A financial case for investing in a professionally written resume:





The return on investment (ROI) for a professionally written resume is astronomical.





First, what can a professionally written resume accomplish? It depends on your goals. Many people desire higher pay and position, while many people pursue a more rewarding career and may be willing to accept a pay cut to achieve that. Both are noble and valid reasons to invest in a new resume, the financial implication of hiring a resume writer is easier to measure:





ROI = (Gain from Investment - Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment





A recruiting professional purchased a professionally written resume and cover letter for $595 and went from struggling to get interviews to landing a new position as a talent acquisition manager at a healthcare company within 3 months of the investment. He directly attributes this to his new resume. His salary increased by $20k, let's calculate the ROI:





ROI = ($20,000 - $595) / 595





ROI = 3261%





Other than winning the lottery, I can't think of anything that has a better ROI than investing in a professionally written resume.





Not only did the recruiting professional make a smart investment and achieved a big advancement in his career, he is having great success in his new role, helping the healthcare company better staff their facility, which helps patients have improved quality of care by a better staffed facility.





A financial case for investing in career coaching:





An accountant's confidence was shattered after being laid off (through no fault of her own) after many loyal years with a manufacturing company. For nearly a decade, she had no need to job search, she had a dated resume, an underdeveloped LinkedIn profile with few connections and no idea how to begin her job search and was overwhelmed about the idea of networking with people she didn't know.





She decided to both have a professionally written resume $395 and enroll in a 6 week career coaching program $1200.





Within 6 months, she landed a new job as a staff accountant at a manufacturing company. She was thrilled and in tears while telling her coach that she accepted the offer. The happiness, feeling of security and pride of once again being employed cannot be measured, so we can just measure the return on her investment:





She went from receiving about $300/week in unemployment, annualized to $15,600 to earning $65k/yr





ROI = [(65000-15600) - (395+1200)] / (395+1200)





ROI = 2997%





The ROI in this case is astronomical, a nearly 3000% return on investment within 6 months. However, it doesn't end there, the skills this accountant learned will be valuable throughout the rest of her career and not just for her, but for friends and family that she shares her new knowledge and experience with. The greatest part is the satisfaction, security and confidence gained by being gainfully employed, we cannot use a formula to measure these.





Disclaimer: results will vary, not everyone will have a positive ROI, especially those who may be looking to change careers into a role that does not pay as well as their current role.