How Should You Evaluate a Denver Resume Service

How Should You Evaluate a Denver Resume Service As the owner of a resume service company based in Denver, Colorado, Im frequently asked by potential clients how they can find a resume writer that will fit their needsespecially in cases where they are not an executive, management, or IT client. Id like to address this question, especially since there seems to be a number of resume companies popping up online that claim to be in Denverbut arent. First of all, please do a WEB SEARCH for any resume service that claims to be in Denver. You should find some information on the company, and at the very least the writer. In addition, for writing companies that arent here, but say that they serve the Denver area, remember that the economy in the Denver and Colorado area has always been different than other areas of the country. The hiring climate here, in particular, has always posed special challenges for job seekers. If youve been here longer than five years, youre well aware of the boom-and-bust cycles that have dotted the economic landscape in this area. What you may not realize is how employers have set themselves up for a reactive (read skeptical) response to resumes, or that WHERE theyre from (meaning the culture that makes up their hiring leadership), makes Denver a very conservative setting for the average professional. Since most employers with any significant presence here (not counting the companies like Qwest, Frontier, etc.) are actually headquartered somewhere else (and that somewhere else is more than likely the Midwest), job hunters have to match the conservative tone set by employers. Resumes that pull the best results in the Denver area work with these facts, and use a straightforward, non-flowery description of your potential. Case in point: I recently worked with a client from New York who couldnt figure out why he wasnt making inroads in the Denver market. He had a unique blend of IT and marketing expertise. At the top of his resume, the G in his name was displayed as a LIGHT BULB. Thats right, an actual drawing of a light bulb. I told him that any employer I knew would make sure that document hit the trash ASAPafter a good laugh, of course. Of course, you know the rest we reworked it and he landed plenty of interviews. My point is that the resume writer who encouraged him to do this was NOT from the Denver area, and seemingly had no idea that this kind of gimmick just doesnt cut it in a conservative market that still, somehow, has a small-town (dont say cow town!) feel. My other point is this: ensure that the writer you work with has a good, if not superior, grasp of your market.Resumes written for the East Coast should, to be effective and get results, have a much different look, feel, and tone than those developed for the Colorado market. As an aside, beware of companies that advertise in barely readable English, who claim to be a member of ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITERS. No such association exists!