YOUR RESUME – is it an investment in your future or an unwarranted expense?

“Is there really a difference between a $400 and a $10 resume? What are your thoughts?”
Once again this topic emerged on one of my Linked-In groups; this time around Faisel posted it on Indeed.com, and I thought I would share and expound on my reply to him today on Career Rocketeer.

Faisel:

In answer to your ambiguous question, I have a few questions of my own for you!

1: Is there a difference between a Casio, Timex and Rolex watch? After all, they all display the same
time.

2: Is there a difference between a Kia Rio, Ford Taurus, Corvette, Escalade, Porsche and a Bentley?
After all, these cars all get you from Point A to Point B.

3: Is there a difference between Johnnie Walker Red, Green, Gold or Blue Label, Lagavulin 16 Year
Single Malt, Bruichladdich 30 Year Islay malt, or an $18 bottle of Lauder’s? After all, they are all
Scotch whiskey.

4: Is there a difference between a Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Dockers, Brooks Brothers, Marc Jacobs,
Armani or a custom made men’s or women’s business suit? After all they’re all just articles of clothing.

I firmly believe the answer to all these questions is a resounding Y-E-S; there is a difference, and the same holds true in every aspect of commerce including resume writing,

What interested me was the vehemence and smugness of some responses like Kevin C., President of a consulting company, who wrote “I would never consider paying $400 to have a resume done unless there was a guarantee this would land me business / jobs,” although I did not see that same guarantee offered on his website. Or other responders who thought they did not need to pay for a resume because “after all people only spend 20-30 seconds looking at it” so why spend a lot of money for something that will get me so little face-time.

Then again some hit the nail on the head when they responded that the value of a resume should not be judged solely on its cost, rather the criteria to base cost on is the qualification of the resume writer and the product they produce. In spite of everything, all resumes are not equal and certainly the writer’s individual skills and qualifications are less so.

In retrospect, what I noticed from online discussions on this topic and speaking one-on-one with hundreds of people about their resume needs in 2010 alone is this: People’s point of view about the intrinsic value of a resume is based in direct proportion as to whether they believe a resume is an investment or an expense in their life.

I dare say if you are reading this blog post you may be wrestling with this same question in your mind, and if so you need to answer this question for yourself, ‘Is my resume an investment or an expense.’

So you may ask, “What is the difference.” Well if a resume is an unnecessary or burdensome expense in your mind your main concern will be price over quality, or even “do I really need to spend the money at all.”

Then again, if you view a resume as a necessary expense you know you need some help but will be more prone to make your decision based on competitive pricing, you will be more prone to consider a resume a generic document, and you will have a lesser regard to the qualifications of the writer and the value-added service he or she may provide.

Finally, if you are of the belief that a resume is a marketing document and an integral part of your job search portfolio, you understand what a professional resume can offer in terms of generating job interviews with you as a preferred candidate, and you appreciate how a resume can aid you in salary negotiations, then price is important but takes a back seat to the over all quality of the product and ancillary services you receive.

One last common sense thought I have for you to ponder on concerning the About.com question is this: $400 is an exorbitant price for a recent High School graduate without experience to pay for a resume to apply for a Cashier position in the local Piggly Wiggly or Vons supermarket, however $10 is a ridiculous price to pay for a resume if you are applying for a position as a VP or CXO at a Fortune 500 company.


In the past I have written about why I view a resume as one of the best investments that many of you reading this post will make in your lifetime, and maybe I will revisit this topic in 2011. However I will leave you with this one final thought on how you may want to determine the value of a resume for YOUR job search.

The average length of a job search today is a minimum of 15 weeks and twice that long for many senior level professionals, especially those in the 40+ Club. Now statistics say 87% of the people who use a professional resume will return to work two or more weeks sooner than those who do not. So using this as a benchmark a fair estimation of the maximum value you should place on a resume is the equivalent of one week’s salary. If you do this you are almost assured breaking even with your investment, and more likely to come away with a return on your investment of 100% -500% or more.

On the flip side, for many of you being shortsighted and viewing your resume as meaningless, or as a burdensome expense, at the end of the year you folks are prone to be in the red to the tune of $1000 to $20,000 that you will never see again.