Is it worth getting a resume professionally written?

There are a couple of questions to answer before you can determine the value of hiring a professional resume writer.

1. What is your time worth?

An executive who spends 4–6 hours working on a resume will probably use less resources by hiring someone than doing their own resume. In reality, an executive who does their own resume is spending much more in resources, than hiring a specialist.

If you are entry-level or unemployed, you have to weigh the cost to the benefits. On one hand you have little money, on the other hand, your chances of finding employment might be increased with a professional presentation. If you are right out of college, your first job will set the tone for the rest of your career. After paying $100K to $200K for an education, do you really believe you are making a smart move in doing your own resume to save $150 only to find a simple error cost you the opportunity for the job of a lifetime?

2. What is your expertise?

Are you willing to weigh your abilities against an individual who has successfully helped thousands of people? You would hire a resume writer for the same reason you would hire a management consultant. If your company had an issue, going to an expert would make more sense even though you could Google for the answer or ask someone for free on LinkedIn.

Resumes are not what they were even 5 years ago. ATS compliance is paramount, keywords and buzzwords make all the difference, even proper grammar can make or break your ability to get in the door. You can argue that as a programmer, engineer or designer, it doesn’t matter if you can spell, but tell that to the Liberal Arts English graduate who might be the one deciding if you can get the interview.

3. Do you really want to spend the time?

Hire a resume writer and your resume could be done in 3–5 days.

Alternatively, you could read a resume book, do research on the Internet, ask some friends, then begin writing. Once your resume is done, you should have someone else look at it, you can again send it to friends and get a bunch of confusing opinions, you could make an appointment with a school resource, you could hire a career coach who could charge you at much as a resume would charge to write it and the couch would tell you what is wrong and you could make the changes. 2–4 weeks later, a bit of frustration and definitely some missed opportunities, your resume would be done, although you would still not know if it was job market ready.

4. Can you budget the cost of resume?

How you spend your money is your business, but the average cost for hiring a professional resume writer is as follows:

Entry Level — $100–250

Experienced Employee — $200–350

Executive — $300–500

Ranges are based on work, experience level of the resume writer and what might be included with resume.

Smart shopper tips are as follows:

• Always talk to a resume writer before making a purchase.
• Ask the resume writer about credentials and certifications.
• Find out what is included (how is the information collected and how is the review conducted.
• A legitimate resume writer will provide a phone number and physical address which you can verify.

Now you have the information necessary for making an informed decision. If comes down to risk/reward, doing it yourself/hiring a professional and the level of benefits you might achieve from either choice.

Originally published at https://www.quora.com.