Can a Professional Resume Guarantee a Job?

Along with fees paid for the preparation of professionally written resumes, serious job seekers invest their hopes for economic survival and career advancement.  Can a professional resume actually guarantee one a job?

No matter how experienced or principled a resume writing service, it cannot, in all honesty, guarantee that its clients will secure employment.  The most reputable of services, in fact, will never make this claim.  The ramifications of such a guarantee dictate that the resume writers are not only associated with companies that have positions available, but also, that the writers directly and ultimately influence hiring decisions!

Caveat emptor, if you are tempted to give your business to a service that promises you employment.  Such services seem to offer much; in return, they take much and give precious little.  Typically, services of this nature present an applicant with a resume written by a “team of experts”.   If it requires a communal effort, rest assured that no single member of the team is an expert.  The writing of the resume will be based not upon a detailed consultation, but what some clients term “homework”.  This translates to many pages of information to be completed by the client and returned to that alleged team of experts, who will regurgitate the material in condensed form.

Upon completion of the resume, the service will then blast (mass email) it to a number of corporations engaged in business suitable to the applicant’s qualifications.    Although these lists can be extensive, they do not assure that the companies are actually hiring; it is always a case of “hit or miss”.

Before any of these services are performed, a representative of the firm will request a fee from the job candidate, based upon his or her annual salary.  Strong-arm tactics to buy into the service accompany the fees, usually many thousands of dollars.  Manipulation typically includes the derisive judgment, “I see you’re not serious about a finding a job”: a statement designed to capture the hearts and money of individuals desperate for employment.     

Locating a new job is in itself a job, a journey that encompasses active participation from the candidate: goal setting, the preparation of a compelling resume designed to garner interest and secure interviews, and a well-planned strategy that includes Internet searches of suitable employers as well as capitalization of the Hidden Job Market.

If you are prone to utilize the services of firms “guaranteeing” employment, read the fine print of your purchase agreement and follow the age-old admonition, “Let the Buyer Beware!”