Is Resume Writing a Scam?

The following post explores the question: Is Resume Writing a Scam?

The internet is absolutely loaded with Resume Writing companies and providers. From $5 same-day delivery to $3,500+ executive level packages, you’ll find no shortage of options online.

Read: Compilation of Best Resume Writing Services Lists

Related: Resume Writing Services List (by City)

So, is Resume Writing a legitimate practice? Or is it just a scam? The short answer: No, it’s not a scam. Resume Writing is a legitimate service that is coveted by highly competitive job seekers.

Here’s what you need to know about whether Resume Writing is a scam.

Professional Associations & Certifications

One way to verify Resume Writing isn’t a scam are the many professional associations in the industry.

From the PARW to CTL, NRWA, and more, this industry features at least nine Career Services Professional Associations that I know of.

These are independently owned and operated organizations that are dedicated to providing education and resources to help Resume Writers and career practitioners do their best. With this level of oversight and countless certifications for Resume Writers, you can be sure Resume Writing is a serious practice.

Predatory Scammers

Some percentage of individuals on the internet are simply bad actors out to steal your money.

These predatory scammers have been known to use the Resume Writing industry as a strategy for meeting new potential victims (by posing as a legitimate Resume Writer).

There’s really nothing anyone can do about it, but this does happen, and contributes to the bad name and ‘scam’ claims to some degree.

Resume Outsourcing Companies

As the Owner of JobStars, I get emails (like the one below) quite regularly from Resume Outsourcing companies that want my business.

Their pitch is simple. I charge you (the customer) full price and then pay the Resume Outsourcing company something crazy low like $60 to develop your new Resume.

It’s a sweet deal, everyone wins! Except for you (the customer) who receives a dreadful, half-baked Resume.

Of course, I always politely say no thanks to these proposals. But, it’s important to note that these companies are out there, and I guarantee some Resume Services use them (or they wouldn’t hit me up so much).

Negative Experiences

Aside from actual scammers that have no intent to serve you – there’s also low end services that just aren’t very good. Some of these less than desirable services get called a scam.

In actuality, Resume Writing is pretty hard. A well-crafted Resume is not merely a laundry list of past jobs and responsibilities; it’s a strategic marketing tool. It takes a lot more skill and time than meets the eye.

On top of it being difficult, many Resume Writing Services simply don’t charge enough money. They slash prices to get your business. The problem with this strategy is they are dis-incentivized from doing a good job. Naturally, they cut corners and invest as little time into your project as possible.

There are lots of negative experiences in the Resume Writing world because of the high difficulty + low compensation issue. Here’s an example of what I mean.

The Economics of Resume Writing (Value of $500)

If you read this far into the article, it’s important to take time to understand the true economic reality of your investment in a Resume Writing service. So, here’s what happens when you spend $500 on a Resume.

(a) The business owner owes taxes on that transaction. Depending on the city and state where the business resides, this can range from the teens all the way up to 40% – 50%. For the purposes of this example, we’ll estimate a simple 25% in tax obligations (25% of $500 = $125).

That leaves $375.00

(b) The business owner has overhead costs that eat into profits. Consider the costs of running a Resume Service. Operations, advertising, affiliates, software, credentialing, and other expenses quickly add up. Let’s approximate a flat 20% for business costs (20% of $500 = $100).

That leaves $275.00

After accounting for taxes and business expenses, this might seem like a decent amount. Let’s do the math.

Suppose the average project involves one hour of client research and conversation along with five hours of development time. That’s a total of six hours to produce the first draft.

Dividing the remaining $275 by six hours, we find that the Resume Writer is earning $45 per hour. That’s excluding any first draft revisions or unexpected complexities in the project.

In addition, this breakdown doesn’t account for businesses with employees (such as a large team of Resume Writers). With a large team, comes multiple layers and more complexity to the business and revenue structure.

All of this ultimately dilutes your initial investment and lessens the incentive for your Resume Writer to feel properly compensated and motivated to work on your project.

Exploring further, $45 per hour over a 40-hour week equates to $93k per year. Not bad! However, unlike a truck driver with guaranteed hours each work day, your typical Resume Writer isn’t able to book eight hours a day five days a week. Most are lucky to book half their available hours, meaning that $45 per hour is over a 20-hour week, equating to $46k per year, almost always without any healthcare benefits. By comparison, the average salary in the US is closer to $60k per year which includes health insurance and other benefits.

Obviously, this is a rough example with many unaccounted factors.

The bottom line is your $500 investment (which is a lot of money!) gets diluted quickly. After Uncle Sam’s cut and business expenses, your Resume Writer doesn’t actually see $500.

Bad Reputations

Some of the most well-known Resume Writing companies (TopResume, ZipJob) have some of the worst reputations in the industry. These are the ‘big box’ services with low prices and large teams of Resume Writers.

When the biggest names in the industry have a bad reputation, it makes everyone look bad.

As an example, below is the ZipJob BBB page from February 2024. It shows a 1.25 rating and 13 complaints filed in 12 months. Sheeesh! I don’t mean to pick on ZipJob, but that’s pretty rough.

By comparison, my (admittedly much smaller) company JobStars USA has received six-consecutive BBB Complaint Free Awards since 2018.

Fake Reviews

Some Resume Writing companies pay for fake 5-star reviews. The logic is to artificially inflate their reputation and credibility, thereby attracting more clients.

Believe it or not, most satisfied customers actually do not leave a review. When a customer is upset, they are far more likely to take time to leave a review.

So, when a company has thousands of five-star reviews (all from unverified accounts), consider thinking twice about their validity. Here is a screenshot of an email I received about buying fake reviews.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, is Resume Writing a scam? No! It’s an established, credentialed profession with countless talented and dedicated practitioners that have successful track records helping job seekers.

However, like most industries, we do attract some scammers as well as certain underwhelming services that might fall into the scam category.

Shopping for a Resume Service? Always do your research! For more information, check out the following Things to Consider When Hiring a Resume Writer.