Whether you’re merely updating yourresume or creating an entirely new one, resume writing can be a very stressful task. That’s why many job seekers resort to hiring a resume writing service.
As a founder of multiple resume writing services who has been in the recruitment industry for more than 20 years, a question I get asked all the time is, What are the downsides of using a professional resume writer?
Here are four little-known facts to know before using a resume writing service:
1. The writers aren’t always as qualified as you think
Many services offer unbelievably low rates — but only because they need to in order to sustain a profitable business model. This is usually a red flag. More often than not, a low rate means you’re getting an inexperienced writer who is willing to be compensated for much less. (Believe it or not, some services even hire a fresh-faced grad straight out of college.)
Services typically charge anywhere from $100 to $400, depending on how advanced your resume needs to be. Another trap to avoid is the ”$25 resume and a 24-hour turnaround time.” Remember, the writer’s job is to create a compelling document that’s more than just a history of your career, and if they’re not spending more than a few days on your resume, expect to get something very crappy.
To avoid getting an inexperienced writer, do your research on the service. It also helps to call them to ask for samples and confirm that your assigned writer has had some sort of formal training on resume writing, especially in your industry.
2. The process is not as easy as you may think
A common misconception about resume writing services is that they do all the work for you. But the reality is that they can’t even start working on your resume until you’ve filled out an extensive form detailing all the necessary information about your work history, skills and professional achievements.
Also expect to do a lot of back-and-forth collaboration with your writer via phone and email. And remember, you’ll have to offer them feedback once they send you their first draft. It may take a few rounds before you agree on a final version.1:06Top SpaceX HR exec: Here’s what it takes to score a job at Elon Musk’s company
3. You might be misled if you don’t read the fine print
Many services provide some sort of guarantee, whether it’s doubling your interviews, offering unlimited revisions or giving you a refund if you’re unhappy with the turnout. While these promises may sound reassuring, it’s important to read the fine print, as these guarantees are often not as amazing as they sound.
For example, an “interview guarantee” usually means you’ll get a chance to have your resume rewritten, not that you’ll somehow get an interview no matter what. However, if the company did a poor job writing your resume the first time, chances are the quality won’t improve the second time around. Similarly, a promise of “unlimited revisions” is often void after a predetermined deadline has passed.
4. You probably don’t need one
Hiring a professional resume writing service isn’t always the best choice for everyone. It really depends on how much experience you have and what you’re looking for. If you’re unsure, consider the questions below:
Are you qualified for the position you want next? A resume writer isn’t a magician — he or she can’t make you stand out if you don’t have the skills to begin with.
Are you looking for a raise or promotion? Hiring a professional writer is a good idea if you’re looking for more money, responsibilities and a higher title. Since there’s a lot of competition out there, you’ll want your resume to stand out and use all the help you can get.
Do you make more than $40,000 a year? It’s important to consider where you’re putting your money and whether it’s a smart financial decision. If you’ve just graduated and are applying to a very entry-level job, you won’t have a lot of experience to deck out your resume — and that’s okay.
Are you good at writing? Resume writing is, in its purest form, a lot of writing. You don’t have to be an incredibly talented writer, but if you have low confidence in your skills, especially when it comes to elaborating on your skills, it’s best to have someone else do the work for you.
It’s no secret that it’s still a pretty tough job market out there—both for people who are completely without work and those who have jobs but certainly not the dream careers that they desire.
For some perspective, according to the latest unemployment data, some 11.8 million people are out of work in the U.S. And although there are no real stats to measure these folks, there are likely millions more who have gigs that they’d very much like to leave. Yes, that kind of tough.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of professionals out there who can help make your search a bit easier—people like Donna Sweidan, a certified career coach with over 15 years of experience in the field and the founder of careerfolk.com.
LearnVest sat down with Sweidan to uncover the art and science of career counseling—as well as to better understand how a career coach can help prep you to compete against those millions of fellow job-seekers.
LearnVest: First off, what exactly is career coaching?
Donna Sweidan: In my work, I approach it as a discipline comprised of two similar but distinct tracks: coaching and counseling. The goal is to support people in making informed decisions about their career development and trajectory, as well as offer various tools that they can use—résumés, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles—to meet those goals.
Although not all career coaches have clinical training, as I do, definitions of the field—and the work—may still vary among more conventionally trained coaches. In general, “coaching” tends to be a solution-oriented approach, which involves working with clients to see what concrete steps they can take to achieve career objectives. “Counseling,” however, is more process driven—you look at whether there are any behavioral, emotional or psychological issues that could be impeding a person’s desired career ambitions.
But the core virtue of career coaching is to help people assess their professional situations with a greater degree of honesty, curiosity, empathy and compassion.
What are the most common misconceptions about career coaching?
My top three? That a well-done résumé is all you need to conduct an effective job search—and that career coaches will actually find you a job. There’s also the popular notion that you only have to attend a single career-coaching session … and your job challenges will be resolved. It actually takes about eight to 10 hours of counseling for the typical client to begin internalizing the key benefits of coaching.
What can the average person expect to get from working with a career coach?
By and large, clients can reasonably expect to gain career confidence, insight, encouragement and inspiration. They should also feel as if the coaching relationship grants them some permission to relax a bit. The job search can create a fair amount of anxiety, fear and vulnerability in people, and I often work with clients to unwrap those emotions so they can better understand how these factors may be keeping them stuck in their careers.
A recent client of mine couldn’t break the pattern of just submitting resumes to online job postings—even though little came of it. After some prodding, she revealed that, because her parents both had bold personalities, it was her tendency to hold back. She struggled with being assertive, she was reluctant to ask for help and she was scared of rejection. I had to encourage her to develop the confidence that’s essential for networking—the piece of the job search that she was avoiding.
There are also a number of assessments that career coaches can use to help clients, such as personality tests, interest inventories, accomplishment exercises that identify what people are most proud of and job-description analyses that can pinpoint the kind of work and workplaces that are the best fit for someone.
I also use what I call “360s,” which involves getting constructive feedback from family and friends. I often ask clients to circulate a list of questions to colleagues and loved ones, and then I have the replies sent directly to me, so I can compile a report for the client to review—and hopefully contemplate.
At what point in a person’s professional life is career coaching likely to be most useful?
While I believe that career coaching can be helpful at every point of someone’s professional path, I would say that good career coaching in the early years of college or immediately post-college can put individuals on more solid footing—not just with a well-crafted résumé and a suitable career path, but also with a mindset that helps them understand that the career path of today is not as direct as it might have been in previous generations.
Are there certain career frustrations that you hear most often from clients?
It should come as no surprise that I hear, “I hate my job, but I don’t know what else I can do!” But what might be a bit surprising to some is that I also tend to hear things along the lines of “I have no idea what I can do with these skills,” and “I need help pinpointing what exactly I want to do—and how to get there.”
Job-search anxiety is also something that I frequently encounter. And, as of late, an ever-increasing number of clients expresses frustration with using social media, especially LinkedIn, as an aid in their career goals.
Take a recent client of mine—a former stay-at-home mom who was motivated to return to work, but was reluctant to use social media in her job search because she doubted its usefulness. After a few sessions of showing her how a community of like-minded people used such networks to get their message out, she came around to the idea. Within a year of working together, she landed a coveted job as a national outreach director—and she attributes it largely to her social network.
Organizational culture or employee attitude—which bears more on a person’s sense of job satisfaction?
In my opinion, organizational culture is the greater factor. Zappos, LinkedIn and Google are all organizations that are proactive in fostering a positive, relaxed, non-hierarchical and generally enjoyable work environment. These companies encourage employees to do things beyond the work, whether it’s active volunteering, getting coaching or simply creating better work-life balance. All of these factors are bound to improve a person’s sense of work satisfaction, provided that they are in the right job to begin with.
Be honest. What’s your dream client?
Someone who is open to new ideas, willing to step out of his or her comfort zone and motivated to embark on the work that makes up the job-search-and-career-change process. What’s more, a good client allows the coach to be a partner in that process. It’s actually essential because there are so many tricky steps along the way, whether it’s the tough job market or a very lengthy career change. So clients should reach out for as much help as possible—from the coach and from everyone else in their personal or professional networks—in order to succeed.
At what point might the usefulness of career coaching diminish?
There are certain factors that can impede the utility of the career-coaching process from the outset, like unchecked anxiety, depression, low self-confidence, fear or general resistance to change. I will often ask, “Do you think that you may be depressed?” And the person will acknowledge it—often for the first time. I had one client whose spouse didn’t even recognize the severity of his depression! I recommended that he seek medical attention, and within about a month, he was truly motivated to focus on his career.
Aside from those things, if and when—for whatever reason—clients are no longer doing the work required to conduct a thorough job search or make the desired change, the utility of career coaching will also decrease.
I have a client who’s currently in this situation. He knows what he wants to do, but for some reason, he’s sabotaging the process by not heeding my advice to revamp his resume and network effectively. He applied to what he considered to be his ideal job, but because he failed to follow up and network, the opportunity disappeared.
What brings you the most satisfaction as a coach?
Nothing compares to having clients gradually recognize that there’s hope in their situation, particularly after having started the process feeling lost and hopeless. I’ve seen people go from feeling completely disenchanted with their career or job prospects—even apathetic and unmotivated to change their circumstances—to feeling freshly inspired and motivated to move forward with new ideas.
If you could identify a “Golden Rule” of career satisfaction, what would it be?
If you are doing something you really, truly enjoy, it shouldn’t feel like work at all. Ideally, you should feel a sense of alignment between your work and your values. It’s only in that space of overlap—which may or may not relate to your sense of purpose in the world—that a genuine sense of career gratification or fulfillment becomes possible. If you want a job that brings fulfillment, then aligning your work with your values is essential. If you already derive fulfillment from work, then your work is probably already an extension of your values.
Did you make career-related New Year’s resolutions? Are you resolved to boost your career and move forward professionally in 2019? If so, you should consider an underutilized, but incredibly powerful professional growth tool: mentoring. And since January is National Mentoring Month, now is the perfect time to explore the positive impact that mentoring can have on your career. Whether you are the mentor or the mentee, the mentoring relationship can push your career to new heights.
The benefits of mentoring are myriad. For individuals, studies show that good mentoring can lead to greater career success, including promotions, raises, and increased opportunities. Organizations that embrace mentoring are rewarded with higher levels of employee engagement, retention, and knowledge sharing. In fact, mentoring has proved so beneficial that 71% of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs to their employees.
While these statistics are encouraging, it’s important to remember that mentoring is not a magic wand that automatically creates success. The truth is that effective mentoring takes effort, and creating successful mentoring relationships requires specific skills, sensibilities, and structure from both the mentor and the mentee. Success happens when both parties take responsibility for making it work. Success happens when best practices are in place for the three key ingredients:
The Mentor
The Mentee
The Relationship
What Makes A Good Mentor?
A good mentor needs to be more than just a successful individual. A good mentor must have the disposition and desire to develop other people. It requires a willingness to reflect on and share one’s own experiences, including one’s failures. Great mentors must be able to both “talk the talk” and “walk the walk.”
Qualities to look for in a mentor:
A desire to develop and help others. A good mentor is sincerely interested in helping someone else without any “official” reward. Good mentors do it because they genuinely want to see someone else succeed.
The ability and availability to commit real time and energy to the mentoring relationship. Good intentions aren’t enough—mentoring takes time!
Current and relevant industry or organizational knowledge, expertise, and/or skills. The best mentors have deep knowledge in an area that the mentee wishes to develop.
A willingness to share failures and personal experiences. Mentors need to share both their “how I did it right” and their “how I did it wrong” stories. Both experiences provide valuable opportunities for learning.
A growth mindset and learning attitude. The best teachers have always been and always will be those who remain curious learners themselves. Would you rather be advised by someone whose mind is shut because he knows it all or by someone whose mind is open because she is always looking to deepen her knowledge?
Skill in developing others. This includes the very real skills of: active listening, asking powerful, open-ended questions, self-reflection, providing feedback and being able to share stories that include personal anecdotes, case examples, and honest insight.
What Makes A Good Mentee?
Just as there are specific characteristics of a successful mentor, there are attributes and sensibilities that make for a good mentee. This is important, because mentees must remember that mentors are doing this from the goodness of their heart, so being a good mentee is the best way to ensure the relationship enjoys a healthy purposeful existence.
Mentees need to be:
Committed to expanding their capabilities and focused on achieving professional results.
Clear about their career goals, needs, and wants. Mentoring isn’t therapy where one just rambles aimlessly. mentees are responsible for creating the mentoring agenda, so they must be clear about what they hope to get from mentoring.
Willing to ask for help, show vulnerability, and explore different paths and perspectives. Mentees must be open and receptive to learning and trying new ideas. No mentor wants to advise someone who isn’t open to learning!
Able to seek and accept feedback—even the “constructive” kind—and act upon it.
Be personally responsible and accountable. Mentors want to see movement and growth. If you say you are going to do something, then do it! Sitting on the sidelines in a mentoring relationship is not going to work.
Ready, willing, and able to meet on a regular basis. Relationships take time to develop, so mentees must also be committed to upholding their end of the bargain.
The Mentoring Relationship
A mentoring relationship must be managed and nurtured. It is a joint venture that requires both parties to actively attend to its care and feeding. The chances of creating and sustaining a successful mentoring relationship are enhanced by adopting a few simple best practices:
Design The Alliance. Take the time discuss the structure of the relationship. Both parties need to have a shared understanding of the relationship process. This means discussing and articulating things like:
Contact and response times: Who contacts whom? How? What are acceptable response times?
Meetings: Where, when, and how often? Are you meeting in person? On the phone? Virtually?
Confidentiality: What’s shareable and what isn’t?
Focus: What are the parameters of the mentoring? What’s in and out of bounds?
Feedback: What are the expectations around giving and receiving feedback?
Goals and accountability: What would each party want from this experience? How does the mentee want the mentor to hold her accountable? How does the mentor want the mentee to hold her accountable?
Get To Know Each Other. A mentoring relationship is like any other relationship—it takes time to develop. And like other relationships, it will grow faster and stronger if both parties take the time to get to know each other as people. Resist the temptation to dive head first into career problem solving and advising. Build trust by learning about each other!
Set The Agenda. Both parties need to be clear about the purpose and focus of the mentoring. Additionally, the mentor and mentee should articulate what they hope to get out of the experience.
Reflect And Evaluate. Every few meetings, one (or both) of the parties should ask: “How is this going for you? What’s been helpful? What hasn’t? What could I do differently to make this a more rewarding experience?” As awkward as it may feel, initiating evaluative conversations will keep the relationship working for both of you.
Closeout. If you are part of a formal mentoring relationship or have negotiated a specific number of mentoring meetings, take the time to close out. This is when each party should reflect and appreciate. What was most rewarding? What did you find the most valuable? What are you most grateful for? Mentees and mentors should clearly articulate their appreciation for the other. Be specific about what you learned and gained from the experience.
Mentoring is a great opportunity to deliver a rewarding and potentially life-changing experience for both the mentor and the mentee. It is one of the most important things a person can do to enhance their career and professional life. It takes time and commitment, but it is well worth the effort. Whether you are the mentor or the mentee, it’s a win-win for your career. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
I’ve received thousands of resumes throughout my entire career — and believe me, I’ve seen them all: Too long, too short, too boring, too many typos, too hard to read and every layout imaginable.
To be completely honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of resumes. Heck, I even wrote a book about all the things that are more important than the resume. Yes, you do need one, but what most experts don’t tell you is that resumes only account for 10% of the hiring decision.
That said, it would take a lot to wow a tough critic like myself. A few years ago, however, I was surprised to find a resume that actually managed to impress me.
In fact, it was one of the best resumes I had ever seen in my 20 years of hiring and interviewing. It had no gimmicks, no Fortune 500 company listed and wasn’t folded into an origami airplane. Needless to say, I hired the candidate.
Here’s what made it stand out from the rest:
1. It was easy to read
This resume had plenty of white space and was two pages long, which is expected if you have more than 10 years of experience.
Everything was nicely organized: Line spacing was just right, company names in bold, titles italicized and job details arranged in bullet points. Oh, and not a single typo to be found.
I liked that the font was nothing fancy. Too many candidates waste time obsessing over which font to use. I won’t weigh in on Times New Roman versus Calibri, but I will say that it should always be simple and easy to read.0:59These are the best fonts to use on your resume, according to designers
2. It told a story
This resume told a story about the candidate’s career journey. There were no information gaps (i.e., a missing summer). From top to bottom, there was a clear “before and after.” In just a few seconds, I was able to see a “staircase pattern” of the candidate’s career growth.
In other words, the chronological list of work history — in order of date, with the most recent position at the top — showed a clear progression of more senior roles and more advanced responsibilities.
3. It listed accomplishments, rather than just responsibilities
I’m not interested in reading what you copied and pasted from the original job description listing. What employers really want to know is whether you’re an above average candidate who’s capable of delivering quantifiable results — and this person did a great job of proving that they were.
It’s always better to highlight your responsibilities by detailing your most impressive accomplishments:
Examples:
Instead of “expanded operations to international markets,” say “expanded operations to eight new countries in Latin America.”
Instead of “led marketing and sales team,” say “supervised marketing and sales team and achieved 15% annual growth vs. 0.5% budget.”
4. It told the truth
There weren’t any discrepancies that raised red flags. Everything was believable and the numbers weren’t exaggerated.
Even better, the resume had links to the person’s LinkedIn page and professional website, which included a portfolio of their work. This made it easier for me to fact-check the resume, which in turn made the candidate seem like an honest person.
My advice? Tell the truth — period. A colleague once told me about someone who listed “convicted felon” on her resume. The candidate submitted her resume, then called the hiring manager and asked, “Would you hire an ex-convict?” After a series of questions and some due diligence, they offered her the job. And based on what I’ve heard, she ended up being an excellent hire.
While big accomplishments and recognizable company names will give you an advantage, make no mistake: Employers will do a reference check — and if they find out that you lied about something, it’s game over.
5. It didn’t have any cliché claims
There were no generic and high-level claims such as “creative,” “hard-working,” “results-driven,” “excellent communicator” or, my least favorite, “team player.”
Including any of these cliché terms will make your hiring manager roll their eyes in less than a second. Skip the cheesy adjectives and overused terms and go for action verbs instead.
Examples:
Instead of “excellent communicator,” say “presented at face-to-face client meetings and spoke at college recruiting events.”
Instead of “highly creative,” say “designed and implemented new global application monitoring platform.”
6. It came through a recommendation
Not everyone will have a connection at their dream company, but knowing someone who can refer you is the most effective way to get an employer’s attention.
The fact that this resume came through a recommendation from a respected colleague played a significant role in getting me to open the PDF file. That, in addition to the few seconds I spent skimming it, was the one-two punch that made me want to know more about the candidate.
Blasting your resume everywhere won’t get you anywhere. I get sent dozens of resumes on the daily from people I don’t know, and the vast majority of them go unopened.
That might seem harsh, but here’s the truth: You should always go out of your way to get a warm introduction. If you don’t have a connection, do some research and find a friend of a friend who knows someone who has an “in.”
Then, ask your potential referral out for a coffee date. Once you’ve established a genuine relationship, tell them about the job opening you’re interested in and ask if they can recommend you. If you can make this happen, I guarantee your resume will get read.
Gary Burnison is the CEO of Korn Ferry, a global consulting firm that helps companies select and hire the best talent. His latest book, a New York Times best-seller, “Lose the Resume, Land the Job,” shares the kind of straight talk that no one will tell you. Follow him on LinkedIn here.
