I used Kathryn Troutman's federal resume service for a review. It cost $190. That was the cheapest. Others quoted $350-1,000 to write the resume. I did my own extensive research on the web and watched official USA Jobs YouTube tutorials, so I figured out the federal resume myself, but I was hesitant because people make such a big deal about federal resumes. That was my compromise to at least get it looked at by a professional so I could have confidence. I could take it or leave it. I basically paid to be told my resume was fine, but I needed that.
I think if you are an intelligent person and a good writer, you can just google various examples and websites to pull something together, for a federal or private resume. The problem is a lot of job searchers lack confidence (in my case, because I had been at the same job for over 15 years and felt like mine was out of date; in other cases it could be because you've been out of the workforce for a long time). These services are looking to make a quick buck from people who lack confidence. I would say only do it if it's affordable. Do your own research. I think there are subreddits where you can anonymize and submit your resume for critique. I also have had friends who used the services and they added so much boilerplate stuff that I had to help my friends pare it down. Really, these services are for people who don't know where to even start.
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