Pick an industry – any industry.

No matter what you choose, real estate agents, car dealerships, internet, tech support . . . even colleges . . . you’re bound to find prime examples in three categories: the good, the bad and the plain misguided.

Make no mistake about it. You’ll find these in the resume writing service as well. Depending on what service you use – even what individual writer who works with you – your experience falls into one of these three.

So, if there are good writers and resume services available, you ask, why not use them?  Of course, you could.  But a talented professional resume writer costs between $100 to $600, depending on where you are in your career path, the talent of the writer and the reputation of the firm he or she works for (if she’s not independent).

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but the majority of those searching for a new job are there because they either have already been released from a previous position or can see the lay off on the horizon.  It is not, financially speaking, the time to be spending that kind of money on a resume.  You probably had your sites set on spending that money on items like groceries or rent or utilities. 

Sure, if you’re secure in the position you have now, you may update your resume to test the waters, so to speak, on either other positions similar to yours available, or a total career change.  In that case, the cost may be worthwhile.  Maybe. But why spend that much just on some “testing”.  That’s expensive testing.  It would be more beneficial to write a magnetizing resume yourself.  The cost would only be your time.  And  you still receive a true picture about your chances of jumping into the job market.

And what happens, in any of these situations if you spend your hard earned money on a writer or a service, only to discover that . . well, they really weren’t as good as their resume advertised them to be?

Quite frankly, it’s difficult to find a good resume writer.  You would think that with all the individuals and firms advertising their services on the Internet . . . in professional magazines  . . . even in local newspapers . . . that finding a good resume service would be relatively easy.

It isn’t.  And you can tell just how hard it is (if you’ve never come face to face with a poor service) by the vast number of complaints being posted on message boards and blogs across the internet. 

So just how do you separate the good from the bad?  Apparently, not from their price.  Individuals who paid a premium dollar for their resumes are just as ticked off – if not more – than those who paid the bare minimum.  Ask these people if you should employ the services of a professional resume writer.  You’ll receive a resounding “no!”

The truth is that far too many individuals believe that just because they can pick up a pen and paper or that they can strike a keyboard and create words they can call themselves writers.

Finding a good writer is tough.  Finding an excellent writer who understands the persuasive power of a well crafted resume is even more difficult.  Just because someone claims to be a writer, doesn’t make them a good writer. 

I have a friend who asks this unsettling question when someone talks about doctors:  What do they call the student who graduates dead last from his class in medical school?  Doctor!

The same can go for writers.  Some come with great credentials and are just naturals and others are self-anointed wannabes.  And when you’re scouring the Internet or the yellow pages for writing services, it’s pretty darned difficult to tell them apart. 

Apparently, a misconception floats around in the business world that having your resume created by a professional saves you time.  It doesn’t.  Think about it.  How is the writer to learn your past accomplishments and jobs?  By asking you.  Either in a phone interview or face to face. You’re going to have to spend some time – a minimum no doubt of an hour and half for starters! – explaining to the writer your job history.

And the interviewing doesn’t stop there.  If the person creating your resume is thorough, he or she will be calling you several times throughout the process . . . double checking facts . . . trying to glean more details out of you . . . trying to jog your memory on any past accomplishments that could be used.  Or perhaps the writer is calling because he just needs another explanation of what you really do again.

All in all, expect to spend time with your resume writer.  Lots of time.  And then pray that he or she understand exactly what you do for a living.

Of course, there are some resume services that may not spend so much time with you.  Why?  These are the ones that are just going to take your information, dump it into a computer program already preprogrammed for a resume template – and poof! – just like magic, you have a completed resume.

Imagine for a moment, a human resource person opening up several resumes in a row only to discover each and every document is in the exact same format – done to the type of font, the colors used . . . every detail.

When you first viewed your resume you will thrilled.  But what you didn’t know at the time was that your service created your document using Universal Template #42. Now, for a second visualize the personnel who reads these several resumes – all Universal Template #42 – one after another.  Then she gets to yours (this is the moment you’ve been waiting for . . .to shine in the eyes of this potential employer for eight seconds!) The impact of your resume has just been lost.

Consider this possibility as well.  It could very well be that not only is your layout design identical to a whole host of others, but the writer could even have been using the same tired, warn phrases to describe what you do. It’s hard to shine like a star when every other object in the sky is radiating at the same intensity.

Do you want to know the worst aspect of this?  You’ll never even know it occurred.  You’ll have no idea why you didn’t at least get a call . . . why you weren’t shortlisted for the job . . . why you didn’t get an interview.

But you paid $250 just for Universal Template #42.

This was to be your magical, career-transforming, life-changing moment for you. You want to know the only magic involved, though?  It’s that your wallet is now $250 lighter – and that money has moved magically to their bank account.

And that’s where the “plain misguided” resume service enters the field. This service is sincere; the employees try. They really do. And it’s obvious that your specific writer is trying to not only please you, but understand exactly what it is that you do for a living.

She’s called you several times to get a better grasp on your background (what computer language did you say you know? And exactly why is that important?) This writer just doesn’t understand what it is you do for a living. She certainly, therefore, can’t get a grip on what your key accomplishments are. She is completely at a loss of the subtle nuances involved in what you do.

The result? A resume that seems shallow, stilted and just plain doesn’t highlight your best attributes. You know you’re a better at your job than what this resume says. While the resume may certainly be well written, it just doesn’t do you justice in describing your accomplishments, skills, or any other positive character traits an employer may be looking for. And you paid how much for it?

And then it hits you. You can write your own resume.