5 reasons to avoid free online resume builders

Over the years, we have seen an onrush of online resume builders. They promise to build you a stunning resume that wows employers in just five minutes. Are online resume builders as great as those companies advertise them to be?

1. Most online resume builders are not entirely free

You stumble across the best online resume-building site one day and decide to give it a try. You spend three hours on the builder, perfecting every little detail of your resume. Catchy fonts, compelling sentence structure, matching margins, stunning theme colors—you've got it all covered! But once you try to download your resume, a text box pops up asking you to register for your payment plan. This is the story of most online resume builders. All you can get from some sites for free is a watered-down .txt version of your resume.

2. Resume builders don’t provide ATS-friendly resume templates

Many resume builders online advertise that their resumes are ATS compliant. However, when you open the resume templates, you will notice tables, graphs, columns, images, and many other elements that can not be parsed by ATSs. The reason is, most online resume builders are built by software experts, not hiring experts. Online resumes are meant to be pleasing to the eye, rather than practical. If your resume is only going to be seen by a human hiring manager, this wouldn’t be a problem. However, if you enter the job search with a resume that can’t be read by an ATS, you would be in for failure.

3. Most resume builders are unaware of resume writing best practices

It is common knowledge that photographs are frowned upon on resumes in the US. Unless you are applying for a job where your physical appearance matters, such as modeling, acting, or performance arts, you must not include a headshot on your resume. However, you will notice that a lot of online resume builders have allocated space for a photograph on their templates. Again, this is a case where the people behind the keyboards have chosen the resume’s appearance over its quality.

4. Online resume builders only build resumes for you

Say you managed to find a resume builder that does not charge you and does a fairly good job of representing your experience on a resume. But does the website cater to your other job search needs? Your job search is not done the moment all the t’s get crossed on your resume. There are many other aspects to your job search. Does the company write keyword-optimized cover letters? Do they provide career advice? Do you receive a free resume critique? Is there a way the website handles LinkedIn optimization for you? All of these things matter in the job search. If you lack one of these job search elements, your job hunt is less likely to end successfully.

5. Resume builders do not provide personalized service for you

When you work with an online resume builder, you get to choose from a set of standard resume templates and enter your data to create a resume. You receive the same resume templates as thousands of people across the world. There is no one to point out the resume mistakes you are committing, or any recruitment professionals to help tailor your resume for a particular job title. When you use an online resume builder, you are on your own.

What should you do instead?

Without wasting hours of your time creating a resume that you may not even be able to download without paying a hefty sum, talk to a professional, US-based resume writing service such as Resume Mansion. Resume Mansion employs seasoned resume writers, recruitment professionals, and industry experts from all over the globe to help you succeed in your job search. Our resumes are ATS compliant as well as pleasing to the human eye. And we cater to all your job search needs. When you purchase a resume from Resume Mansion, you walk away with an ATS-friendly resume, a keyword-optimized cover letter, as well as an optimized LinkedIn profile!