Should I Pay Someone To Write My Resume?

Do I, or do I not, pay someone to write my resume for me? This is a question many professionals that I have encountered ask. My short answer is no, do not hire someone to write your resume for you. Hire someone to help you craft a resume that tells your story in YOUR voice. My approach when working with clients is to have them tell their stories first. We then take those stories and craft strong, action-oriented bullets on the resume. The result? A resume that sounds like you, in your voice, telling your stories.

I’ll share a story from my own history. About 10 years ago, I paid what I feel is an exorbitant fee, $900, to have someone write my resume. After just one meeting and completing an extensive information sheet, well sheets, I received a resume that looked AMAZING! Yes, amazing. The problem was, I didn’t recognize the person in the resume. It didn’t look, feel or sound like me. The person in this resume was an executive seeking an executive position. Neither of these applied to me. At the time, I was a leadership development educator seeking program manager roles; a far cry from the Chief Learning Officer that jumped off the page of this resume.

This story has become an underlying purpose for my work. When you are in job search mode, YOU are the product and salesperson. It’s true. And, like any salesperson, you have to believe the story you tell. The best way to have a story you can believe in and tell, is to tell it in your own words. Only then does your authentic self come through. Try and be someone else, and you’ll ultimately fail in your pursuit of the right job. Either the employer will sense a mismatch between you and your story, or you will end up being hired into the wrong company that doesn’t share the same values as you.

So, ok, I understand. Not everyone enjoys writing, and fewer enjoy ‘bragging’ on themselves. That’s where I come in. My approach is to help you tell your stories, then work WITH you to craft resume bullets that you can relate to; that represent the YOU who is applying for that job. Let them see YOU. If you resonate with them, they will hire you and you’ll be happy. Try and be someone you’re not, and you may still get hired, but will you be happy? I believe in helping my clients land jobs that share their values; that provide the work environment where they will thrive.

So, let me ask you. If you were in front of the one person in the world who you’d like to impress, would you leave telling YOUR story to someone else? I think not. Still not convinced? Ok, spend the big bucks and let someone else write your resume. But when that resume doesn’t get the results you’re seeking, call me. I’ll help you tell YOUR story in YOUR words. The authentic you that will spend 40+ hours a week working with these people will thank me….and you!