major.

Short and to the point. Easy to read. High impact with few words.


If you need an opinion I'll take a look, just inbox it to me.

 

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[Late Start]

Hmm, it sounds like a total overhaul is needed. More a simplification than an overhaul - a less is more type of thing. The upside is, my current one has helped me stand out for local gigs with 5-10 applicants, but I think it's putting me straight into the trashcan with telecommuting gigs with hundreds of applicants.

I love this forum.

 

[JAJT]

Most people can't write a resume. I mean like 90+% if I had to pull a number out of my a$$.

I've received jobs I had no logical right to have on account of my resume kicking a$$ and me being able to kill it in an interview.

Let me give you some tips that will put you ahead of 90% of other people (in my opinion - this isn't the "only" way, just a damn good way):

- Remove your street address, keep the city. If two people are equally qualified they are likely to choose the closer one. If your address is ambiguous and you're a final candidate they'll try to remember you, not your location.
- Put a summary at the top, 2-3 sentences, that explains how the awesome shit you've done in the past applies to the new company. Not that you need a job, or want to gain experience, or you think you're a valuable cog. I mean real achievements, bold statements, and proof of why to hire you. What you've done in the past and/or what you want to do for this company. The words "hard working" and "go getter" and similar nonsense fluff should not appear here.
- Kill all job descriptions from your resume. I mean it. Everyone knows that a F*cking barista serves coffee. You don't need to list points like "served coffee" "interacted with customers" "made drinks" "cleaned up" "opened store" "closed store". That's bullshit. Every point on your resume should be an achievement and preferably quantified to the best of your ability. Shit like "served 150 people per hour, 40% more than the next best barista" and "implemented a change in service that decreased spilled beverages by 12%" and "employee of the month 7 times in the last year". Those are "wow, this guy knows his shit" bullet points. Compare that to Mr. I-Served-Coffee's resume.
- Put your most important and impressive achievement first for each previous company on your resume.
- One page. Unless you are a world record holder in kicking a$$, your resume is 1 page. One.
- Every word needs to fight for the right to be on that page. This relates to the above point. Simple. Word. Choices. No redundancies or fancy lingo or "business speak". Don't fluff shit up or blow smoke up asses. The words on the page should be connecting the numbers together or explaining an achievement in the fewest logical words. Little else.
- Put your linkedin url if your linkedin is very good and follows most of what I said above. Add an email and a phone number.
- Education goes at the bottom and limit it to your degree, school and year graduated. Nobody cares what you did in school. Nobody. No, really.

If you can follow the above you're ahead of most people. The rest is simple - keep the resume clean, consistence, use one tense throughout, etc...

Also, if you put hobbies and interests on your resume I don't think we can be friends anymore.

 

[Vigilante]

Make it a goal to never need a resume again.

I was in discussions this past week with an Executive VP of a company I am hoping to do some consulting work for.

She asked for my resume. I laughed. Haven't had one (or needed one) for a dozen years. I'll never have one again.

So, you might need one now, but make it a goal to get yourself in position to never need one.

A resume means you have to sell yourself (figuratively and literally) to someone else. There's a derogatory term for that, but it's not appropriate for someone working towards breaking out of the game.

 

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[Delmania]

So my first step on getting out of the slow lane is to get a job that doesn't require two hours of my time each day in a car. The downside to this is that I live in Southeast Kansas, where IT jobs aren't super plentiful. My goal is to score a telecommuting job, and I've been a member of FlexJobs.com for a couple of months now. Around here, I can get my foot in the door pretty easily (last summer I turned down two jobs before accepting my current one), but I'm having trouble getting so much as a phone interview competing on the national level.

Is it worth paying a service like TopResume to rewrite it for me, or finding a freelancer online? If so, does anybody have any good recommendations?

Yes. Most business owners do not write their own copy or design their own brochures. You are selling yourself. Don't go cheap, though, expect to pay between $300 - $500 on a high quality resume.

Depends. Do you think some random guy from a service like that can sell you better than you could sell yourself?

If the answer is yes, you have bigger problems than your resume.

It could be that his energy would be better spent on mastering interviewing techniques. Separation of concerns and all that.

 

[Late Start]

I absolutely intend for my next job to be my last, and if I'm still at said job in two years, I've failed (hoping to be done within one year). I envy you guys who smartened up to the Fastlane in your twenties. Making the jump married with three young kids is a little intimidating, but I know I can do it, plus it provides me with a niche to work in and grow, so in a way, it's actually sort of beneficial.

Thanks for all your feedback, guys - it's been incredibly helpful in making me realize what's holding up my progress on this front. As usual, overthinking something has lead to a self-created roadblock.

 

[Delmania]

Make it a goal to never need a resume again.

I was in discussions this past week with an Executive VP of a company I am hoping to do some consulting work for.

She asked for my resume. I laughed. Haven't had one (or needed one) for a dozen years. I'll never have one again.

So, you might need one now, but make it a goal to get yourself in position to never need one.

A resume means you have to sell yourself (figuratively and literally) to someone else. There's a derogatory term for that, but it's not appropriate for someone working towards breaking out of the game.

To that end, I recommend http://devcareerboost.com/. It's aimed at developers, but it pretty much applies to everyone. At $200, it might be a bit pricey. Disclaimer: I occasionally guest post on the creator's blog, but there is no affiliate program.

 

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[JAJT]

Making the jump married with three young kids is a little intimidating,

I quit my job at the age of 30 with a newborn and a 2 year old. It can be done. Just be smart about it.

Good luck!

 

[Contrarian]

Every point on your resume should be an achievement and preferably quantified to the best of your ability. Shit like "served 150 people per hour, 40% more than the next best barista" and "implemented a change in service that decreased spilled beverages by 12%" and "employee of the month 7 times in the last year". Those are "wow, this guy knows his shit" bullet points. Compare that to Mr. I-Served-Coffee's resume.
- Put your most important and impressive achievement first for each previous company on your resume.

So much this. Everything else that's been said here about putting your resume together is important, but it's defensive - i.e. it's part of the price of admission of having an acceptable resume. This ^^ is going on the offensive. This is why you get hired in the first place, for your achievements rather than your experience. And so few people do this. Then when you get in the door you have an immediate lead in to starting a discussion about how you can decrease their spilled beverages by 12%, too, and how valuable that would be to them.

But, like Vigilante said, best not to need one in the first place. You probably can't do that right now, but you can and should call and speak to the person who would be your manager first and if needed, send it to them directly (if you're persuasive and the company isn't too bureaucratic they might just invite you in for a meeting). Then you bypass the ATS and all the BS that goes with it.

You might still need to submit it through the "official channels", but at least make sure the person hiring is there to beat the official channels with a stick on your behalf first.

 

[LateStarter]

Make it a goal to never need a resume again.

<- THIS.

And...no. Why invest in someone else to create something that is within your grasp? If you want to revamp your resume then read, learn and do yourself. You'll learn fundamental skills that you're going to need if you want to start a business, so might as well start now. Think of it as a copywriting exercise. The best part is, with each resume submission, you get a new chance to try something.

I also object to your username.

 

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[SWB]

I have been in the recruitment game for over 20 yrs. I feel sorry for people who have paid good money to have their resume professionally written. It's crap, don't do it. You're feeding their dream, not helping get yours. Make sure your CV has the pertinent information easy to find. That's it. Remember, if your CV is going to a recruiter they have 100+ to get through for each role. Make it easy for them to put you in the yes or maybe pile. If you don't, you're in the no pile. It's that simple.

 

[Late Start]

I'm gonna beat on this when I get home tonight, and will post my tentative results when I am done for you guys to peruse and critique.

 

[JAJT]

I have been in the recruitment game for over 20 yrs. I feel sorry for people who have paid good money to have their resume professionally written. It's crap, don't do it. You're feeding their dream, not helping get yours. Make sure your CV has the pertinent information easy to find. That's it. Remember, if your CV is going to a recruiter they have 100+ to get through for each role. Make it easy for them to put you in the yes or maybe pile. If you don't, you're in the no pile. It's that simple.

For the benefit of myself and others - was the advice I provided earlier in the thread true based on your experience as a recruiter?

 

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[LibertyForMe]

Another thing that I would recommend doing, is to take charge of the relationship. If you find a job that sounds great don't just apply to it.

Here are my golden tips that I've learned through trial and error:

1. Try to find out the company that is hiring. If the company name is listed, your job is easy. If not, google some of the phrases in the descriptiona nd try to figure out the company.
2. Research the company, and learn about it. What do they do, what direction are they headed? How does the role they are filling fit in with the overall company?
3. Come up with a list of 2 thoughtful questions that relate to the job. These should be good questions, and NOT something that is already answered in the job description. Make these questions related to your skill set. These should be questions that you already know the answer to, and that answer should make you look GREAT. More on this later.
4. Call the company and ask to talk to the hiring manager. If you get the gatekeeper, they will assume that you are just an aggravating job seeker. If they ask why you need to talk to the hiring person, you should say "I'm calling about the XYZ position. It seems like a great position, and it really appears to fit well with my skill set, but I have a couple questions about the position that I wanted to ask before I applied and wasted their time if I'm not a good fit."
5. You will get transferred to the hiring person. Say "Hey, my name is XYZ. I was checking out the posting online for the XYZ position, and I had a couple quick questions. I think the job sounds great, and that my skill set would be perfect for the job, but I wanted to make sure before I sent in an application and wasted your time."
6. Ask your 2 questions. As mentioned earlier, these should be answers that you kind of already know the answer to. For example: "I see that the job position mentions that you are looking for someone who is familiar with a couple different platforms/programming languages/softwares. Are these the only things that are required, or do you think that there will be additional software/platform changes in the future?" This is a good question because of course there will be changes at some point. The recruiter person will say that they primarily need the listed software, but things could change in the future. They you talk about how, conveniently, you happen to be really good at all the software that they listed, but that you are also really good at learning new systems. Might go like this: "Ok great. Yea, I am really well versed in those requirements, but at my last job I helped us migrate to a new system that I hadn't worked with before. I had to learn that system from scratch, and even train other people on how to use it, so I think that I would be a great fit for right now, and also if you need to adapt in the future." The point of this exercise is to make you look really good to the recruiter, and also add a new requirement in their mind to the job (that they didn't originally list), and conveniently be excellent at that new requirement.
7. After your questions, you should say: "Ok, awesome. It sounds like this position would be a perfect match for my skills. Thanks for answering the questions that I had. What's your email, and I'll shoot you over a copy of my resume right now so you've got it?"
8. Get their email, then send them your resume. Say something in the email like, "Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, it really meant a lot. Please see my attached resume and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks."
9. By doing this, you've skipped ahead of the entire line of other applicants, and already made a personal connection with the hiring person.

For those with testicular fortitude, make a modification to step 7. Instead of (or in addition to) asking for their email, SET UP YOUR OWN INTERVIEW. Say something like, "Ok, awesome. It sounds like this position would be a perfect match for my skills. Thanks for answering the questions that I had. I'd love to talk some more about this position and how I can help you guys. I've got a few interviews already for Wednesday, but do you have 30 minutes on Thursday, I think I can make some time in my schedule."

This make you become an item in demand. You already have interviews set up (and hopefully you don't need to lie, because you should). You have to find some time in your schedule to fit them in.

This works quite well, and I used this technique to get 3 job offers at the same time for my current slowlane position.

Let me know if you have questions.

 

[Late Start]

Alright, thoughts and critiques appreciated - as I said, getting a job closer to home (preferably telecommuting) is numero uno in my Fastlane plan, so nailing my resume (Lord willing for the last time) is pretty critical. I'm attaching my new attempt at a streamlined model. I've had several people advise me to keep it to one page, a recruited from Cigna say two pages max, and several people tell me that on the national scene, it's all about keywords.

 

[Ninjakid]

I used to do people's resumes professionally, and I will tell you

NO IT'S NOT WORTH IT

Honestly, it's not rocket science or even psychology, someone who can write one really well would charge you hundreds for something you can do with a bit of research.

Don't be THAT guy.

 

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[Late Start]

I used to do people's resumes professionally, and I will tell you

NO IT'S NOT WORTH IT

Honestly, it's not rocket science or even psychology, someone who can write one really well would charge you hundreds for something you can do with a bit of research.

Don't be THAT guy.

Care to peruse the samples I just posted?

 

[Ninjakid]

Care to peruse the samples I just posted?

maybe later, I'm just about to head out into the wilderness and find a mystical bacon-wrapped watermelon

 

[Late Start]

That sounds oddly delicious.

 

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[Charnell]

You may want to remove those links and edit out your personal information. You never know what kind of chuckleheads are perusing the site.

Also, in all my years of being told how to fill out a CV, never put "to whom it may concern". Either address someone or don't.

 

[Bouncing Soul]

Make it a goal to never need a resume again.

I was in discussions this past week with an Executive VP of a company I am hoping to do some consulting work for.

She asked for my resume. I laughed. Haven't had one (or needed one) for a dozen years. I'll never have one again.

So, you might need one now, but make it a goal to get yourself in position to never need one.

A resume means you have to sell yourself (figuratively and literally) to someone else. There's a derogatory term for that, but it's not appropriate for someone working towards breaking out of the game.

It's true even if you are an employee. Your resume should be a check the box item...with some talking points for lazy interviewers.

If you do the job on LinkedIn you pretty much already have a resume though.