Review of Resume
Builders...
and resume
building software
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Considering a resume builder or resume building
software? Catering to job seekers who don't mind rolling
up their sleeves, a resume builder is an interactive tool that
helps you craft your own resume. Some are bundled with cover
letter builders, and offer additional features like activity
tracking and faxing services.
Affordable yet powerful, a good resume builder can
produce a resume that's competitive, even to those written by a
professional resume writer. But... it will require
significant input from a job seeker who has at least some
writing skills and the ability to express job qualifications in
a promotional--and unbiased--manner. If that's you, here's
help. Former recruiter David Alan Carter trained a
critical eye on the Web's most popular resume
builders. Here are his picks and pans (and in-depth
reviews)
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Company... |
Go To... |
Rating... |
Pricing... |
In-Depth... |
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Website |
    
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$9.95
per
month |
Our "Top Rated" service. Includes cover
letters, faxing, activity tracking, live help.
A subscription model keeps it very affordable.
Free to try...
(read_REVIEW)
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Website |
   
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$
49.99 now
$29.99
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25,000 templates to pick from,
multiple formats, thumbnail displays of all
your resumes, and submission
tracking. Cover letters are included...
(read_REVIEW) |
 |
Website |
  
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$
49.95 now
$39.95
|
A money-back guarantee, lifetime updates,
good advice, and 3 free valuable gifts. Just
beware of one exasperating feature on the
company's site...
(read_REVIEW)
|
 |
Website |
 
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$
29.99 now
$9.99
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Good, step-by-step resume builder
with fully customizable templates and a vast
list of pre written phrases. Easy-to-use sure,
but don't expect...
(read_REVIEW) |
 |
Website |

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$18.95
per
year
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One word: disappointing. Clean,
simple service that delivers somewhat
professional results, though it lacks key
features and suffers from...
(read_REVIEW) |
Resume Builder Software Reviews -
About Our Top Picks And Rankings
In developing this site, we evaluated dozens of online
resume builders -- also known as a resume maker, resume
developer, resume creator, or just plain resume software.
We found some gems, and learned a few lessons along the way.
For example, if the resume builder (i.e. resume maker, resume
developer, resume software) is...
-
Free, it's usually worth exactly that.
- Pricey or complicated or both, you'll spend a lot of
time wondering why you didn't just throw the project to a
Professional Resume Writer and be
done with it.
- A supplemental part of a larger service, guess what
you're gonna be bombarded with day and night? That's
right--email marketing pitches designed to upsell the
premium services.
That said, here's what we looked for in a resume
builder and the software behind the company.
Resume Builder Software - We looked
for a stand-alone product.
We wanted the company behind the product to be fully
dedicated to just one thing--the program or service they were
selling and the customers who were buying.
Resume Builder Software - We looked
for relevant bells and whistles.
The key word is relevant. Help with phrasing is
relevant. Spell check is relevant. The ability to manipulate
headings, layouts and templates is relevant. The ability
to work up a companion cover letter is relevant. Our top choice
here was an easy call -- Pongo
Resume. besides the features you might expect, Pongo
offers free faxing and emailing from their site, a
complimentary web page with your own unique URL, and a new
Job Search Tool that compiles targeted job listings from
online job boards and company website... while you're
working on your resume! Read our in-depth
Review of Pongo Resume.
Another good choice in the 'relevant bells and
whistles' category is EasyJob.net.
This company's program displays thumbnails of all the
resumes you've created, organized by the modification date.
And it keeps track of which companies you've submitted to,
and which resume version each received. Read our in-depth
Review of EasyJob.net.
Resume Builder Software - We looked
for proper resume formatting.
MS Word is the standard. But we gave extra points to the
online resume builder (i.e. resume maker, resume developer,
resume software) that also offered or facilitated formatting in
PDF, ASCII text, HTML, and RTF.
Resume Builder - We looked for
access to real live human beings.
You know, just in case one needed a bit of technical
support. Or needed to insure that the company makes good on a
guarantee. Speaking of guarantees...
Resume Builder - We looked for
guarantees.
Of course, I'm not saying we found a bunch. In fact, sadly,
we only found two --
Amazing Resume Creator for
those looking for an instant download of the product so
they can begin work immediately, and Winway Resume Deluxe 12 Mini
for those who don't mind waiting a few days for a
shipment from Amazon. Winway resume software, by the way,
has long been a favorite of Amazon.com shoppers, and this
most recent Deluxe 12 version should be no exception.
Fully-featured with 250 appearance themes, access to
100,000 job-winning phrases, and an automatic cover
letter generator.
Read our
Review of Amazing Resume Creator and
Review of WinWay Resume.
Resume Builder - We looked for
value.
Fifty bucks is about as high as we would want to go. Much
more than that, and a full-service professional resume writer
begins to look like the better deal.
Finally, we looked for a company
that was ease to work with.
Everything's a hassle. Ever notice that? And just when you
really, really need things to go right--like when you're out of
work or can't take another day under the oppressive thumb of
Genghis Khan, the night shift supervisor at Pubescent Poultry
Products--well, forget it. Hence, we put a good deal of stock
in the online resume builder (i.e. resume maker, resume
developer, resume software) whose website navigated smoothly.
Where information was readily available. Where pricing was up
front and clear. In short, we valued the online resume builder
who was easy to work with.
You can do this.
Listen, If you're a halfway decent writer, you can do this.
You have it within yourself to craft a resume that is
competitive with those employing professional writing services.
That said, you will need to know how to organize career
information and produce an effective template. You will need to
know how to phrase your job responsibilities and career
accomplishments in a manner that opens doors. The beauty of a
quality resume builder is that the software can help immensely
with the organization, the templates, and the phrasing.
Look over our reviews. Consider our ratings and how we got
to those ratings. And finally, choose a resume builder that
feels comfortable, and get on with the task at hand--crafting a
resume that will land the job that will set the stage for
career happiness.
© David
Alan Carter
All Rights
Reserved
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David Alan
Carter is a former technical
recruiter (i.e. headhunter) and founder of
Resume One of Cincinnati. For more than ten
years, he personally crafted thousands of
resumes for satisfied clients from all
occupational walks of life, from entry-level to
senior executive.
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