Since the economy is such that it is, do you do your own resume while applying for work or do you have it done by a professional resume maker (sorry...don't really know what to call them). If so, how does it differ from one that you have compiled on your own?
I don't know whether folks who are hiring pay more attention to the professional grade resume or one done by the applicant. I know more and more firms hiring freezes and would not think that it would matter but, I think there are several who will keep the resume on file for when work starts to pick up.
I would think that any resume would be fine tuned to the job that you might be applying for instead of just a canned resume.
Depending on the job then you want to highlight things that might be especially important to a particular employer. It's not just a fact based sheet but a sales sheet for you as a possible employee. Think of it as marketing yourself.
MS Word has some really good templates to get you started and even explains some of the differences in types of resumes. I'd prefer to do one myself instead of using a service but if someone has poor skills in writing then they may help.
Deral
I agree with Deral. A standard resume prepared to fit the job description should be fine no matter the current economic environment. Employers now, or at least to my understanding, are much more concerned with expertise in the type of work they are currently performing. Even getting an interview has been tough for many these days.
There are many resources available to the unemployed to help with making a quality resume. I brought my resume to a woman a local tech school, after taking one look at it she said "this is not a resume, this is a work history" and then spent an hour helping me get it looking top notch. I found her input and assistance to be really helpful, not that it has gotten me a job. I did get back one reply from an employer complimenting the appearance of my resume for whatever that is worth.
The thing to keep in mind about a resume is that it is a marketing document.
One of the skills I list on my resume is a proficiency with Excel and Word. I create my own in Excel, then import it into Word and convert to a .pdf for easy downloading and viewing. I offer any of the three versions for comparison if the employer is so interested to confirm my abilities.
I figure most resume companies use some type of template that HR people see ad nauseum, so I create my own, if for no other reason that it stands out. Nothing fancy, but something genuine and indicative of my skill level.
