How Much Does a Canadian Resume Cost?

By Maureen McCann.

 “Resume writers are not just typists who can make a document look nice. It takes a trained individual with knowledge in labour market trends and job search techniques, as well as with solid skills in interviewing, information gathering, strategic thinking, technical savvy, wordsmithing and so much more.”  Christine Cristiano, CCS

I recently set off to answer the question, “How much does a Canadian resume cost?” I had a lot of help along the way. I first reached out to the CPC Facebook Community. I polled group members by asking them, “What’s the MOST you charge for a resume?” Twenty-one resume writers responded, providing me with a wide range of fees charged by our profession. From this anecdotal evidence, it seems that resume writers in Canada typically charge between $250 and $1000 per resume.

Through the conversations that followed, it became apparent there was a plethora of variables to consider and that a simple poll of our members would not elicit the deep, rich data I knew was out there. Target clients, add-on services, and client timelines were all factors in determining price. I needed to expand the conversation. The scope of the research ballooned as I set out on our quest to capture an accurate picture of the price of a Canadian resume.

So, with the help of Kamee Gilmore of Paradigm Resume Services in Sherwood Park, Alberta, we designed a survey and reached out to our CPC community to find out more. In total, we interviewed 15 resume writers.

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing seven of my esteemed colleagues, all with 10 or more years of experience as resume strategists. Thank you to Stephanie Clark, Maureen Farmer, Gayle Draper, Dorothy Keenan, Wayne Pagani, Kristin Vandergriend and Daisy Wright for generously volunteering to share their expertise. All of these colleagues hold one or more of the following certifications including the Certified Career Development Practitioner (CCDP), Master Certified Resume Strategist (MCRS), Certified Resume Strategist (CRS), Master Certified Employment Strategist (MCES), Certified Employment Strategist (CES), Master Certified Career Strategist (MCCS), and Certified Career Strategist (CCS.)

My Research

Kamee and I collected data separately. We wanted to isolate our research before comparing our findings. These are my findings. We will publish a consolidated report at a future date.

My suspicion is that a lot of us want to see the numbers right away. Hey, I get it. I would do the exact same thing. There’s no judgement here. There is, however, more to this story – much more.

Prices varied from one professional to the next. Some had been practicing for decades, while others were just setting out in their new business ventures. Some had multiple professional designations, and others had a few. All had a wealth of experience to share with their clients, and they all had one other thing in common.

No one sold only a resume!

Getting a price on a stand-alone Canadian resume was a tough assignment. The service did not seem to exist.

Every resume writer I spoke with paired a resume with something else of considerable value. It might have been a branding strategy session, more documents, tip sheets, or coaching. Hunting down a price for just a resume suddenly got a bit harder. Instead of trying to break out the numbers by removing the essence of the service, I isolated the entry price and the high-end price of the services offered by resume writers.

From this research, I not only affirmed the incredible value of hiring a career professional, but added to it.

In our next post, we will share the impressive list of benefits and value clients receive from working with a certified resume writer.

Perhaps instead of asking how much a resume costs, a better question to ask is, “What is the value of a resume?” We will answer this question as well in our next post.

This Resume Pricing Research Report update is brought to you by Career Professionals of Canada. It is made possible by the following CPC Masterminds: Maureen McCann of Promotion Career Solutions and Kamee Gilmore of Paradigm Resume Services.