An Online Resume Writer - Finding A Good One

© David Alan Carter
All Rights Reserved

If you're in the job market, you already know that online resume writers are out there in droves, competing for your business. But quite frankly, not all of them deserve your business.

To keep your wits about you and help organize your search for a good online resume writer, I offer the following 5 tips.

Sidebar: BTW, I applied these tips to the 10 most popular online resume writing services. Here's how they ranked when the dust settled...

Online Resume Writer - Avoid The Factories

A factory takes a single template and cranks out hundreds or thousands of say, FEMA trailers, cookie-cutter style. That’s fine if you just need a roof over your head. Likewise, if you just need a job and any old job will do and you can’t bring yourself to spend more than $50 on a writer, a resume from a "factory" will have to suffice. That would be a resume written entirely from an online form. Written from a standard template. Written by writers with dubious or no credentials. Written by a company that is starting to sound a bit like McDonalds ("billions and billions served").

Online Resume Writer - Look For Credentials

We’d be the first to say that you don’t need credentials to be a good resume writer. That said, the right credentials can at least provide a prospective client with a basic level of assurance that the resume writer understands his profession and has the technical chops to do respectable work. If you’re starting your search for an online resume writer and you’ve got the whole of the Internet before you, you can reasonably narrow that search by insisting on writers who hold the CPRW (Certified Professional Resume Writer) designation. That’s your assurance that they’ve met standards of excellence in employment industry knowledge, professional judgement and writing proficiency. While not the be all and end all, it’s a good place to start.

Online Resume Writer - Expect A Telephone Interview

The resume factories get by with the information you put down on an online questionnaire. That’s fine for starters, but you want a resume writer who - as part of his routine methodology - conducts a follow-up telephone interview. A writer willing to pick up the phone is a writer willing to expend the extra energy to get to know you as an individual. The questionnaire delivers a flat, one dimensional side of you, and frankly it’s only as good as your written answers to the standardized questions. The telephone, on the other hand, allows the resume writer to flesh you out, to ask you more probing questions and develop a greater insight into your accomplishments and workplace value. All of which translates to a better, more competitive resume. Make sure the online resume writer you choose will be conducting a telephone interview.

Online Resume Writer - Review Their Samples

If they’re online, they have a website. If they have a website, they likely have samples of resumes they’ve written for past clients (hopefully with the names changed). Look over these samples. If you don’t like the samples, you won’t like your resume. If they don’t have samples available for viewing, that’s your cue to exit.

Online Resume Writer - Fair Pricing

A really good certified resume writer is going to need to charge upwards of $200 for a resume detailing a mid-level professional, or his talents are under priced and he'll soon be looking for work elsewhere. An entry-level resume is less complicated, and fairly priced from $100 - $150. The resume for a senior-level executive is generally more time consuming, and you’ll see fair pricing for these between $300 to $500, sometimes more.

Final Thoughts...

The Internet has opened up a world of online services; some good, some bad. Today, anybody with a computer and an internet connection can call himself a resume writer, but that doesn’t mean he’s any good at it. Keep these Top 5 tips in mind as you surf, and you’ll be able to separate the pros from the hacks.

Speaking of pros, here are my "Top 3" picks, and side-by-side mini reviews for those who might be interested:

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