A change is as good as a rest, so the saying goes. But hitting a point in your life when you are reconsidering your career can be daunting. It’s becoming harder and harder to stand out from the crowd, with new job opportunities being bombarded with applications. So, what can you do against all the competition to make sure you get an interview? Well, for starters, you’re going to need a top notch resume.
When employers open the floodgates to public applications for a position within their organization, the first thing they see is your resume. Whether or not you have the skills and experience, if you can’t write your resume in an appealing and professional way, you’ll probably not make it through the door. Your resume is your handshake, your opportunity to tell employers what you’re capable of, so it’s vital that you present yourself well on paper.
Of course, writing about oneself doesn’t come naturally to everyone. There’s a careful balance to strike between “explaining your skills” and not "coming across as arrogant.” And let’s face it, a resume is an awkward document to write. It’s something you only ever see when you apply for a job, making it an oddity in the writing world. The modern resume requires computer skills to create the right layout, which should explain your capabilities succinctly, as well as structuring your language in a clear and descriptive manner. So, our question you is this: have you considered using a resume writing service?
These websites provide links to professional writers, who will discuss your work, experience and skills with you, and then write a professional resume on your behalf. This resume can then be sent out to potential employers. Since the writers have extensive experience in producing unique resumes, they know what works and what will help you to stand out from the crowd, as well as being able to describe your positive qualities to employers in a suitable format. Spending a few dollars on hiring a professional writer could help you land interviews and job offers. So, the payoff could be massive.
We’ve explored the best resume and CV writing services to offer you a few options. These websites vary considerably in some cases, with some offering more writing options, whilst others may provide resources for distributing your resume. One site may focus more on design, altering the appearance of your resume, whilst another will help you with careers guidance.
There are plenty of sites to consider and we’ve rated them all using our Star Rating system. This gives you a visual idea of how well each resume and CV writing service has performed against its competitors. We also provide written guidelines on the potential costs, features available, and our overall opinion of the services. Before you start reading our reviews and visiting the websites, we’ve a few recommendations on what to look out for:
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CV versus Resume
What's the difference between a CV and a resume? Actually this is something of a blurred line, but this general rule of thumb might help you out: CVs tend to be much longer, more in-depth documents for particular professions. Medical professions, engineering and government positions may require a curriculum vitae. They're sometimes a little more expensive, but go into greater detail about the particulars of your role and experience, and may structure your experience chronologically. Meanwhile, a resume is often a more concise document which attempts to help you stand out from the crowd. Resumes are often a little cheaper to write, and are more common documents for job application than CV's (in the US). In the United Kingdom, employers will usually ask for a CV, but most of them really only require a resume. If you are unsure, it's best to ask exactly what they need from you and then to speak with your resume writer to clarify which document you need from them.
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Turnaround time
This is particularly important if you need your resume quickly. If you’ve seen a job with a tight application deadline, you’ll want to find a service which won’t keep you waiting around for your resume. Some sites will offer to write your resume within a day, some may even be able to produce something within just a few hours.Meanwhile, other services pride themselves on taking the time to really weed out any unnecessary elements to your resume and make it as good as can be. Turnaround time may not be so important if the jobs you’re interested in are still accepting applications for quite some time. It’s worth remembering that requesting a speedy service can also cost a little extra, so factor that in when thinking about which service to use.
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Writing features
How much input do you want to have when creating your resume? If you’d like to be deeply involved, making design choices, recommending additional information, proposing edits and so on, look out for a website which offers plenty of resume writing features. If you’re happier to sit back and let the writer create your resume for you with minor involvement, that’s also available. Some websites might offer tools to help you edit your resume online, or even resources which help to train you to write your resume more efficiently.
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Additional features
Your resume is just one stepping stone across the pond of employment. Yes, it’s important, but there’s no point in having a superb resume if you don’t know who to send it to. Some resume writing websites will offer job-seeking tools such as search engines, distribution networks and forums. You may even be interested in attending courses to improve your interviewing techniques, and these can be provided too. It all depends on what you need from your service, and whether you think a greater degree of support will be beneficial.
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Ease of use, navigation and joining
All of the sites in this category will be relatively easy to use and join. The websites differ from Resume Writing Software, where the ability to navigate between online tools is vital. Since the writer is going the work for you on Resume Writing Service websites, you generally only need to find the resume style you’re looking for.
However, if you plan on working closely with your writer, you may wish to find a site which allows you to chat with them instantly. Also, some sites provide search engines to help you find work, so it’s vital that these search features work properly. We have taken all of this into account during our review period, so look out for websites which allow you to navigate without too much hassle.
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Customer support
Writing a resume isn’t always easy, and if there are changes you’d like to make, then it’s important that there’s someone available to help you out. Some resume writing services will provide you with a writer’s contact details, whilst others will try to handle things through a customer support team. If you think you’d benefit from quality, around the clock support, find a service which scores highly for customer service in our star ratings.
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Value for money
Having a professional writer and/or designer work on your resume isn’t always cheap. It can take a lot of time for them to find out the relevant information, and then to write it in the appropriate way (both linguistically and in terms of layout). Prices can vary greatly, and this usually depends on how much time and expertise is required to produce your resume.
As a rule, resumes for entry-level jobs tend to be cheaper than those for managerial positions, for example, because less information (and potentially less knowledge of the particular industry) is required. Savings can be made on package deals, such as purchasing a cover letter to accompany your resume, so watch out for savings if you think you’d like several documents. Despite some sites being pretty expensive, you can also find websites which offer great options at the lower end of the spectrum, so there are resume writing services available for most budgets.
Concerned that your resume writing skills might let you down? Sick of getting rejections for jobs you know you’d be great at? We’d really recommend giving Resume and CV Writing Services a try. Once you’ve got that dream job, you won’t regret it. Good luck in the hunt!
