When I was looking for a job a while back, I realized my resume would not suffice. It had been several years since I had applied for work, having been at home raising children. I knew a revamp was in order, only I wasn’t sure where to start. I began looking for websites with resume resources and information, and I kept running into the same problem. Most websites I came across gave only vague information while promoting their resume writing services.
Are resume writing services necessary? After all, if your spelling, grammar, and punctuation are not up to par, it may make sense to hire someone to write your resume for you. I briefly considered this option, but after careful thought, decided that a more effective resume could be written by myself.
There are a few reasons why I recommend writing your own resume:
1. Only you know your own experience. Try explaining to someone what you do, or have done, in your job experiences can be difficult if you have a non-traditional career history. You may pay to have a resume written, only to find you have to go through and edit your job history or skill list.
2. You will save time and money. Resume writing services can charge up to $25 for a resume, depending on the complexity and detail involved. In addition, it can take up to a week to receive the finished product. Time is of the essence when applying for an open position.
3. You can write it yourself. There are a few tricks to putting together an awesome resume, including rules regarding first person vs. third, use of action verbs, and content guidelines. With a little online research, you can find out how to write an effective resume. Start with the tips located here on Families.com.
If you are concerned about having your resume get noticed, I would suggest getting help with your cover letter instead. Resumes, while detailed, are not typically written in full sentences, while a cover letter requires excellent English skills. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because a cover letter wasn’t requested that it isn’t needed.
Do what I did. Spend an extra hour or two and put together your own resume and I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.