The internet is full of sites advertising “free resume outlines,” “free resume templates” or cheap resumes. While these seem like a great option on the surface, there are several reasons why we recommend that you opt for a professional resume writing service instead.
1. Resume Outlines & Templates Don’t Help With Content
While a resume outline or template will give you some idea of how to design and organize a resume, hiring managers are more interested in the content. A resume template is just a shell where you type in your personal work history and information. These templates don’t provide you with guidance as to how resume information should be written.
The actual writing is the most difficult aspect of creating a resume. Hiring managers only spend about one minute (or less) reading each resume. They are hyper-focused on finding people that possess the needed qualifications for a job. Your resume template might look fine, but if the content omits key information or doesn’t present the information in a way that attracts attention, then the template itself is pretty much useless.
2. Resume Templates Aren’t Always “Free”
Often you start using a so-called free resume template, enter a bunch of information and then when you go to print it out, the company asks for your credit card information. Sometimes they’ll state that this resume is free and part of a free trial membership, but you will still need to enter your credit card information to print out the resume.
Why? After the free trial ends, they will start charging you a fee each month for their services. Sometimes the monthly fee is $20 or more per month, which really adds up if you forget to cancel before the trial ends. Additionally, trying to cancel the trial can be difficult as well.
We’ve found several “free template” sites where it’s nearly impossible to cancel the trial, simply because it takes forever to find where to go on the website to cancel the trial. A few of them even require you to call and cancel, which can mean tons of time spent on the phone and a bunch of runaround.
3. Cheap Resumes Are Cheap For A Reason
When you see resumes advertised for $29 or $49, it seems like a great deal, but we’ve talked with writers from more expensive (and dare we say more professional) resume writing services, and they tell us that about half of their job consists of rewriting resumes that people bought from these cheap resume services.
Typically, these are cookie-cutter operations that hire a ton of part-timers to crank out cheap resumes as quickly as possible. These writers aren’t experienced, certified resume writers and they don’t know how to create the type of dynamic content that attracts the attention of resume writers. Many of them aren’t even based in the United States, and this definitely can affect the readability and quality of your resume.
Furthermore, for just $29, $39 or $49, they don’t really care all that much. A decent resume writing service charges at least $99 for a basic entry-level professional resume, and for more experienced people, such as top-level executives, the cost can double or triple.
If you truly want a resume that will get you interviews and eventually a great job, you need to hire a resume writer that understands how to highlight and quantify your skills so that a hiring manager quickly can see that you are a top candidate.
If you find a service that offers you a cheap resume, chances are you’re going to end up with a poor finished product that won’t help you make it to the interview stage, let alone to the hiring stage.
4. Resume Outlines & Templates Aren’t ATS-Compliant
These days, most companies will use Applicant Tracking Systems to filter resumes and find suitable candidates. Your resume needs to be ATS-compliant and contain the types of keywords that this software is programmed to find.
A professional resume writer will know how to tailor a resume so that it appeals both to human hiring managers and these software programs. Again, resume outlines or templates don’t focus on content and they certainly don’t help you create an ATS-compliant resume. In the end, you could miss out on some great opportunities simply because your resume wasn’t software-ready.
5. The Bottom Line – You Get What You Pay For
Free resume outlines and free resume templates won’t help you write stellar content, and cheap resumes also typically aren’t worth the price of the paper on which they are printed. Your best bet is to purchase a resume from a U.S.-based resume writing service.
It might cost a bit more, but you are investing in your future and that’s worth spending some money to ensure that you have a top-notch resume. How do you find the best resume writers? We can help.
In general, the best resume services are companies:
• Hire only full-time, professional, certified resume writers
• Belong to professional resume writing organization, such as NRWA or PARWCC.
• Provide samples of their work
• Offer customers a substantial guarantee
At Top5ResumeWriters.com, we can’t create your resume. We are a resume review site that studies and reviews resumes purchased from top resume writing companies. We conducted a study, creating a mystery client, and sent out identical information about this mystery shopper to dozens of resume companies.
Once we had the results, we gave the resumes to an independent review team. This group was comprised of professionals who were in positions to make hiring decisions, the very people that view hundreds of resumes each year. They were asked to rate each resume and select their top picks.
Our independent team unanimously selected Resume Writing Group as their top choice. They produced an eye-catching, dynamic resume that was also error-free. They offer competitive pricing, and they were the only resume company that contacted our mystery shopper directly to ask more questions, and the result was a thoughtful, strategic resume that truly highlighted the mystery client’s strengths.
While you can use resume outlines or templates or take your chances with a cheap resume, we highly recommend that you select a professional resume service. Resume Writing Group is an excellent option, and they have a unique guarantee. If you use their resume and follow their advice, but are not hired in 45 days or less, they will refund the cost of the resume and pay you an additional $100.
