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When you decide to hit the job hunting trail, one of the things you need most is a great resume. The problem is that most of us don’t know what makes a resume stand out. So why not rely on the professionals who do it for a living. This is where a resume builder can come in handy.
Talk to any HR professional, and they will tell you some things will get your resume thrown in the trash before anyone takes a glance. Whether it’s a missing piece of information, or poor spelling and grammar, you don’t want that happening.
Resume builders walk you through the process of creating your resume and then give you multiple options for downloading it at the end. That’s pretty nice considering it eliminates the need to format your document, or find a template and then spend hours battling with the formatting.
Be aware, that you will see many of these tools advertised or reviewed as free resume builders. And it is true that some do have free versions, but many will limit the download format for the free version. For instance, you may only be able to download an unformatted text file, which you can then drop into Microsoft Word and format yourself. Beyond that, you will typically have a couple paid options depending on if you want a one-time transaction or a monthly subscription.
Best Optimization
Jobscan
Pros
Cons
Jobscan breaks the mold when it comes to this class of product. It is a more robust data-driven product than many of the other resume builders on the market.
By data-driven we mean that Jobscan analyzes what is in your current resume, and provides feedback to help optimize it. That feedback is intended to tailor your resume to ATS systems and recruiters whose job is to screen resume before interviews are granted.
Jobscan does not focus as much on building resumes from scratch, as most of the other builders do. But they do offer an array of resume templates and a cover letter template. So if this is a new resume you should still be fine.
The amount of data Jobscan offers beyond the other products in the space moves it to the top of our list.
Best Traditional Builder
My Perfect Resume
Pros
Cons
My Perfect Resume provides dozens of templates allowing you to create a resume for any different situation. It allows you to import an existing resume, which is one of its most distinguishing characteristics. You can also quickly change and highlight different sections of your resume with no technical expertise required.
This resume builder also checks your final product for 20 common spelling, grammar, and formatting mistakes. This is critical to ensure your resume makes it past the first step in the filtering process.
You can create an unlimited number of resumes and cover letters to ensure you are covered for any job interview.
Additionally, they provide practice questions to review for interviews, and a Cover Letter Builder to ensure your resume looks good with no hassle.
Best Templates
Resume-Now
Pros
Cons
This company has more templates than you will know what to do with, and they are nicely sorted by industry. Regardless of the template you choose, you can quickly enter your information, and have it exported to Microsoft Word or a PDF.
They can also give you some writing assistance in the event you don’t know what to say in certain sections. By showing you proven phrases, it can give your creativity a boost while trying to describe your experiences.
Career, interview, and cover letter tips are also included for educational purposes.
Resume-Now also has a jobs section that connects you with a large number of job postings. If you’re looking to get both of these services under one roof, then they are a good option.
Resume Genius
Pros
Cons
Not only does resume genius boast an extensive library of templates, but they have some of the best tools in the industry to go with them. This includes thousands of bullet points pre-written for you to choose from across multiple sectors.
As with our other options, Resume Genius’s best feature is cleanly formatting your information. It guides you through the process and ensures everything is in the right place.
Once you finish, easily export your document to Microsoft Word or PDF. You also have the option of having your resume reviewed by a human via their “Ask an Expert” service. This is a nice add-on if you are not confident in your writing skills.
Visual CV
Viscual CV
Pros
Cons
Another good option for resume builders which offers a lot of nice features. They do not have as many templates as some others, but more than enough to get the job done.
With their free version, you have access to a few templates and were able to download a PDF. Of course, you can upgrade, and then had access to a Word download as well.
One of the forward-thinking tools Visual CV provides is the ability to send your resume out via a link rather than just using PDF and Word. While that’s probably not the most used function yet, it probably will be a growing trend as time goes on.
Resume Help
Viscual CV
Pros
Cons
Again you will have access to many different templates to get started, and it honestly just takes a couple of minutes for setup. As with some of our other favorite builders, they have a library of pre-written bullet points for your job experience and other sections.
We also found that they had a good database of employers and work addresses. That’s convenient since many people don’t know the exact address of an employer.
You are walked conveniently through the process, and offered tips before each section.
As is the standard, you can download the final version for free with no formatting in a text file. But if you want a more formalized version in either PDF or Word, then you will need to sign up for a paid version of the tool.
As you start learning about resume builders you will find that some are free and some are paid. Others have both options, but typically only offer their free version via text format, and in a few cases also PDF.
If you are looking for a no-frills resume, a free version is something that might be a good solution. The paid resume builders we discuss here have more functionality than most of the free versions you will find.
Another difference you will find between many of the best resume builders is the number of templates. Some of these builders are more focused on simplistic designs but deliver more functionality on things like pre-written bullets.
Others have a great library of templates for different needs. You will find one of these most useful if you intend to apply to jobs across industries. Don’t make the mistake of making one resume for jobs. You need to tailor a resume to the position, and to the industry.
If you are a newbie to resume writing, then find a builder that has pre-written bullets. This part of your resume is the most important aspect of communicating your experience, so having strong bullet points is critical. Not all of them will be a perfect match, but they are great thought starters.
These more advanced resume builders have a large library of pre-written bullets specific to different job functions. You’ll find they help you in many different ways, and can help bulk up some job experiences.
Online Ratings – We review online ratings from organizations like the Consumer Reports, and Trust Pilot to see what customers are saying. More importantly, we use this data to gauge how quickly and effectively companies engage in fixing issues when they do occur.
BBB Rating – We take into account BBB ratings because it is a good indicator of how well a company responds to customer complaints. All companies with a certain volume of business will have some level of customer complaints. Those that have a history of dealing with complaints quickly and professionally are the ones most likely to have satisfied customers.
Template Selection – Having a large number of templates is key to being flexible across industries when it comes to resume builders. Each company on our list has a wide variety of templates to meet the needs of most people regardless of what industry you may be submitting your resume.
Pricing – The best website builders provide a variety of plans, including the ability to test things out for free. Beyond that, they need to ensure you have access to your resume at a reasonable one-time or monthly cost. They also needed to have a clear means of canceling the monthly subscription as this was a significant complaint across several reviews.
Import & Export Capability – Easily importing data from other sources can make the process of building your resume easier. After completing work, resume builders also need to give you different options for exporting your documents for personal use.
Tools
Years in Business – We use the length of time a company has been in business as a factor in how we rank most companies. If a young company truly shines in all categories, they may still be among our top list, but since they have a limited history to prove longevity, we do discount their overall score. This may account for why you don’t see some of the newest companies in the market at the top of our list.
What is a Resume Builder?
A resume builder a tool that allows people to easily create a resume without the hassle of using your own template. The best resume builders come with pre-built templates that are applicable across multiple industries. Many also have useful functionality like pre-written bullet points applicable to different jobs you may have done in the past.
Do I have to pay for an entire year?
No, you typically do not need to pay for an entire year worth these products. You may, however, get a discount if you pre-pay for a full year, or a longer period than just monthly. With most of these products, you do need to remember to cancel if you no longer want the monthly subscription. This is one of the biggest issues some customers have with resume builder products, but it is a relatively standard procedure.
What are the benefits of a resume builder?
The main benefit is not having to deal with the formatting issues encountered when trying to create your own resume something like Microsoft Word. There are also some benefits like we mentioned above, including pre-written bullets specific to job functions.
A number of these resume builders also are tied to job search tools. They can use the information you are entering into your resume to then look for applicable jobs.
What are the drawbacks of resume builders?
Most people are going to find more than enough design flexibility, but in rare cases, you may not find the right option. If you have a very specific need in terms of design, you may be stuck figuring out something on your own.
Having to pay for what seems like a simple task is also considered a drawback by some. The time savings can be well worth the price especially if you complete the task within the trial period most companies offer in this space.