
Ask HN: Have you used a resume writing service? - hbcondo714
I was recently laid off and haven&#x27;t received much a response to my resume submissions[1] so I was contemplating having a 3rd party re-write my resume for the first time in my career. The resume writing company[2] my previous employer recommended looks outdated so I&#x27;m skeptical to pay them their asking price of $600. Has anyone here used a resume writing service?<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=13082757<p>[2] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.career-resumes.com
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dsschnau
A few years ago we used this service for my wife's resume who works on the
business end of IT. It worked great, her callback rate went through the roof
and she landed a gig in our new city in no time.

I don't know as much how well it would work out for programming jobs, IMO the
best thing to do there is just to know someone.

[https://resumetointerviews.com/](https://resumetointerviews.com/)

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raybb
I used a resume reviewing service before (can't remember which one) just
because my friend had a free credit. They were not very helpful at all they
basically send some pre typed suggestions that you could find on anywhere.
Granted, I already had have several people look at it and considered it well
done. If you're interested in having a second set of eyes on your resume I'd
be glad to give you some feedback.

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hbcondo714
Thanks, resume can be found on my website:

[https://www.amarkota.com/resume](https://www.amarkota.com/resume)

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stephenbez
I don't see anything terrible with it.

You should definitely remove your high school and elementary schools from your
resume.

Your resume seems unfocused. You list a wide range of skills from Business
Continuity and Budget Accountability, to Machine Learning, to NewSQL and UML.
There is nothing in this resume that suggests to me that if I was looking for
candidate for a machine learning role, that you would be the right one.

What type of jobs are you applying for? I would focus your resume on the
specific job requirements they are looking for.

If the job is looking for a backend engineer, I would not list due diligence /
compliance at the top of the resume.

If you are looking for CTO level positions, I don't think you'll have that
much luck with random online job submissions. Finding people through your
network would probably go better.

The book "Never Eat Alone" has some good tips: [https://www.amazon.com/Never-
Eat-Alone-Expanded-Updated/dp/0...](https://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-
Expanded-Updated/dp/0385346654)

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raybb
You took the words right out of my mouth. I think the descriptions of
positions are really well written but resume as a whole seems unfocused. The
second I go to your resume I should know what your greatest
skills/achievements are. When I see that you say your "areas of expertise"
include strategic planning, machine learning, recruiting, and angular I
instantly get the feeling that you are aren't actually an expert in any of
these areas. I might suggest trying to limit your areas of expertise to two or
three that are related to the type of job you're seeing and give examples of
work you've done in those areas. Then just move the rest down to skills. Put a
link to your stack overflow (just to give more legitimacy). It would also be
nice if this was printer friendly (though I assume you're submitting a pdf to
most apps). You might also want to swap the instructor and Ria Financial
positions since the latter is newer.

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hbcondo714
Thank you all for taking the time to review and write feedback. I thought the
'Technology Executive | Chief Technology Officer | IT Strategy Executive'
title would make it clear the kinds of roles I am looking for but maybe not
since multiple commenters here weren't sure.

Yes, there is a PDF version[1] that I submit to job postings / recruiters
(which I should have probably linked to instead) that I just updated based on
the feedback. It now includes a re-written Area of Expertise section to be
more on the management side but moving actual technologies I am hands-on with
to a new Skills section on the second page.

I haven't updated the /resume web page yet but may retain my k-12 education
since I get asked a lot if I'm authorized to work in the US or if I need
sponsorship. Maybe I should just write US Citizen :)

[1] [https://www.amarkota.com/resume/pdf](https://www.amarkota.com/resume/pdf)

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kasey_junk
Your resume will not get you any job you want. Finding a connection with a
decision maker, however you can & then following their guidance on how to jump
through their company hoops is infinitely more effective.

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DarthMader
I don't disagree with this, however, what is the best way to reach out to
these decision makers? Is there a good template or a good way?

