This week I was at the Career Thought Leaders conference and hung out with career coaches, career counselors and professional and executive resume writers.
When I was in my job search I chose to not pay for my resume to be written by a professional. It was a mistake that probably kept me out of interviews, which kept me from getting a job offer, which kept me from earning thousands of dollars.
As a job seeker, each week you are unemployed costs you ________ (you fill in the blank – it might be $1,000 or it might be $4,000).
I would not spend a few hundred bucks, or maybe even a thousand bucks, even though it might have helped me get a job, and an income, sooner… ??
It doesn’t make sense to me now.
The bottom line was I was not convinced a professional resume writer was worth it.
I’m now convinced. Many professional resume writers take pride in what they do.
They get training, they strive to learn better (and current) strategies and tactics.
They care about the product they develop.
They know they are not typists, rather they create your marketing material (aka, your resume).
They care about the outcome you get from the product they develop.
Many want your success as much as you do, and the celebrate your interviews and offers.
If you are wondering about the cost, it’s easy to justify if you consider how much money you are losing per week, and spread the cost of the resume over the weeks you will be out of work with a bad resume.
You can also factor in the tax deduction you can take if you meet certain criteria (ask your accountant, or look up the latest info at the IRS website).
Is it worth it to hire a professional resume writer?
If you want to get a job faster, and you don’t want your resume to keep you out of resumes, you should seriously consider the investment.
If you are okay with your DIY (do it yourself) resume, keep on plugging along.
At the very least, though, look for someone to do a free resume review (aka, free resume critique).
