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Resume Referral
updated: Sep 10, 2012, 8:04 PM

Has anyone had personal experience with professional resume writers? I've already checked out what is on the Internet and advertised in local periodicals, but I'd like personal recommendations.

Places People Are Talking About:

Cayce O'Leary

David Machacek

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 318464	2012-09-10 08:08 PM
You shouldn't have to use a resume writer, just look up resumes online and you can open a sample one that you can copy the format and then just plug in your employment details. Should be free.
COMMENT 318466	2012-09-10 08:12 PM
Resume Etc. in Santa Barbara is good
SBSWEETPEA	2012-09-10 08:40 PM
Years ago I used Cayce O'Leary at Resume Etc. She was great! Knows all the tricks, what "power" words to use etc.
COMMENT 318480	2012-09-10 08:50 PM
One book I recently read was "The Elements of Resume Style" by Scott Bennett. It's a quick read and has good ideas in case you want to do it yourself. The tips are especially useful for those entering the job market for the first time or those with little experience. In my experience, most technical professionals like myself write their own resumes (I've read literally hundreds in my career).
COMMENT 318484	2012-09-10 08:57 PM
I feel like I have seen 3 million resumes and CVs and the worst were almost always written by services. I am a strong proponent of writing your own. That said, sometimes the only way to get moving on our resume and application materials is to pay a smart professional. If you feel stuck, then by all means, hire one of our smart neighbors to get you moving. Also, don't forget that the cover letter and/or those warm sentences you write when you respond to an on-line posting are much more important than your resume. Worry more about your letters and these short Emails than you do your resume. Test them out on your friends and comb them 10 times for errors. Good luck! D. Lubach
COMMENT 318513P	2012-09-11 06:37 AM
Write your own with the help of a guide, BUT, if you're at all uncertain about basics of grammar, don't trust your spelling etc., get someone to look over and edit before submitting. If I read something by someone who can't distinguish its/it's, their/there, uses apostrophe s to form plurals (or verb tenses, "get's") and that sort of thing, those will usually move to bottom of the pile. Evidence of clear, written communication skills is a must for many companies.
COMMENT 318519P	2012-09-11 07:10 AM
Cayce O'Leary is great, and she can write your resume and cover letter. My husband used her a few times over the course of a few years, feeling like having a little bit of help with those two documents might give him just a wee extra bit of help getting his foot in the door in a very difficult profession. I give my husband more credit than Cayce, but he does now have an awesome job that he loves.
COMMENT 318530	2012-09-11 07:42 AM
This is more complex than it needs to be. Always write your own resume and keep it simple. I used to work for a corporation. It was frustrating to receive spelling and grammar marauded reports and memos from departmental managers and office staff. Now I receive business letters from all kinds of companies and more often than not each one will include from one to several mistakes. My guess is these workers paid to have their resumes printed. Their knowledge of the English language had clearly evaporated on their first day of hire.
COMMENT 318536	2012-09-11 07:59 AM
David Machacek, PhD. David has been volunteering to help people write resumes every Wednesday at the library in Ventura for over a year, and now he is helping people everywhere write their resumes for a small fee. He definitely knows what he is doing and has a high success rate.
COMMENT 318544P	2012-09-11 08:21 AM
If you are or have attended SBCC or UCSB you can get good help at the Career Services department, free if you are attending, and a small fee if you are a previous student. You may need to make an appointment with a counselor to save you time.
EDHATBARBARA	2012-09-11 09:03 AM
My husband paid to have a professional assist him in rewriting his resume and I don't think it was worth the money he paid. There are more opinions than resumes about what should go first, last, focus on, etc. If your skills are your strongest qualities, put them first; if your education is your greatest asset, lead with that. It is rare that people read beyond the first page, so if you write beyond one, make the second page worth it and never go past two. Fancy paper, fonts, etc. don't mean anything to experienced resume readers. Nor do photographs or the use of color. It's the meat of what you include that matters most. And the use of proper grammar!
COMMENT 318568	2012-09-11 09:41 AM
Cayce O'Leary helped me out years ago and did a fantastic job. I was out of state at the time and she was able to do everything via phone and email. She didn't over-embellish or exaggerate, but after reading my interview I remember thinking, "wow, I sound great!" Over the years I have been able to update my resume myself, but she started me out with a strong foundation to work with. I have gotten many great jobs with that resume and it was worth having to spend the money rather than do it myself. If I ever need to draft a fresh version I would definitely look her up again.
COMMENT 318606	2012-09-11 11:48 AM
If one reaches the point of attending University and/or City College, unless they were asleep most of the time, one would expect a person to have learned; through those long kindergarten and high school years, the basic skills of the English language. Otherwise how could they be college material?
COMMENT 318683P	2012-09-11 01:58 PM
As a recipient of many resumés and employment applications, I have to give a strong second to everything D. Lubach (484) said. If you need help with phrasing or figuring out a way to describe what you know, or what you want to do, then do get help, but make sure that the result sounds like something you could have written, and actually describes you. Very best wishes.
DILLYDALLY	2012-09-11 03:48 PM
I worked with some of the leading resume writers for years. My team received as many as 1000 resumes a day and easily 90% were poorly done. There are very good reasons to have a resume professionally written, and done well. Like any industry there are businesses that dont do good work, and some that do good enough work, and about 10% that do outstanding work. It is only worth paying for someone who does outstanding work, and that can be very expensive. I have been out of the industry nearly 10 years so I can't recommend anyone specific but here are the two most important tips I have; -Know the standards of organization and formatting. You dont want HR to need to hunt for the information, they should know right where to find your details. Many people reviewing resumes have less than 10 seconds to decide if a resume goes in the yes pile. -Show what you accomplished, not what you did. Its great that you launched a product, completed a marketing campaign, or implemented new accounting procedures. But what was the result, use numbers if possible.
COMMENT 319515	2012-09-13 04:06 PM
OpEd here....Ohmigod! A huge thanks to 318536 for the referral to David Machacek! What an absolutely delight! He took quite a bit of time with me (never really looked at the clock) and listened intently. He was able to bring my background/talents into focus in a cohesive and readable format. The difference between my standard resume and the one he created is beyond my expectations. Many resume services simply offer window dressing, David is an advocate, helping to bring out the best and make it shine! Thank you 318536 and thank you David!
COMMENT 324005	2012-09-25 01:59 PM
David Machacek help me create a more effective resume. From our conversation, he drafted a skill summary and reformatted my resume. He developed a document, which quickly identifies my key qualifications and skills to recruiters. I found David to be patient, knowledgable, and easy to work with. For resume assistance,
COMMENT 324064	2012-09-25 04:10 PM
Cayce O'Leary of Resume Etc. is the best resume writer ever. It's hard to be objective about yourself, and Cayce knows how to listen, so that she highlights the good qualities about yourself that you might take for granted. Her resume helped me get the interview, which got me the job! She's fantastic and I highly recommend her!