I didn’t hire a resume writer when I was in a job search. Why? Because I couldn’t afford it.
And, because I was smart enough to write my own resume. Heck, I had worked my way through a CIS degree, and an MBA, and by that point, had had a great career. SELF MADE. I was smart, motivated, etc.
Why should I hire someone, for hundreds of dollars, to write a one or two page resume?
One or two pages. Bleh. I had written papers in college that were many times that length.
So I wrote my own resume, and I spun my wheels in a depressing job search, when the economy was strong. I got nowhere. And I didn’t understand why.
I didn’t understand that an experienced resume writer would have been able to help me understand why.
What I’ve come to learn is that a “resume writer,” many times, is much more than a resume writer. Let me rewrite that: A resume writer is much more than a typist.
When you hire a resume writer, you are hiring someone who is in your corner, rooting for you, cheering you on, and sometimes, coaching you. I’m not saying they are a coach, but if you email them and say “I am not getting anywhere… what am I doing wrong?”, they might put on their coaching hat and say something like “my other clients are doing this thing, have you tried that?”
If I had hired a resume writer, I know that writer would have said “Jason, you are doing this thing wrong… fix it!”
Resume writers are in the trenches with you. And they have been in the trenches hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. They have seen many successes, and many failures. They learn from job seekers that have gone before you. Many have seen the cycles of great economy/cruddy economy. They have an understanding of the past, and a vision of the future, and can be your lighthouse helping you navigate a seemingly hopeless and dangerous journey.
Resume writers get a thrill when you email them and say you landed a job. They share that huge win with their Facebook friends (I’m friends with many on Facebook, and see these messages shared regularly). It’s a second payday for them. Sure, they charge money, and they should. This is not charity work. They are experts at what they do. More important, they bring value to you…. and they should be rewarded for that. Their first payday is when you pay them money. Their second payday is when you say “I landed!!” Honestly, I’m not sure which is worth more to a resume writer. In many cases, the second payday is more meaningful.
Think I’m blowing smoke yet? I’m not. I know these people. I’ve been to conferences with them. I email them. I have broken bread with them. They genuinely care about your success, as much as they care about being experts in their field. They want to bring their best game to you, so you can move forward in your career.
Recently I saw a Facebook message from my friend in Wisconsin, Julie Walraven. This message shows her passion and excitement, and level of concern that she puts into her client relationship. This message could just have easily been shared by Charlotte Weeks in Chicago, or Adrian Kelly in Australia, or Dawn Bugni in North Carolina or Shahrzad Arasteh in Maryland or Kelly McClelland in Florida or Robyn Feldberg in Texas or Ann Brody in Chicago or Carrie Luber in New York or… the list could go on and on. These career professionals are not mere typists (although they do that very well). Here’s Julie’s Facebook post:
Find the right resume writer, career coach, or career counselor, and I guarantee they will echo this same enthusiasm and commitment to your success.
Thank you, Jason, for this wonderful post, for so movingly sharing how excited we career professionals get when our clients celebrate their next success (and how seriously we take the privilege of being on their career journey with them), and for your very kind mention! Thank you, most of all, for always being a great advocate for job seekers and candidates.
Jason, I heart you! Thank you for putting into very succinct and compelling words what we do and why we do it! Nothing makes me happier than to get the message that the interview/job is theirs!
Hi Jason, you hit the nail on the head. It truly is gratifying to help people win job interviews with their professional resume! I have worked with some highly qualified clients who struggled getting attention until I worked with them to target their resumes. Recruiters are picky because they can be! They don’t have time to mess around trying to find what they are looking for in a resume. Better to hit them in the head with it!
Jason, I have struggled for 6 months with trying to do it on my own, writing my resume. I finally, in my mind, broke down and found a professional resume writer. Feeling guilt the whole time after for spending the money, your article brought me around 360 degrees. I feel confident in my decision and now feel guilty for not doing it sooner. Thank you all for having the desire, time and want to help job searchers like myself finally get it right
As an executive resume writer you are preaching to the choir. Neverthess your post brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for taking the time to write!!
Jason, thank you so much for writing this post about the value we bring to our clients as resume writers and career coaches…AND the reward our clients bring to us! Every time one of them lands, we feel their success as our own, as well as the excitement and anticipation of a wonderful new chapter about to begin. Everyone wins. That’s why we love what we do at Life Working. Again, many thanks!
Arlene Wanetick and Wilma Nachsin, Co-Owners, Resume Writers and Career Strategists, Life Working, LLC, Skokie, IL
Hi Jason,
Thank you again for the great post that captured what we do so well. I showed the post to the client who inspired my Facebook comment and she was all smiles. She understands the value of the investment and sees that it is much more than writing resumes that I do. And I do love those Landing Stories!