Executive Personal Branding, Resume, Biography, Online Identity & Job Search Strategies for C-level, Senior Executives and Rising Stars

Alina Dizik recently wrote quite a provocative article for the Wall Street Journal, Hiring a Résumé Writer? Ask These Questions First, that triggered over 25 comments.

Some came from people I know – my colleagues in the careers industry – and some came from people attacking professional resume writers in general, questioning the validity of professional credentialing, and demeaning them for defending our profession in their comments.

Some of the disparaging comments align with what I said in a post last year over at my Executive Resume Branding blogsite, The Truth About Professional Executive Resume Writers.

“We get a lot of bad press.

Lately, I’m seeing a growing number of blog posts and articles warning that professional resume writers are swindlers and resume writing credentials mean nothing. They lambaste us in general and place an arbitrary cap on what you should pay for a resume.

They are distrustful of resume writers and perhaps with good reason. So much misinformation about what we do (or don’t do) is floating around out there by people who make sweeping generalizations about us as a group but don’t really know what we do.”

For the most part, Ms. Dizik’s suggestions are reasonable, I take exception to some:

• It’s a bit much to expect resume writers to come up with (and spend time fictionalizing all identifying information on) specific resume samples at whim for potential clients to assess, beyond those samples we provide on our websites.
• “Previous experience as an executive recruiter or human resources manager” is not necessarily an asset, and certainly doesn’t guarantee a top-notch resume writer and final product.
• The National Résumé Writers Association (NRWA) is not one of two main trade associations for résumé writers. There are at least 3 others.

I list the 4 main associations in my post at Executive Resume Branding, and discuss some of the reasons why collaborating with the best resume writers is a valuable experience.

Related posts:

How to Write An Irresistible C-level Executive Brand Resume in 10 Steps

4 Executive Job Search First Steps, Before You Write Your Resume

Why Is It So Hard to Write My Own C-level Career Brand Biography?

10 Brand-Diluting Phrases That Can Ruin Your Executive Resume

What NOT To Put in Your C-level Executive Resume

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