Beware of Resume Scams!
The $800 resume
A man called, asking if he had been ripped off by a company he'd found on the Internet--and had charged him $800 for a resume. Since there are legitimate high-end resume writers who charge that much, I asked to see it. He emailed me the resume and cover letter, and they were terrible. A quick Google search turned up dozens of complaints about this company.
Further, this company had printed hundreds of these letters and resumes for this man to mail to companies. Some of the companies weren't even in his field. Many of the letters weren't personalized, but were addressed to "Dear Sir or Madam." It's a turnoff for anyone to get a letter like that! Most of the mailing labels they printed had no person's name, just the company name. Some had the company CEO's name (as if the CEO of a Fortune 500 company would spend his time reading an unsolicited resume for a mid-level position).
The odds that these resumes would find their way to a hiring decision maker were close to zero. In the unlikely event that they did reach their target, these letters and resumes were headed straight for the garbage can, given the very poor quality.
Free Resume Reviews
Another company that operates a major career website offers free resume reviews. I've found them to be rather unethical. One client submitted a highly-polished resume he and I developed together, and they tore it apart. In fairness, I think every resume can be improved, and they did have a couple of minor points that I agreed with, but most of their advice seemed formulaic and unrelated to the resume at hand. One woman said after paying this company to write her resume, she submitted the same resume they wrote for a free review. This company trashed their own resume, and recommended that she pay them hundreds of dollars to fix it. NOTE: This is not to say that anyone offering free resumes reviews is necessarily scamming you.
Mass Mailing--And Nothing Else
In another instance, a man hired me to help him with job interviewing skills after he'd spent thousands for a resume and mass mailing. Again, the resume was mediocre, and the company had done zero work to help this man articulate his skills and accomplishments or come up with any job search strategy other than to wait for a response to a letter. If it sounds too good to be true that you'll get a great job just by mailing a bunch of resumes, it probably is.
The super cheap resume
Then there are the really cheap resumes. Hey! This guy will do a resume for only $75! Wow! Often, these people do little more than plug your name, rank and serial number information into a template. No interviewing you to find what you want, how to make you stand out.
Please. Beware of the career scam artists. Here's how you can protect yourself:
1) Check to see if there are complaints online or with the Better Business Bureau.
2) Get references.
3) Ask to see samples.
4) Ask around to see if friends/colleagues can recommend someone.
5) Get what you need. If you ONLY need resume help, that's fine. But many people really need (or want) comprehensive career help that can include helping you to figure out what's next, developing a powerful written and verbal presentation, guidance in networking, job interview and salary negotiations assistance, and much more.
NOTE: If you're in transition OR looking to advance your career, I invite you to check out Lucrative Career's FREE career webinars. Watch for new offerings.
A man called, asking if he had been ripped off by a company he'd found on the Internet--and had charged him $800 for a resume. Since there are legitimate high-end resume writers who charge that much, I asked to see it. He emailed me the resume and cover letter, and they were terrible. A quick Google search turned up dozens of complaints about this company.
Further, this company had printed hundreds of these letters and resumes for this man to mail to companies. Some of the companies weren't even in his field. Many of the letters weren't personalized, but were addressed to "Dear Sir or Madam." It's a turnoff for anyone to get a letter like that! Most of the mailing labels they printed had no person's name, just the company name. Some had the company CEO's name (as if the CEO of a Fortune 500 company would spend his time reading an unsolicited resume for a mid-level position).
The odds that these resumes would find their way to a hiring decision maker were close to zero. In the unlikely event that they did reach their target, these letters and resumes were headed straight for the garbage can, given the very poor quality.
Free Resume Reviews
Another company that operates a major career website offers free resume reviews. I've found them to be rather unethical. One client submitted a highly-polished resume he and I developed together, and they tore it apart. In fairness, I think every resume can be improved, and they did have a couple of minor points that I agreed with, but most of their advice seemed formulaic and unrelated to the resume at hand. One woman said after paying this company to write her resume, she submitted the same resume they wrote for a free review. This company trashed their own resume, and recommended that she pay them hundreds of dollars to fix it. NOTE: This is not to say that anyone offering free resumes reviews is necessarily scamming you.
Mass Mailing--And Nothing Else
In another instance, a man hired me to help him with job interviewing skills after he'd spent thousands for a resume and mass mailing. Again, the resume was mediocre, and the company had done zero work to help this man articulate his skills and accomplishments or come up with any job search strategy other than to wait for a response to a letter. If it sounds too good to be true that you'll get a great job just by mailing a bunch of resumes, it probably is.
The super cheap resume
Then there are the really cheap resumes. Hey! This guy will do a resume for only $75! Wow! Often, these people do little more than plug your name, rank and serial number information into a template. No interviewing you to find what you want, how to make you stand out.
Please. Beware of the career scam artists. Here's how you can protect yourself:
1) Check to see if there are complaints online or with the Better Business Bureau.
2) Get references.
3) Ask to see samples.
4) Ask around to see if friends/colleagues can recommend someone.
5) Get what you need. If you ONLY need resume help, that's fine. But many people really need (or want) comprehensive career help that can include helping you to figure out what's next, developing a powerful written and verbal presentation, guidance in networking, job interview and salary negotiations assistance, and much more.
NOTE: If you're in transition OR looking to advance your career, I invite you to check out Lucrative Career's FREE career webinars. Watch for new offerings.
Jun 5, 2014 by
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