“Should I pay someone to write my resume? Can I use ChatGPT to just write it for me? Is it possible to hire someone to find me a job?”
As a career coach who works with busy senior managers and executives, I’m asked these types of questions at least a dozen times per week by job seekers who want to save time and effort as they look for their next position.
With so many moving pieces in a modern-day job search, it makes sense to want to outsource your job search, hire a reverse recruiter, or pay someone to write your resume for you.
However, deciding whether you want to hire someone to craft your resume, LinkedIn profile, and other career documents isn’t a yes or no question, particularly in today’s competitive job market. Plus, not all professional resume writers and career coaches are created equal.
4 Factors To Consider When Deciding Whether To Pay Someone To Write Your Resume
Before hiring someone to write your resume, here are four factors to keep in mind:
1. Your comfort level with writing about yourself.
For starters, ask yourself how comfortable you are with writing about yourself and your accomplishments.
If you feel uncomfortable marketing and selling yourself to a prospective employer, it may be a good idea to partner with a professional who can help you extract and strategically package your career wins.
Additionally, crafting a compelling resume that captures the attention of recruiters and hiring managers requires an understanding of today’s job market, as well as knowledge of how applicant tracking systems (ATS) work.
While you don’t need to buy into the myth that “robots” are choosing whether you receive a job interview, you do want to learn how to identify keywords in job descriptions and strategically insert them into your resume and LinkedIn profile.
[Read: 6 Ways To Make Writing Your Resume Less Challenging]
2. Your knowledge of the latest recruiting and hiring trends.
Now, ask yourself how well-versed you are in the latest recruiting and hiring trends. Although some job seekers are deeply immersed in job market trends, few can dedicate the time and energy that resume writers and coaches do. There are entire Facebook groups, X (formerly Twitter) channels, and national conferences dedicated to the art and science of resume writing.
Personally speaking, I hire professionals to manage my retirement and taxes, because I have neither the capacity nor the interest to constantly track the stock market and evolving tax laws. Similarly, job seekers often hire someone to help them write their resume because they know it’s outside their Zone of Genius.
If you ultimately do choose to hire someone to support you in crafting your resume, be sure they are up to date on the best practices and trends in resume writing, careers, and recruiters, as the space is constantly evolving.
One way to filter writers and coaches is by ensuring they’re an active member and in good standing with a professional association such as the National Résumé Writers’ Association (NRWA) or Career Directors International (CDI). You deserve a professional who is deeply committed to their craft.
[Read: Top Career Coaches: How To Find The Best Career Coach In A Sea Of Options]
3. The complexity of your career story.
Another important consideration when deciding whether you should outsource your resume is the complexity of your career.
If you’re earlier in your career, your story and accompanying resume may be more straightforward. Conversely, if you are hoping to make a career transition or break into tech, you may wish to partner with a writer or coach who can help you identify your transferable skills and speak the language of your target company.
Along the same lines, if you are fighting age discrimination, managing employment gaps, or navigating similar challenges as you look for your next role, a professional can help you strategize about how to package yourself.
The best career coaches and resume writers know how to craft a compelling resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile that will help you overcome any potential objections.
4. Your experience level.
Speaking of which, you may also wish to consider hiring someone to write your resume if you’re a manager or executive with a lengthier work history.
As you progress through your career, it can often become more difficult to identify and summarize your story and accomplishments into a two-page marketing document.
While you won’t include every detail of your career in your resume, it can be beneficial to partner with someone who knows what executive recruiters, headhunters, and hiring managers look for in candidates, and how to synthesize your story persuasively.
Moreover, resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles look much different at the management and executive level, which means the resume that may have worked earlier in your career will no longer do your recent accomplishments justice. A writer or coach who specializes in executives can support you in recrafting your story for today’s recruiters and hiring managers.
What To Know When Hiring Someone To Write Your Resume
Now, if you do choose to hire someone to someone to help you with your resume, recognize that there are a wide range of business models and price points.
Resume writing processes vary widely.
To begin, some service providers will coach you on how to craft your own resume and accompanying career documents, while others will only write your resume after requiring you to complete a lengthy intake questionnaire or call.
With this in mind, you will want to look out for services that only provide you with career documents, yet don’t teach you about the importance of networking, accessing and harnessing the “hidden job market”, and nailing the interview. You need more than nice documents; you require an end-to-end job search strategy if you want to secure a new role.
Look out for unnecessary services.
At the same time, many companies add filler to their packages with superfluous career documents, workbooks, cheat sheets, or group coaching sessions.
If you’re a senior manager or executive, ask yourself if you really want to put the future of your career in the hands of a mass market checklist or divulge the details of your job search in a group setting.
Know whom you’ll be working with on your resume.
Moreover, some resume writers or career coaches will charge thousands of dollars for their services, then farm you out to a subcontractor who may be making $10 or $20 per hour.
Consequently, it’s important to understand if you will be working with the owner of the company directly or one of their employees.
Don’t get duped by “guarantees.”
Lastly, be wary of alluring “guarantees” and promises, as no service provider can promise you an interview or a job offer. Be sure to always read that fine print.
Are Resume Writing Services Worth It?
Yes, hiring a professional resume writing service can be a powerful investment that pays for itself multiple times over, but importantly, a resume doesn’t exist in a silo, especially in today’s saturated job market.
Before investing in a professional resume writer or career coach, you must recognize the importance of targeting the appropriate companies and roles based on your background and skills. Additionally, you must be prepared to put in the time, energy, and effort to execute a comprehensive job search and fully understand that a resume isn’t a silver bullet to land a new position.
Ultimately, only you can decide if the potential return on investment of a new job is worth the cost of hiring a resume writing service.
[Read: Bad Experience With A Career Coach? How To Know Whether To Hire One Again]
Conclusion: Hiring Someone To Write Your Resume
Depending on your comfort level with writing about yourself, your knowledge of the latest recruiting and hiring trends, the complexity of your career, and your career level, you may choose to pay someone to help you write your resume. If you decide to invest in a professional to support you, be sure to conduct your due diligence and really learn the ins and outs of their process.
Personally speaking, I use a “co-creation” process with clients that includes deep-dive coaching and “homework” between sessions. There are a lot of resume writers out there who will simply write your resume for you. You will find that what sets me apart from other professional resume writers and career coaches is how deeply I get to know you as I help you better understand yourself, your career story, and your fabulousness.
If you have any questions about finding someone to support you with your resume, or want to discuss the possibility of working with me, please do not hesitate to contact me or schedule a consultation. If I’m not the best fit for your needs, I’ll provide you with a referral to a trusted industry colleague.
On a final note, whether you choose to write your career documents yourself or hire a professional to help you, know that your resume is just one component of finding a new job you love. You’ve got this!
A version of this article first appeared on the Career Tool Belt blog with the title, “Should You Pay Someone To Write Your Resume?”
