Ask Barb: Resume Writing

Dear Barb:

Do you think it is our job to rewrite resumes for our candidates? Our clients screen resumes first and if we take time to rewrite resumes, we do book more interviews. However, it is taking up so much of our time and most of the resumes we rewrite are for candidates that do not get booked on interviews with our clients. We often feel like we are a free resume writing service. We thought about opening a resume writing service but decided it would really be a conflict of interest and would take our attention away from our search practice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Gwen W., Sarasota, FL

Dear Gwen:

Many recruiting firms do offer resume writing at a cost. Others rewrite resumes for no charge to increase the number of interviews booked. There is a third alternative and that is to partner with a resume writing service. You can refer your candidates to the service, you earn an affiliate or referral fee and your recruiters don’t waste time writing resumes. If you place executives, most resume services also include an executive summary, which can help you book more interviews. There does have to be an understanding that you need a quick turnaround time.

For immediate interviews, you may want to delegate this task to a support person in your office. The market is turning to a candidate driven market so you will face this issue more in the future.

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS

Would you like to Ask Barb a question? Email her at support@staffingandrecruiting.com. Each month in The Fordyce Letter print edition, Barbara Bruno answers questions from individuals in the Recruiting Profession. We will bring you some of these Q&A responses from Barb each week on FordyceLetter.com.