Anyone with experience getting Resume written?

[adrianp89]

I am 3 years in my current role and actively looking for a new job. Has anyone paid for a resume writing service? If so what were your thoughts? With ATS and AI, I am probably out of my league on maximizing my resume.

 

[Coult45]

I've reviewed thousands of resumes, and interviewed hundreds of people for jobs at every level up to VP. I've helped dozens write their own resumes, and had people borrow mine as a format they could use to structure their own.

When I changed jobs about 12 years ago, I paid just about $200 to have my resume redone to make sure I was giving myself every advantage during my job search. It was worth every penny.

 

[vwallat99]

What type of profession or what role are you going for?

 

[fatboyroy]

I would highly recommend to hire a pro, they can just make it sound like you are 10X more qualified lol. When I moved to a new role March of this year, I needed updated resume (just for formality) I know I got the job already but I was too lazy to do it so I paid $200 and I was impressed. I used www.resumephenom.com he is from florida too.

 

[adrianp89]

Thanks guys, sounds like it's well worth it!

 

[BlkGS]

After I got laid off, one of the services offered as part of severance was a coach that helped write a resume. It was overall beneficial, but they basically said "you have a good resume to start with" so I wouldn't pay for it.

The current trick is to just copy and paste the job description/requirements into a blank page with tiny font and white text, and take out. A little bit. When the AI bots read it you come up as a near 100% match, but by taking some of it out you don't trip their flags, so you move forward in the process. When a human reads it they probably won't notice or care.

All the bros that change companies every 2-3 years to try to get max cash swear by this method.

The real secret is to have an actual human give your resume to another actual human. All the hiring managers I know are more held back by their hiring systems than helped.

Another thing to keep in mind, depending on what industry you're in, seems like the salaries are pulling back. I know a couple.people.that got jobs 2-3 years ago that have been getting offers of less money than their current roles because when they came.in, companies were more desperate, and mo et was easier to come by.

 

[biffdotorg]

Those are all good tips. It would be interesting to see what my current resume dropped into Word with CoPilot would do. AI is a very interesting and scary thing.

 

[HangOutdoors]

The challenge you have is that the majority of the resume's submitted go through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). If it doesn't pick up on key words, and other key ins as well as how they are formatted out, it doesn't receive high scoring and you will not hear from anyone. The majority of resumes for jobs get bounced via the ATS applications each company uses. Get a resume writer, and not just a cheap one off the net which will just reuse. Expect to pay between $400-$1000. Get a professionally done Cover letter as well, and change the cover letter to coincide with the job you are applying for each time. Also I would recommend multiple resumes each slanted to a different Job description/title that you are interested in. For instance, mine are CIO, CTO, CDO, EVP Development, etc. Also craft multiple thank you letters as well. In todays market, it is helps to stand out and be unique.

 

[adrianp89]

I am working with a guy now, ATS is my biggest concern and word smithing second. I will let you know how it turns out! I figured it is a sound investment, as future resumes will only need my latest job added. (though hopefully this next job is my last before moving to fully self-employed)

 

[2kwik4u]

I am working with a guy now, ATS is my biggest concern and word smithing second. I will let you know how it turns out! I figured it is a sound investment, as future resumes will only need my latest job added. (though hopefully this next job is my last before moving to fully self-employed)

I did this.....sort of......

I had a resume coaching service when I went back for my undergrad degree. They helped organize the information for me. From there, I had a friend that was a graphic designer put together a really nice word template for me in exchange for a couple beers. Ever since then, I've kept the same format and just added new information.

As I'm now in the hiring seat instead of the interviewee seat I can tell you a couple things. Cover sheet and mission statement mean squat. I read them, but only enough to gage how full of BS someone might or might not be. I want to see work experience, and qualifications. From there I'll schedule a 10-15min phone call to gauge fit/finish/ capabilities. If you make it through that I'll schedule a formal interview. The resume gets your foot in the door, but only just barely. As @BlkGS mentioned, I'm just as apt to screen someone on a personal reccomendation as I am a resume. Do what you can to build and rely on your network, it's worth more than any resume coaching/writing you can get.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Cover sheet and mission statement mean squat.

Not quite. I interview many people and hire per year. 100+ interviews, circa. My Human Resources department sifts through the resume's and screens them before they even come across my desk. Cover letter, Mission Statement help, they make you unique and if they catch the eye of the gatekeepers it will help get your resume in front of me.

Qualifications and experience don't say enough about the candidate, imho. It is only half the picture. There are a lot of asshats whom are more than qualified but whom will not get an offer to be on my team or any team that I over see. Balance is everything, I can't have someone whom breeds a poisonous atmosphere and attitude to unbalance the teams it took time and patience to put into place - just because he has the right qualifications. I would prefer someone with less experience that I can train and mentor whom fits on the team and further their career. When you interview you are selling your capabilities but also selling your self and being evaluated on how you would fit as a person amongst your team members. My job is not to just fill roles on qualifications but to continually grow the TEAM.

I guess it all depends on what type of positions you are hiring for as well. The positions I interview candidates are for Executives, C - Level, Project Manager's, BA's, Developers, Architects, System Administrators, Security Specialists and any thing else IT related or cross department functional.

 

[2kwik4u]

Not quite. I interview many people and hire per year. 100+ interviews, circa. My Human Resources department sifts through the resume's and screens them before they even come across my desk. Cover letter, Mission Statement help, they make you unique and if they catch the eye of the gatekeepers it will help get your resume in front of me.

Qualifications and experience don't say enough about the candidate, imho. It is only half the picture. There are a lot of asshats whom are more than qualified but whom will not get an offer to be on my team or any team that I over see. Balance is everything, I can't have someone whom breeds a poisonous atmosphere and attitude to unbalance the teams it took time and patience to put into place - just because he has the right qualifications. I would prefer someone with less experience that I can train and mentor whom fits on the team and further their career. When you interview you are selling your capabilities but also selling your self and being evaluated on how you would fit as a person amongst your team members. My job is not to just fill roles on qualifications but to continually grow the TEAM.

I guess it all depends on what type of positions you are hiring for as well. The positions I interview candidates are for Executives, C - Level, Project Manager's, BA's, Developers, Architects, System Administrators, Security Specialists and any thing else IT related or cross department functional.

I have a little bit of an advantage on the hiring front. It's HR getting the resumes in the door, then I do the pre-screen, the phone screen, and the interviewing. Depending on the position, I have others from the company come in during the interview.

I do 100% agree that qualifications are just a part of it. I want to see attitude, and personality as well as the technical chops to fit in the position. Phone screen will typically weed those guys out pretty quick. I have a library of questions to ask, and I can tell pretty quick when someone is full of crap. It also helps to see how they react to not knowing an answer. Saying No is OK so long as you can figure it out, or know who can. I hate to say "cornering" someone like that helps, but it kind of does. Again, phone screen weeds the riff-raff out pretty quick.

I've hired or made recommendations on 5-6 new people a year for the last few years. Most off of them have been mechanical/chemical engineers. Currently hiring for a sales engineer now. Little bit different skillset, but the process has largely been the same.

 

[BlkGS]

I have a little bit of an advantage on the hiring front. It's HR getting the resumes in the door, then I do the pre-screen, the phone screen, and the interviewing. Depending on the position, I have others from the company come in during the interview.

I do 100% agree that qualifications are just a part of it. I want to see attitude, and personality as well as the technical chops to fit in the position. Phone screen will typically weed those guys out pretty quick. I have a library of questions to ask, and I can tell pretty quick when someone is full of crap. It also helps to see how they react to not knowing an answer. Saying No is OK so long as you can figure it out, or know who can. I hate to say "cornering" someone like that helps, but it kind of does. Again, phone screen weeds the riff-raff out pretty quick.

I've hired or made recommendations on 5-6 new people a year for the last few years. Most off of them have been mechanical/chemical engineers. Currently hiring for a sales engineer now. Little bit different skillset, but the process has largely been the same.

Seeing how someone will react to not knowing an answer is incredibly eye opening. It's amazing the number of new grads that think they know everything and are gods gift to engineering (or whatever). Our education system has taught them to just spout a wrong answer with conviction. None of them have the ability to say "I don't know but this is who I would ask or how I would try to figure it out". They will say something they made up on the spot with conviction and think nobody will know. It's a real problem because they will do things they don't know about in a silo, meaning at best their work gets rejected and redone, adding cost and time, or at worst, not noticed and becomes a bigger problem.

 

[seanmclean]

Personally, if you send a cover letter to me it better be blow my socks off good. If I get one that even feels the least bit re-hashed, its garbage bin material. If you're unsure of how good your letter is, then it isn't.