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 The use of resume writing services is becoming more popular recently and there are probably a couple of good explanations for this popularity. The first has to do with the tightening of the job market. As jobs get scarcer, people are looking for that competitive edge that a resume service can give them. The second reason has to do with the fact that people recognize they need professional help in putting an effective resume together.
Resumes are Personal Advertisements
In some ways, the job search market is really just a great big advertising contest. If you think about it, everything else being equal - which it never is - the applicant with the best resume wins. So your resume can be thought of as a personal advertisement for your professional services. When you are writing a resume, you are really putting together an advertisement that you hope will get the attention of the right recruiter or hiring manager.
We're not talking about attention-grabbing colors here; we are talking about using the right words on a resume - the ones that will prompt someone to call you up for a job interview. That's where professional resume writing services come in; they have trained staff that knows what works and what does not. This puts them at an advantage over the average individual trying to put together a resume on their own.
Finding Professional Resume Writing Services
You can find a lot of writing services on the Internet - which means that finding a professional resume writing service should be pretty easy over the web. You can also try to work with someone in person, but that doesn't really guarantee you've found a good resume writer.
What you really want to look for is a company or person that has access to many different kinds of resumes for many different kinds of professions. That means you either have to find a large company with a lot of resources or a specialist in your area.
The Internet gives companies access to specialists all over the country, making it an efficient provider of services such as resume writing. The bigger question is how to tell when you've found a good resume writing service. Over the remainder of this article, we will talk about the kinds of professional services a good company will offer.
The Cost of Resume Writing Services
If you think about it, you are going to hire a professional to read through your resume, reformat the document and perhaps even write an explanation for their recommended changes. That means someone will be spending hours reading your resume, deciding on the appropriate resume format, making changes to the document, and getting your feedback and approval.
If you consider all the time that you want someone to spend creating a better resume, then we are talking hours of someone's time. If you are hiring a professional then the cost you should expect pay at least $100 - $200 for this type of service. If you are looking for a service that is less than $50, then you are probably better off just asking a friend to take a look at it. For that kind of money, you are really just getting a proofreading service.
Professional Certifications
When evaluating between two resume writing services, you should try to figure out if their professionals are certified professional resume writers. The two best writing certification programs are:
- Certified Professional Resume Writers - certification involves taking a timed examination consisting of four modules dealing with industry knowledge, grammar and punctuation, strategic thinking abilities, and composing a resume based on a hypothetical client.
- National Resume Writers Association - requires taking continuing education units prior to a resume writing exam. The examination consists of two parts, the first is questions relating to sample resumes, and the second part consists of composing a resume based upon supplied information.
Professional Resume Writing Process
Professional resume writing services are sometimes broken down and priced into several tiers of complexity. The simplest process is that of editing an existing resume, proofreading, and reformatting the content. The next level of complexity is to take written information and compose a resume from scratch. Finally, resume writing services may also include putting together cover letters as an add-on feature.
Since most resume service companies recognize that clients are eager to start their job search, the turnaround time on a resume should be less than a week. The company may also provide access to sample resumes that clients can look at - giving them even more ideas.
Finally, since proofreading, reformatting or writing a resume can be subject to individual interpretation, most of the more reputable services will have you talk to their professionals over the telephone. This actually helps to expedite the process by allowing the resume writer to get a better feel for what the client is really looking for - something that might not be evident from the written word.
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