Dear Joan:

I have two master's degrees, one in Psychology and the other a MBA.

With strong encouragement by a friend, whose family had a longtime friend who is a business owner of a Resume Service, I agreed to contact, and have my current resume reviewed for free by this Resume Service. The feedback I received was "my resume was a data base, and that I needed to tie in my psychology background with my MBA." I did meet with this service and was dumbfounded when I received a bill for $560.00.

The resume presented by this service did not adhere to the traditional do's and don'ts of how to write a resume. This resume appeared to have the praise of a mother speaking to others about how well a child did in school and in life.

Maybe the experience I learned from this is to trust my intuition and to know I do not need to have someone else tell me what I have accomplished. I have the resume, however, I need to rewrite it.

My question to you is: What is your opinion about resume services and how does one know if a service is reputable (rather than an assumption by a friend who never used the service?)

Answer:

I have received numerous complaints about this particular resume service.
First, here is some advice about your immediate situation:

1. Call the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint about the company. The BBB mission is to provide consumers with free information about businesses, so you can make informed choices, and to step in and encourage companies to make good, when customers file a complaint. Visit www.bbb.org and then follow the link to your local BBB. From there you can file a complaint about the company that you are having issues with. You can also inquire about a company's record, for future dealings.
   
   
2. Call your friend and tell him or her exactly what happened. Caution the person against recommending this service in the future.
   
   
3. Refuse to pay the bill. Write the service and explain that no fee had been quoted and you believed that they were doing a complimentary review and rewrite as a favor. In addition, tell them what you think of their work and tell them you won't be using the resume they gave you.
   
   
4. Should you use a similar service in the future, clarify upfront any costs, including any hidden costs that you can expect. In addition, ask to see examples of their work and ask to speak to references, who can describe their level of satisfaction with the person's work. Some career services can cost more than $6,000, and in the end, only provide you with a resume and some numbers to call.
   
   

In my opinion, you have identified the real lesson here: the best person to sell you to a potential employer is you. You know what you've done and it's your job to customize your resume to fit each job you go after. A one-size-fits-all resume is as effective as an un-barbed hook. You may get a few nibbles but it's harder to catch the attention of an employer.

Instead, identify all the results you've achieved-even the non-quantifiable accomplishments such as customer praise and employee morale. Next, write a short "mini story" that describes the Challenge you faced, the Approach you took and the Results you achieved ("CAR" stories). When you apply for positions, cut and paste the stories that fit the experience and results they want. Needless to say, if you used a resume service each time you customized your resume, it would be an expensive proposition.

In the case of someone with no writing ability, or someone who is unable to articulate his or her results, a resume service can be helpful as a starting point. However, care should be taken to check references and see samples.

Under no circumstances should a job hunter put the responsibility for their resume or job hunt in someone else's hands. It simply won't yield results.

As is usually the case, Buyer Beware. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.