Friday, April 29, 2016

STOP! Before You Pay for a Resume

Recently, I spoke with a candidate whose resume looked . . . (How shall I say this?) . . . cartoonish. Each level of his professional experience was contained within a text bubble that had something resembling an industry related emoticon in lieu of bullet points. His accomplishments and education were separated from the main body, yet followed the same disconcerting pattern. The background color was a blend of cobalt blue and black, and the fonts varied wildly. None of these factors, garish as they were, constituted the greatest crime of this resume. That indignity was revealed to me when the candidate proudly proclaimed to me that he had paid $800 to have it professionally rendered for him. He actually used the word "rendered." (Insert shock-face emoticon here).

There are plenty of services that will charge you far less than $800, with most being in the $80 to $200 range. However, I do not necessarily recommend these services at any price. A quick search online will produce more templates that you could ever sort through. Choose a simple layout, and plug in your information. Then, get with a professional recruiter (headhunter) who works in your industry. She or he sees untold numbers of resumes all day long and will guide you through any necessary adjustments. Additionally, a professional recruiter ("professional" being the operative word) will do far more than simply pass your resume along to a potential hiring manager or executive search committee. A recruiter who is doing the hands on, in-the-trenches work of a professional will be on the phone with the decision makers presenting you as the highly qualified candidate that you are. Of course, if you really want to pay me $800 to create your resume . . . just say the word!

Matthew Doss, Headhunter (I actually prefer that term :)
Global Recruiters of Huntsville
256.533.1444
mdoss@grnhuntsville.com 

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