[danielweber]

I'm sure they could give me a pretty resume. How can I tell if it actually works? There are dozens of factors at play[1]. While job candidates need to dedicate time to the job hunt (just like employers need to dedicate time to recruiting people) it's hard to imagine having the bandwidth and the sample size to do A/B testing of my resume compared with the "professional" one.

I can tell ugly and bad resumes. When a bunch of sentences on using Microsoft Office have been added to my resume, I can tell it's a bad resume. This doesn't mean I can tell the difference between the 95th percentile and the 98th percentile resume for a particular employer, where the latter will get me in the door and the former won't.

> but it's probably pointless trying to convince you otherwise.

Hey, thanks man!

[1] Say there are two companies and one has a "don't say anything about hobbies" hiring manager and the other has an "always mention hobbies" hiring manager.

[doesnt_know]

You can tell if it actually works, when it actually works. I went from 0 callbacks to around a 30%-40% interview rate. It become 100% when I just let a recruiter do it for me (probably because he didn't "gamble" going for jobs that were outside my experience like I sometimes did).

I'm not really sure what else to tell you. When you use any service, there is always a chance that the result is shit. As an adult and a consumer you just have to do your best to mitigate the risk.

If you are already getting lots of callbacks and interviews then it's probably already fine. But if you are getting none, then it's time to swallow your pride and accept that you need help from a professional.

> Hey, thanks man!

I didn't mean to insult you, but if your personal experience with recruiters is only negative, nothing I say will change that perception.