Creating the JoblessLawyer.com Approved Resume Review Service
It has been a crazy week!
Getting a quality resume review service started from the ground up is not easy, but the service is close to fruition and it is one that I am proud to offer at the site. Thanks for all your personal messages, you really helped add to my understand as to what kind of attorney resume service is needed.
Some of you who read my earlier post learned of the sham service AttorneyResume.com provides. The most inexpensive service they provide is called consultation which advertises a thorough review of your resume and then providing “resume tips.” What they don’t tell you is that almost all of the “tips” you receive will be cut and pasted for documents readily available on the internet. They don’t tell you that they never read your resume nor that they sent the same advice you just paid $95 for to countless others looking for resume advice in a down economy. I wonder if their $250 resume creating service or $175 resume editing service is any better, although I will not be finding out because I refuse to give that organization another penny.
How did I create the “JoblessLawyer.com Approved Resume Review Service”, you ask? I reached out to all my personal contacts and networks, I reached out all across the internet career centers, recruiting firms, and job boards inviting qualified resume reviewers. After I received dozens upon dozens of resumes, to narrow the field, I sorted through them and picked out some star candidates, candidates who had significant experience working at law firms and reviewing resumes, many over the course of 10 years or longer. Anyone who did not have actual experience working with lawyers or at a law firm was eliminated, anyone who did not have specific interaction with resumes or career counseling was eliminated.
Of the remaining candidates I created test materials for them. The materials were the exact same materials that I submitted to AttorneyResume.com in March. The test packed included three documents, the original resume I submitted, the actual 9 page questionnaire I filled out, and the targeted questions I left for my reviewer on my personal message board. I expected the reviewers to marshal all of this information and edit/re-draft my resume giving it significant personal attention and recasting it in the best light possible.
I gave the selected candidates a few days to complete their review. Once I received their submissions I carefully reviewed them. Since the test materials related directly to me I was in a good position to evaluate them. I evaluated each submission to see if the candidate incorporated relevant information from my questionnaire, helped with formatting but most importantly focused on content and substantive issues related to my candidacy. I looked to see if they provided genuine advice, advice from experience as opposed to cheat sheet, cookie cutter, Google-search type advice.
I then ranked the candidates based on their performance and asked the top two performers to join me in this endeavor. I agreed to set up standards, official materials, and oversight and to promote their personalized style of reviewing resumes and combined twenty years experience.
I also have a pool of similarly excellent reviewers, that all passed my test with flying colors, ready to join the initiative, if demand is higher than expected. Because they have already been hand-selected and vetted anyone looking to use the service is guaranteed the same quality by any of our reviewers—all are top notch.
Given my past experience I would not tout a mediocre service, the reviewers I have selected are handpicked and were tested by a no-nonsense lawyer in a relevant real world application of their skills. Although the service will not officially launch until Monday What are the key principles that will guide our service?
- Cost, providing a quality service by using top professionals at a very reasonable cost, less than half the price of those offering similar services.
- Opportunity to ask targeted questions and receive a guaranteed written response to your questions or concerns from an experienced consultant.
- Opportunity for real interaction to explain your unique situation, wants and needs with your reviewer over the phone or via Skype.
- The ability to see your reviewer’s actual credentials, our process is completely transparent you can view your reviewers CV right from our website and evaluate their credentials for yourself.
- Custom advice not off-the-shelf advice from company guidebooks and cheat sheets.
- Our consultants will not shy away from career advice or questions unrelated to resumes (although of course they realize their primary role of resume development).
- My guarantee- if you are not satisfied with our service I will pass your resume to another reviewer, free of charge, and you will start the entire process fresh. If you are still not happy with the service and after reviewing your file if I agree with you, I will refund your expenses from my own pocket.
- I will personally review all work product of the reviewers before it is delivered to assure quality.
Considering AttorneyResume.com would charge between $175 and $250 for a slipshod version of this service and TheLadders would charge over $500, and private career counselors often charge $200 an hour or more for their services.
We are confident we are offering you the lowest rate possible. We offer two and only two simple services, not a plethora of complicated services that cannot be understood or differentiated by the customer.
Our Rates: Resume Review: $84; Resume and Cover Letter Review: $99. For the first month we are offering the service at a discounted rate, save $15 on our services the discount will be applied automatically (final prices: $69 for resume review and $84 for resume and cover letter).
This service was simply borne out of my bad experience and a general want to provide something better. If you would like to give it a try I know you will be happy; if not, I don’t blame you for not trying something so new. I just ask you, please don’t give your money to the big powerhouse attorney resume mills that give recycled advice— let’s send a message to them—instead consult your law school career counselor, or your firm recruitment director (even if you are no longer employed there) or alumnus, first!
You can read my prior posts and see my experiences with AttorneyResume.com, I deserved better treatment and so do you.
-
Anonymous
