According to an industry-first study announced today by TopResume, professionally written resumes give job seekers a competitive edge over those whose resumes were self-written.

TopResume, the premier resume-writing service that reviews over 4 million resumes annually, commissioned an independent, two-part study to determine if recruiters perceive candidates with professionally written resumes to be more employable, as well as if job seekers benefit from a professionally written resume.

In summary, recruiters valued candidates with professionally written resumes to be worth 7% more than when assessed using their self-written versions. In fact, candidates with professionally written resumes were more likely to secure interviews, land a new job sooner, and advance their career faster.

Assessing hundreds of talent acquisition professionals and job seekers during a four-week period, TopResume has published a quantitative study of recruiters’ behavior toward professionally written versus self-written resumes and their impact on the hiring process, which can be viewed here.

For the first part of the study, recruiters were shown the same three anonymized candidates; two of the candidates were presented using the self-written version of their resumes, while the remaining candidate was presented using a professionally written version.

The recruiters perceived the candidates with professionally written resumes to be worthy of a 7% higher salary, more polished and better able to deliver results, and more likely to land an interview.

“People don’t think twice about hiring a professional to handle their taxes, yet when it comes to something as important as their earning potential, too many try to write their own resume — and their careers suffer for it,” said TopResume career expert Amanda Augustine, a certified professional resume writer and career coach. “Professionally written resumes increase a job seeker’s perceived value by providing a clear career narrative, a visually balanced presentation, and proof of the person’s abilities — so if you want to land a job faster and maximize your future paycheck, hire an expert to write it for you.”

According to the data, candidates who invested in a professional resume reported:

• 32% higher rate of finding a job than those who wrote their resume themselves.
• 68% secured that job within 90 days of having their resume professionally written.
• 42% of them moved on to a higher-level position.

“Anecdotal evidence has suggested that professionally written resumes offer significant benefits to job seekers, but there was no data to confirm those advantages — until now,” said Jeff Berger, CEO and founder of TopResume, a Talent Inc. company. “Now, when job seekers wonder whether investing in this critical job-search tool will positively influence their candidacy, there’s resounding proof it will help advance their career faster and at a higher salary and title.”

On an ongoing basis, TopResume’s team compiles data from job seekers and talent acquisition professionals nationwide to better understand current behavioral trends in the job market. Visit TopResume’s Career Advice blog to see their latest tips for navigating the job-search landscape and securing your next job.