Resume Writers Should Go Extinct

Here is another adaptation from my just-published book, What's the Big Idea? Reinventions for a better America.

This idea is related to my own field: career counseling  After a quarter century in the profession, I have reservations about it. The book presents a reinvention of the profession but here I'll focus just on one aspect:

I believe that career counselors are unethical when they help people with their resume.

I admit to occasionally having done so myself , for example, when it's a client I believe would be excellent in his target job but his work history wouldn't show that. I'm aware that's still somewhat unethical but, like all of us, I'm human.

Here is a 2-minute video of me making that argument Others might prefer just to read the text, so I append an enhanced transcript below.

Here's an enhanced transcript of what I said:

In deciding whom to interview, employers are wise to use resumes not just to see candidates' work history but to compare candidates' ability to think, organize, and clearly present information.

Those are key to so many jobs. (Of course, not truck driver, ditch digger, etc.) So when someone uses someone else to write or even edit their resume, it's of course, unfair to candidates that wrote their own resume.

A resume writer also is unfair to the employer, who used that resume as part of the hiring decision, thus making it more likely the employer will be saddled with a worse employee than s/he otherwise would have hired.

A resume writer also is unfair to the coworkers on that job, who are forced to work with a worse person than if a resume writer didn't commit the subterfuge.

And ultimately, a resume writer is unfair to society, because when the best candidates are not hired, we all suffer worse products and services.

If using a professional to write or even edit a resume were ethical, why do resume writers never credit their work on their clients' resumes?

The suggestion that America would be better if resume writers went extinct is one of  hundreds of ideas in my just-published book, What's the Big Idea?: Reinventions for a better America. I hope you'll check it out on Amazon.