As both a Certified Professional Resume Writer and an Executive Recruiter, I strongly disagree with much of the advice circulating on the Internet stating that professional resume writers don't understand the needs of the hiring manager.

Many job seekers mistakenly believe that recruiters and hiring managers have a distinct advantage; but in my experience, I have found that just because someone can read a "bestseller" doesn't mean they can write one.

I am often hired by HR professionals, recruiters, and once for the son of a Workforce Development professional to craft compelling marketing documents that help my clients standout from their competition. Smart recruiters recognize the benefits of a professionally written resume and often refer their candidates to a professional writer. Ex: Adams Inc., Financial Recruiters adams-inc.com/partners-haute-resume.asp.

Most certified resume writers have been extensively trained in writing resumes that are able to survive the Applicant Tracking Software that employers use today. If a job seeker isn't sure which keywords to include it is very likely the resume will never be read by anything other than a computer. Also, many of the old school Word templates available on the Internet were constructed in tables. If the data within those tables cannot be extracted by the software it is likely it will be deleted.

It also helps to know your competition and compare your resume to samples that may be similar to those of your competition at www.anewresume.com/samples/home/.

Gambling on your resume is expensive! Think about it this way: if you've been laid-off from a job where you were making $50,000 per year you are losing $961.52 per week. An extended job search is likely to cost you thousands of dollars in lost income. Shop carefully and hire the best certified resume writer that you can afford.