Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools

Are you preparing to enter the workforce, or are on the hunt for your next job? Either way, you’re likely in the process of polishing up your resume. You’ve picked a stylish template, updated your job experience, and listed all of the skills you’ve developed over the years.

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools.

But how do you know if it’s any good? Mum and dad might tell you they’d hire you, but will a recruiter shortlist you for an interview? A quick Google search will reveal dozens of free resume review tools on Australian job boards. Problem solved, right?

Unfortunately, these tools aren’t capable of giving you the full story. It’s important to understand that most of these services are based overseas and use bots to skim your resume. It will provide some advice, but not enough to necessarily help you get the position you’re after in the Australian job market.

So before you hit submit on your application, take a look over the areas that these free resume review tools won’t pick up.

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools

1.     Free Resume Review Tools Can’t Tailor to Specific Jobs or Industries

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools. When you’re applying for a role, your resume should be formatted to match the job or industry that you’re looking to enter. For some fields, they prefer seeing your achievements front and centre. While others might want to see what skills you possess.

When using a free resume tool, they can’t give you insights or feedback on how to match your resume to meet the industry’s preferences. They’re designed to compare your resume to other applicants who are competing for the same job. This is one of the reasons why there’s not always a place to supply a link to the job ad.

Missing out on this type of feedback can hinder your chances of getting through to the next round. While it will stand out with the recruiter because of the way it’s formatted, it will be for the wrong reasons.

2.     Service Providers are Based Overseas

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools, Despite being advertised on Australian job boards, many of these services are actually based overseas. While there’s generally no problem with using these providers, you need to be aware that their knowledge of the job market here is limited. They also are not necessarily skilled in the approaches to our way of resume writing.

The easiest way to spot this is to review the feedback that gets provided. Most of them will include US spelling, which will indicate it’s a service from another country. While some of the points they provide might be valid. It should still match the local market requirements.

Sure, some resume advice is universal. But, it’s important to know what tips you should take on board and what you should ignore. Otherwise, your resume might not make the cut.

3.     It Completes Reviews of Resumes Within Minutes (Which is Not a Good Thing)

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools.

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools, After you’ve submitted your resume to a review tool, you shouldn’t move too far away from your computer. Some services will respond within five minutes with your feedback and recommendations on how to improve your document.

While there are humans in the world who are known for their speed reading abilities, even they would struggle to finish a resume and provide thoughtful, constructive feedback within that time. Instead, these services are using software that’s designed to identify specific traits and give a rating based on set criteria.

This can be helpful in some respects. However, the feedback is not going to be in-depth enough to help you perfect your resume. This type of constructive criticism will take a real person a lot longer than five minutes to complete.

4.     Keywords Feedback is Inconsistent

Keywords in a resume help your skills and experience stand out. They should be strategically placed in sections that will catch the eye of the hiring manager. These free tools are aware of this. However, the feedback is not always appropriate.

Some will pick up specific keywords and their relevance to the job or industry. But sometimes, they will pick up on phrases that aren’t in your resume at all, which can make it confusing. It may also point out to previous experience or roles that you never attained.

This type of feedback should get ignored. If the free resume review tool refers to keywords or roles that aren’t in your resume, then it doesn’t mean you should add this information to it. Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools.

5.     Resume Review Tools Struggle With Visuals

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools, Not only does your resume need to contain the right words to get a recruiter’s attention, but it also needs to be visually appealing. It doesn’t need to be a work of art, but the use of colour and design can help make it stand out. The right template can also enhance the words on the page.

The resume review services can struggle with critiquing your choice of template. Your feedback may contain criticism that your resume doesn’t make a strong visual impression. It doesn’t seem to matter what type of design you use. Nothing seems to be good enough.

This can be due to the fact that no one is actually reviewing your resume, and the software is programmed to detect a specific format. Instead of messing around with the colour scheme and line thicknesses, trust the template that you’ve chosen or get a second opinion from a real person.

Why those pretty resume templates from amateur resume writers can really harm your career.

6.     You Need to Upgrade for More Detailed Feedback

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools.

After submitting your resume to the free review service, you’ll end up receiving emails about more than just your document. You’ll get access to a range of offers and discounts to access the premium service where someone will redo your resume for you.

While you might be tempted to take them up on this offer, it’s worth noting that these premium services are not based in Australia. This means that when you’re in the process of reviewing your resume, you’re going to need to be on the lookout for American spelling and phrases and references to positions outside of the country. It’s a lot of extra work for something you’ve paid good money for.

There might be some more constructive feedback that you can take away from utilising the premium service. However, you may not be able to completely rely on their offerings due to the differences between job markets and language.

7.     You Don’t Get What You Pay For

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools, Many of these free tools offer additional paid services that can include the option to update your resume and make it presentable for the hiring manager. The prices seem reasonable and are a fraction of what they cost elsewhere.

Sadly, if the prices to create an immaculate resume seem to too good to be true, then it’s because they are. Cheap rates mean you’re going to get subpar work, even if it’s advertised as a premium service.

When your resume is returned, you’ll likely find that it still needs a lot of work before it’s ready to send to a recruiter. When you take your business to a more reputable and respected company, you’ll not only have to spend more money to get the job done, but what you previously paid for will likely get discarded entirely due to its poor quality. However, you’ll have confidence knowing that this time, it’s going to get done right.

Who Can You Rely On?

Don’t Always Trust Free Resume Review Tools.

Free resume review tools can provide some feedback that you can take on board. But, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t seek another opinion and take every piece of advice they give as gospel. As these services may have limited knowledge of the Australian job market, their criticism may end up causing more harm to your chances of securing a role.

Instead of trusting your career with services that are powered by software, get in touch with Resumes To You. Our team of local experts work closely with HR departments and recruitment agencies to get a clear understand of what they’re looking for during the application process.

We can help with your resume, no matter if it’s for your first job or an executive position you’ve had your eye on. Get in touch with us today, and we’ll help increase the chances of you getting the job of your dreams.

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