Cheap Resume - The True, Hidden Cost of Cheap Resume Writing Services

Are you a bargain hunter? I'm right there with you. I've been known to drive all over town to shave a few bucks off the price of a Garden Weasel. When it comes to bargain resumes, however, the stated price is often just the tip of the iceberg. With "cheap" resumes, there can be a larger cost that often goes unseen. Two points to keep in mind before signing up with that cheap resume writing service...

A Cheap Resume May Be The Product Of A Factory

Yes, there are resume factories just like there are machine screw factories; each spitting out a high volume of product that all pretty much look alike. That's fine for machine screws. Resumes, on the other hand, should be a marketing document individualized to each particular job seeker. A resume factory that's getting by on a razor thin profit margin simply can't afford to dedicate much time – if any – to personal attention. The client is typically asked to fill out a questionnaire, and that's that until the machine screw (er, resume) comes spitting out the other end of the shop floor.

With the job market the worst in decades, do you really want to be presenting yourself to prospective employers as just another machine screw?

A Cheap Resume That Doesn't Generate Interviews Gets Expensive, Fast

Let's assume you've been laid off or otherwise lost a job that paid $35,000 per year, and you're simply trying to get back into the job market in that same salary bracket. Doing the math, that means that for every week you remain unemployed, you're losing $673.00 in potential wages. Now consider that a poorly-constructed resume (a machine screw, if you will), is going straight into the circular file of employers when it hits their desks. Other resumes are getting favorable attention; candidates are getting called in for interviews. But not you. All of a sudden, that "cheap" resume is costing you $673.00 per week, and every week that your phone doesn't ring.

Lost a job that paid $65,000 annually? Then you're out a whopping $1,250.00 each week your resume is ineffective. Tack that on to the price of that $50 "cheap" resume, and you'll begin to get an idea of the true price you've just paid for a document that has a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace.

What To Do?

For starters, don't let initial pricing alone be your only guide in determining which resume writing service to go with. Other key factors include the credentials and experience of the writer, willingness of that writer to conduct a telephone interview to fully explore your work background and goals, and the availability of a guarantee (ranging from a guarantee of satisfaction, to a guarantee of interviews). Believe it or not, there are resume services out there that offer all of the above, for less than you might think. You needn't have to take out a second mortgage in order to get a resume that's polished, professional and puts your best foot forward.

Bargain hunt the price of flat-panel TVs and toasters and paper plates. But think twice before bargain hunting a cheap resume writing service.

David Alan Carter is a former recruiter who offers in-depth reviews of the top Resume Writing Services on the Web, spelling out their pricing and giving each a star ranking. (Note: David's "Top 3 Picks" are resume services that actually guarantee interviews.)