Paid $400 for a resume writer in Chicago and got one interview in 8 months

I was stuck at my old job and figured a pro would fix my resume, so I dropped $400 on a certified resume writer in Chicago back in January. She sent back something so full of buzzwords that I didn't even recognize my own work, and it still had a typo in the second bullet. I got one callback in 8 months, and that was for a job I applied to with my old resume on accident. I'm not saying every resume service is a scam, but I want to know if anyone here has actually paid for one and seen it work. Would it be dumb to just ask a friend in my field to look it over instead?

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noahchen1d ago

That line about her sending back something "so full of buzzwords that I didn't even recognize my own work" really stuck with me, because that's the exact failure I'd worry about. A resume writer who doesn't work in your field can't know which projects actually matter to hiring managers, so they just swap in fancy words to make it sound impressive. My question is, did she ever ask you for details about what you actually did, or did she just take your old resume and dress it up? Also, what field are you in, since that changes the answer a lot? Asking a friend who does the same job as you might get you better feedback than a stranger with a certificate.

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