Could You Benefit from a Professional Resume Writer?

Could You Benefit from
a Professional Resume Writer?
An Assessment for Job-seekers

by Katharine Hansen

Are you thinking about engaging the services of a professional writer for your resume, CV, cover letter, thank-you letter, or other career-marketing correspondence? Before you take this step, you might want to consider how a professional resume writer could benefit you. Take this short quiz -- developed by Credentialed Career Master Katharine Hansen -- to help you determine your need for professional writing services.

Just complete this form. Click on the submit button when ready to send the quiz. You will receive the scoring guide via e-mail.

IMPORTANT: To ensure that you receive a response to this quiz, please be sure to (a) enter your full e-mail address in the space provided and (b) please enter your email address twice to ensure that we get your correct e-mail address. We cannot provide you with feedback if your e-mail address is incorrect or not supplied. Read our Privacy Policy if you have any concerns about providing your email address to us. Note: If you don't want to take this quiz interactively, print out this page and mark your answers. Then go to our Professional Resume Writer Quiz Scoring Guide to interpret your answers.

Your name:

Your email address:

Re-enter your email address:

Directions: Take a moment to answer these questions as truthfully as possible. The more honest you can be with yourself, the more accurate the results.

My current resume does not seem to be working for me. I am being called for few or no interviews.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

My resume is not updated and ready for distribution to employers. If someone I networked with asked me for my resume, I wouldn't have one that is good to go.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I am in one of the following situations:
a. New or upcoming graduate
b. Desire to change careers
c. Relocating to new area
d. None of the above

I feel my resume just doesn't stand out. It's rather plain-looking with ordinary verbiage and doesn't seem as though it will grab attention compared to resumes of other candidates.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I don't know what formats are needed -- such as text, PDF, and Web-ready -- for online job-hunting, nor how to convert my resume to those formats.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I've lost touch with my marketable skills and am not sure what my best selling points should be on a resume.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I don't have the time to create a truly dazzling resume, though I am willing to spend a little time providing input to a skilled writer.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I am in one of the following situations:
a. I have employment gaps in my resume.
b. I am returning to the workforce after parenting, running my own business, serving in the military, or other absence.
c. I have spent short periods of time in a number of jobs and may give the impression of being a "job-hopper."
d. My job history is very diverse and doesn't point in any one direction.
e. None of the above

I have difficulty brainstorming my accomplishments.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I don't know what keywords to use on my resume so that it pops up in a search after being placed in the employer's keyword-searchable database.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I don't think my resume conveys a sophisticated look and message that shows me worthy of the salary and title I seek.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

A reader taking a very quick glance at my resume would not really know what I want to do next nor the value I can contribute to my next employer.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

I've been told my resume needs work.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Not Sure

Katharine Hansen is an author and instructor. Her books include Dynamic Cover Letters (more than 100,000 copies sold) and Write Your Way to a Higher GPA, written with Dr. Randall S. Hansen, as well as Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates (11,000+ copies sold) and most recently, A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market, all published by Ten Speed Press. Katharine holds the Career Masters Institute's Credentialed Career Master designation.

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Could You Benefit from a Professional Resume Writer? An Assessment for Job-seekers

Could You Benefit from
a Professional Resume Writer?
An Assessment for Job-seekers