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I want a new job with a new employer. I have a good job now and am not at risk or anything, but it seems like my career will stagnate if I stay due to management shifts and the political nonsense that comes with that kind of thing. I have been working on my resume but I think I need some help to really make it attractive to recruiters and their filters. I have never had to hire someone to help with this kind of thing and don't know where to begin. I just want to make sure I consider relevant criteria when evaluating the services.

My question is not meant to be opinion based (and I don't think it is) so here it goes...what are some basic qualities one should look for when engaging a service to help craft a resume package? There must be certain industry standards that are applied to this kind of thing. I just don't know what they are and searching has not produced anything concrete.

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  • Have you tried reaching out to the college/university you graduated from? The career center there more than likely offers free resume advice and critiques for alumni. Jul 16, 2017 at 19:55
  • I have not. Good idea. Jul 16, 2017 at 20:11
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    There's also LinkedIn. Just check what ppl in your profession writing in their CV's and update your profile there. A good profile in LI may get you a few job offers monthly Jul 16, 2017 at 20:36
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    OP, it's an interesting question, but have you considered whether you really need to contract a professional? For most people, a few hours spent browsing online resources (workplace blogs, this site) will be enough for them to craft a good resume that confirms to current workplace standards. Good resume writers are not cheap. What really makes a resume attractive is content, relevance and length (1-2 pages max). As long as you can formulate your past work history and accomplishments well you can use any template that you find provided you keep it basic, sober, readable and easy to scan.
    – Lilienthal
    Jul 17, 2017 at 9:01
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    There is only one group of people able to give you good advice on what hiring managers want to see in a CV, and that's hiring managers. Everyone else is just guessing.
    – Kaz
    Jul 17, 2017 at 9:10

4 Answers 4

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I would suggest you not to pay several hundred dollars for the resume proofreading services because there are a lot of free guidebooks (like Wozber or kick resume) where you can find all the information/tips/rules for making a really great resume. And you need to read/learn/use 5-10 hours only.

Take in mind few main resume writing rules:

  • write about accomplishments instead of responsibilities;
  • use numbers (they prove your accomplishments);
  • start your statement with action words;
  • target a particular company by using both industry-level and job-level keywords.
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  • While I fully agree, this does not actually answer the question.
    – Lilienthal
    Jul 17, 2017 at 9:01
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    This is the real answer to an unanswerable question. If the people working at resume writing services were really good at writing resumes that land good jobs, wouldn't they all have better jobs? Jul 17, 2017 at 17:28
  • What numbers should one use?
    – guest
    Jun 5, 2020 at 19:24
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    @NoloProblemo why do you think working at a resume writing services is a bad job?^^ It's easy to do asynchronous, independent and at your own leisure. It may even pay well depending on the pricing and the time it takes you to improve one resume. It may be the perfect job for them at that time of their life. As long as they don't promise to land everyone a billionaire CEO job, that criticism seems to be unfounded. And by the same reasoning OP shouldn't ask here and invest their time, because if we knew how to write resumes we surely had better things to do at our dream jobs. Jun 5, 2020 at 21:44
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I would also suggest taking a look at phrases from positions themselves. After applying for 100+ jobs, my resume started to look really nice because I copied a lot of professional phrases.

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1) University positions and recruiters for that specific area would likely be a good source as they tend to stay current in the field and target guidance based on getting employment in the field. Of course with a recruiter you tend to have to use their services to get the job too. Often universities will offer a resume writing class as well which might be the best way to go as that will allow you to learn about the process and why as well as have someone there to help answer any questions and work on the resume with you.

2) You can also locate people who are working in jobs that you want to work in and ask them if you can see what resume they used to get into the job interview. You will have to social network and be friendly so people might talk to you and share with you, but this often turns up a good bit of information that you can get a good idea of what you need for core components and what you can adapt to your style.

3) There are plenty of online ones that you can pay for, but as far as the usefulness you would need to talk to someone that actually used them.

As far as qualities:

  1. Is there a proven track record of success in interviews?
  2. Is it an honest and reputable source?
  3. Is there legitimate feedback from users that weren't paid or connected with the selling company/service?

Treat this like any other sold item and do thorough research and only pay for what you actually want. If it's too sketchy to tell if you actually want it, don't spend the money.

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You can definitely get a job with your employer. I would suggest you use resume templates and cover letters from various websites that specialize in this.

I would put this information into my resume to make it more eye catching:

  1. My Experience
  2. Portfolio or any previous projects i did.
  3. My Awards or Achievements
  4. Life Goals

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