For example: [url]http://www.wsacorp.com/index.asp[/url]

I've always wanted to give my resume a "professional" once-over, but these guys (as well as others) aren't cheap. $500 for a professional resume, $1,000 for an executive one. Charges for mailing out your resume are a rediculous $2.25 plus postage.

So, has anyone ever used one of these, or know someone who has? If so, what was your experience? Was it worth it?

And for those who may know: Are there places that do a bang-up job for a [b]reasonable[/b] fee?

HELP!

[banghead]

Don't do it, get a resume book if you need some ideas.

I have a resume with a paragraph at the top stating what I want to do.  Following this are 5 bullets stating highlights.  Then college and details of work follow.  Employers are getting 1000s of resumes and don't have time to read much.

At a recent job fair, someone looked at my resume and said do you have a clearance.  I pointed to the paragraph and at a bullet, he said "oh!".  Point being, you won't be getting too many "nice resume!" comments.

I have, and was very pleased.  $500 seems a little steep.  I went through a local service.  Total cost was about $130.  They produced a resume far better than I could have.

You know what kind of writer you are.  If you think you can do it on your own, go for it.  If not get help.  Having a good resume is very important.

How much stuff do you buy that you first heard about through junk mail?  Or e-mail spam?  Same thing with a job candidate who you read about on a resume before you meet him/her.

[b]The best advice I've heard is don't give the hiring person a resume unless they ask for it, and only after you've met them personally.[/b]

Networking, meaning calling everyone you know and asking for leads and referrals, is far more efficient and successful than blindly sending out resumes.

Look around, that's pricey.

I lucked out as a friend of mine makes a lot of money (usually) in the computer field and sometimes deal with a different breed of recruiters.  One did professional resume rewriting for their prospective placements (executive level, $70K+ a year only) and agreed to do mine as a favour.  

It looked nice, but I ended up getting a job thru someone who was a customer of mine when I was back doing retail.  Get out there and meet people, best thing that can happen.  Said friend above gets in on more unadvertised positions than anything else.

The thing is, I have what I think is a killer resume, both in format and content. However, that doesn't stop me from thinking that maybe, just maybe, giving it a professional once-over will make it a "mass-killer" [;)].

I wonder if it would be wise to post it hear graphically? (With appropriate precautions taken, of course! Wouldn't want to let some of you clowns know where I live! [:D])

The ones you normally would hear about:

Waitress accepts position with new restaurant @ $2.10 hr. plus tips when she was only making $2.01 and pooling tips before!

My wife is about to be un-employed (Company Moving) and all the positions that are coming open here are being filled with "Buddies".

They are doing the "Token Interviews" and everyone is shocked when the "Buddy" gets it.
The buddy is almost always the least qualified, least reliable, least desirable (By normal standards) than many of the other candidates.

The "EOE" sign on the door is BS...If you know someone you will have a better shot at getting a job!

BigDozer66

Lou,
We all know where you live anyway![;)]

Otherwise how could we just drop by and drink a cold one with ya'?[beer]

BigDozer66

Don't waste your money.  These work about as well as those pills that make your pecker bigger.

I have worked as a Corporate Recruiter for 20+ years (off and on).  Remember the resume is to get you an interview.  I have files of "custom" resumes for examples of what not to do.  20+ from one service in the Southeast.  The only real change sre the names of the people and the companies they work for.  No doubt each individual looked at it and said WOW this is great.  I got them over a period of about 6 months (back in the days when recruiters glanced at every resume coming in)  thought one was a repeat and checked. Nope, after that I watched for them.

Got resumes from a Navy Postal Clerk Second that looked almost identical to a retiring Marine Colonel whose looked almost identical to a new grad MBA.  All on the fancier parchment paper with fold outs.

Since you appear to be computer literate enough to get on here one can assume you can do your own resume AND RUN SPELL CHECK.  Have a literate friend do a visual check of your basic resume for the wrong word spelled correctly that Spell Check Mrs.  (red, read, threw, through, there, their, they're, etc.)  If you are bulk mailing or e-mailing use a slightly generic basic version.  If you know about the company and the openings re-tailor your resume to the openings/company.

Your resume should be able to be copied and/or scanned easily.  It will likely be handled electronically at some point.  No fancy papers, fold, lines, type faces.  IF it goes to HR first - If submitted by e-mail it may be reviewed in HR by a Rep and fowarded or filed.  They may not go back to it again until the next opening arises.  It may get scanned right of the bat and then get keyword searched for first review by HR and then forwarded.  HR doesn't care how tall you are, what your hobbies are (unless somehow very relevant) and NO PICTURES, that's a guarantee to go right to the trash can in many companiess.  (Historically minorities were identified and screened out by pictures, so if you eliminate all resumes with pictures without further action you are not discriminating.  Beside I never saw a picture on a resume of somebody that looked like I wanted them anywhere near me.)  Don't list references or that you have them on request.  Everybody has references.



So a good generic resume will have a summary on top, listing what you do, have done, heavy on relevant detail.  Then a brief chron history of   the wheres and when.  You want to catch their eye early and have the right keywords to have a keyword search program pull it out.  If you sending to a specific person or company tailor it.

You can send the $500 to a good charity

This board and the people on it never cease to amaze me. There is always some one here with an answer (some of them even accurate.) Good topic Zaphod I have seen a lot of others post that they are job hunting and I myself was considering this very option, after zippo replies to my current resume.

Max_Power did you have any results with your professionally written extortion resume.

Everyone knows its not what you know its who you know but when relocating the recruiters are the only ones that you know!

Anytime, Dozer! Hell, I'll even buy the first round!

I'll remember that!

Are you planning on doing any "Job Searches" in or around Waco say the first of October?

My wife's present job will be over by then and hopefully she will have a new one so we can afford to attend "Gunstock"![:D]

BigDozer66