Has anyone had any success hiring a professional resume writer or recruiting agency to help them find a job? I've been skeptical of hiring a resume writer, and feel like I've already crafted a pretty darn good one... but I've recently read some articles and listened to some podcasts where people swear by them, especially if you're trying to break into a certain industry (e..g., Software Development)... there are resume writers who specialize in writing resumes for certain industries/roles. As for recruiters, I've heard they can work out well, but you have to find a good one via referrals with a proven track record. Just curious if anyone has had any experience (good or bad) with either of these.
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I wrote my resume myself and got several interviews. Hired resume writer to “improve” resume and haven’t got a single interview since. Coincidence? Maybe.
1cPozrW6 Is correct; at least in my experience as an engineer.
I worked, as an employee, for 7 different oil companies in my 40 year career; the last 15 years for EM then retired at 65 yo.
Every job, except the first one out of college, I got through my network. And, I never missed a single day between jobs, seriously - leave on Friday, start on Monday. My network worked really well for me.
As someone who surfed the petroleum industry for decades, I learned a lot of stuff including: 1) NEVER stop looking for the next job, 2) keep your operational skills track sharp and 3) maintain & grow your network.
Heck, I might even be able to use my old network to return to the oilfield if I wasn’t too busy being retired, ha!
Good luck to you!
IMO most of your good job leads will come from people you know internally referring you - not from how well you write your resume. Blind resume dropping in a company application portal is your lowest odds method.
Depending on how long you have been at XOM it may be a good idea. People who have spent too long at XOM have a very skewed view of the world outside and will write resumes to match that.
Dont think that knowing how to write a PADP means you can write a good resume. Resumes are written for the audience, and the audience you wrote your PADP for is very different than the audience you are writing your resume for. Which is why you're leaving in the first place.
This is particularly true for anyone trying to branch out beyond the more traditional roles.
Resume writers are just waste of money. If you've been writing good PADP, resume writing should be a breeze.
Rights management.