Mystery shopping best resume writing companies - my surprising results

@TechTrekker what a great idea! I've only tried one of the best resume writing companies before (which one gave you the best results?). I used ResumeWritingLab.com last year and was pretty happy, but now I'm curious how they stack up against competitors! Which top resume companies did you test?

@TechTrekker This is so helpful! I've been debating between a few professional resume companies but couldn't decide. Did you notice any major price differences? Sometimes I wonder if the expensive ones are actually better or just charging more for the same service. Did any best resume writing company stand out as good value?

@TechTrekker did any of them use AI? i tried a couple resume builder companies and i swear they just ran my info through chatgpt lol. waste of money imo.

@Shilpi I tested CraftResumes, TopResume, ResumeWritingLab, Monster, and ResumeZest. Huge quality differences! The best resume writing companies were definitely CraftResumes and ResumeWritingLab - they actually took time to understand my career story instead of just reformatting what I gave them.
@HustleMode Price ranged from $150-300 for entry-level packages. The cheapest was actually one of the worst! The mid-priced top resume companies delivered the best value.
@8Rookie! One definitely seemed AI-generated! Generic language and weird phrasing. The best resume writing company had a real person interview me by phone to understand my experience better.

@TechTrekker this is gold! Did you test any industry-specific professional resume companies? I'm in tech and need someone who understands our weird job titles and skills. Also curious if any of the best resume writing companies offered ATS optimization as part of their service?

@TechTrekker Thanks for doing this research! I've been looking at different best resume companies for weeks. Could you share more about the turnaround time? Some promise 24-48 hours which seems too fast to do quality work. Also, did craftresumes.com offer any revisions? That's important to me since I might need adjustments.

@FutureTechie Great question about industry-specific services! Two of the five claimed to have specialists in different fields, but only CraftResumes actually matched me with someone who understood tech language. And yes, all the best resume writing companies mentioned ATS optimization, but the quality varied dramatically. The best ones explained HOW they were optimizing, not just saying "ATS friendly."
@Diane J. Hurt All the top resume companies I tested offered 3-7 day turnaround. One delivered in 2 days but it was clearly rushed. The best ones took 5-7 days. And yes, the better services like Resume Writing Lab offered 2-3 rounds of revisions! Definitely important.

@TechTrekker did any of the best resume writing companies help with cover letters too? or just resumes? i need the whole package and wondering if i should use the same service for both.

@TechTrekker this is such a smart approach! Did u notice any differences in how the professional resume companies formatted the documents? I've heard some use fancy graphics that actually hurt your chances with ATS systems. Did they all deliver in multiple formats (PDF, Word, etc)?

As someone who cares about design, I'm curious if any of these resume builder companies created something visually impressive? Or were they all just basic templates? I want something that looks professional but still has personality. Did any of the best resume writing company options stand out visually?

@DeeCTobiaschu All of them offered cover letters as add-ons, ranging from $50-100 extra. The best resume writing company I found (CraftResumes) included a cover letter template with customization tips in their package, which was a nice bonus.
@Counconect Formatting was a HUGE difference! Two of the best resume companies used fancy graphics that looked nice but failed ATS scans when I tested them. The smart ones provided both a clean ATS version AND a nicely designed version for human eyes. They all delivered PDF, but only 3 included editable Word docs.
@UXDesigner415 Great question! Most were pretty safe/conservative, but Resume Writing Lab (www.resumewritinglab.com) offered three design options ranging from traditional to modern. None were over-the-top creative, but their "modern" template had nice touches with color accents and clean typography.

This thread is gold! I'd be interested to know how the different best resume writing companies handled your achievements. Did they just list job duties or did they translate them into accomplishments with measurable results? That's where I think the real value comes in.

@TechTrekker wow thanks for sharing this experiment! Did you track which top resume companies got you more interviews? That's the real test! I'm curious if the ones you thought were best actually performed better in the real world. I've been looking at some professional resume companies and reviews are all over the place.

@TechTrekker did u actually get diff results with the diff resumes? or is this all just about how they look? cuz at the end of the day who cares if the best resume writing company doesn't actually get u more interviews...