Guaranteed Resumes - Does Your Resume Service Offer Guaranteed Interviews?

If you're shopping for a resume writing service, you're likely comparing pricing, investigating writer credentials, and staring at a lot of sample resumes tuned to your profession. Don't overlook the resume guarantee.

What, you say? Resumes come with a guarantee? Well, not all. It's the prerogative of the resume service as to whether or not to offer a guarantee, and if so, how strong to make that resume guarantee. Resume guarantees typically come in three flavors:

Resume Guarantee #1 - The "Good Luck With That, Pal" Guarantee

Also known as the "non-existent" resume guarantee, these are proffered by resume services who don't want to be bothered by pesky clients once the resume is written and delivered. Stay away from companies offering the "non-existent" resume guarantee.

Resume Guarantee #2 - The "We Want To Make You Happy" Guarantee

This is a legitimate resume guarantee wherein the resume service is saying, basically, "we'll keep working on your resume (i.e. writing and rewriting) until you're happy with the end product." Once you signal your happiness by accepting delivery of the resume, their obligation is done. Not a bad guarantee; it certainly beats the "non-existent" guarantee by a country mile. But it presumes the client knows at least enough about resumes to discern a good one from a bad. If you're a novice when it comes to marketing prose, or simply uncomfortable around resumes (which might be why you're trusting a professional in the first place), then you're likely to be "happy" with a resume that might not serve your interests well.

Alas, there is a stronger guarantee, reserved for those resume services with supreme confidence in their writers. That would be:

Resume Guarantee #3 - The "Results" Guarantee

In the resume writing world, "results" are interviews. After all, that's the pinnacle of success for a resume – to deliver interviews for the job seeker. Beyond the interview, there's not much the resume can do for the candidate. It's up to him or her, and face-to-face dynamics, as to whether the end result is a job offer.

The guarantee half of the equation typically means that the writer is offering to re-write the resume if it is unsuccessful at generating at least one interview after a certain period of time in the marketplace – 30 days or so. The beauty part of this guarantee is pretty obvious: you're spending a good chunk of change on a professional resume, so it's nice to have the assurance that it will result in at least one job interview. The underlying benefit to this type of guarantee is that it demonstrates to a prospective client that the resume service behind the guarantee is confident in the workmanship of their products. It sends out a subtle signal that these are pro writers who stand behind their work.

All things being equal, give your nod to the resume service that offers a result-based guarantee. A guarantee of interviews.

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.)