A good resume should show your experience, highlight your skills and accomplishments, and—most importantly—effectively demonstrate your qualifications for the job you’re applying to.To find the best resume writing services that can help you tick all those boxes, I consulted Forbes recruiters and HR professionals for their guidance.After personally testing each of these services and vetting them based on experts’ criteria, I named Resumeble the best resume writing service overall because it scored the highest on two ATS-tracking (Applicant Tracking System) resume review programs.It also offers the most personalized experience, including the option to choose from four different programs based on your work experience and resume needs.
There are four other services that impressed me during testing, too.ResumeSpicelet me have a phone conversation with the resume writer to dig deep into my work history; if you’re an executive or C-Suite executive, I found TopStack Resume’s builder satisfactorily comprehensive for professionals at the top of their game.
In addition to evaluating each service’s ease of use, price, customizations and packages available, I enlisted Forbes recruiters to review and help stack rank each service to ensure my testing was accurately rated.Below, find the five best resume writing services, tested and expert-reviewed to help land your next job.
Best for:
– Speed (get your first draft in as little as four business days)
– Up to three revisions, to ensure your resume reads the way you want it to
– Affordability, since the base package only costs $157
Skip if:
– You want a refund guarantee—the Standard package doesn’t offer one
Resumeble is an affordable service despite its base package including a professional, ATS-optimized resume and cover letter, as well as three free revisions.Packages include Standard, Professional, Premium and Executive Pro—and you can opt for a LinkedIn profile makeover and a 30-minute call with a professional resume writer with all of them except for the Standard.
Its base package doesn’t come with an interview guarantee, either, but all of its higher-tier options do; the Executive Pro tier even comes with a job guarantee.
Resumeble’s Writing Process
I began by filling out a questionnaire that covers my background and what I was hypothetically seeking in my next role.I was asked to provide a few job listings of interest during this process; the assigned resume writer tailors the resumes to fit those roles.From there, I was assigned a writer and received a first draft in four business days.
A Neat Resume With Thoughtful Work Highlights
The resume I received looked neat and highlighted sections with a soft green section break, which gave the resume a splash of color.However, according to recruiters I spoke with, color isn’t necessary on a resume, and if it’s used too much, it can be distracting.
Dates, job titles and company names were bolded to easily locate them on the page, and I felt the job duties and accomplishments were clean and easy to read.The most expansive duties and accomplishments were listed under my most recent job, which is exactly what you want for a resume.Of all the resume writing services I tested, the recruiters and I felt Resumeble highlighted my skills and work experience the best.
A Readable Format And A High ATS Average Score
I appreciated how the writer smartly condensed my contract work history (which includes multiple six-month contract stints) into what I felt was a more readable format.Our recruiters were less enthused about this and felt that the paragraphs should have been bulleted so it would be easier to read, but when I ran it through two ATS-tracking resume review programs, Resumeble’s consistently scored the highest average of all resumes I received a 60 and 75 out of 100, respectively.
For context, a lot of resume services boast ATS-optimized resumes, and you should aim for a fairly high score when running it through a scanner.However, it’s not necessarily that important, according to Jennifer Yeko, founder and CEO of Ninja Recruiting.
“Most smaller and mid-sized companies don’t use bots or AI to screen resumes; it can invite bias and increase a company’s liability.” But she added that “Some larger companies do perhaps use an ATS to ‘rank’ candidates.”
Verdict: Checked Off Most Of Our Experts’ Boxes
The Forbes recruitment team tells me, “If someone applies at Forbes, a human will always look at your resume before we decide how to proceed.” All this to say: You should craft your resume for human review, and Resumeble ticked the most boxes during our panel testing review.
Best for:
– Providing advanced career consultations and interview prep
– Reviewing the first draft before you pay
Skip if:
– You need it ASAP—turnaround time takes 1 to 2 weeks
TopStack Resume’s resume was bred for C-Suite executives.The service ranges from a basic package (the one I tested) to working with a personal U.S.-based recruiter that costs $1,149 per month.
The basic package includes a resume without a cover letter, but other tiers offer career consulting and a LinkedIn profile update.It’s also worth noting that the 60-day interview guarantee is only available in the Professional and Personal Recruiter packages (the latter also includes a six-month employment guarantee).
Personal Recruiter comes with the top 5% of the TopStack Resume hiring team (a tempting option if you can afford it), but the Professional Package will suit your needs just fine.
A Time-Consuming Process, But It Yields A Comprehensive Resume
Like the other services I tested, the process here is fairly straightforward, albeit a little time consuming.After completing the questionnaire, it took a couple of days to assign a writer, and another couple of days to receive my first draft.After I got my first one, I got two more resume revisions.
The resume I received was by far the most comprehensive and contained sections like “High-Impact Contributions” and “Writing and Edition Excellence” to showcase my skills.I particularly liked how it separated out the quantitative accomplishments to showcase what I could bring to my hypothetical next role.
Easy-To-Read Sections, With A Few Unnecessary Features
There were a few features that confused me, including seemingly random bolded words (which presumably corresponded to relevant keywords) and the way the core competencies section didn’t have a section head.
Our recruiters felt that the writing and excellence section could have been eliminated and the high-impact contributions folded into the experience, but if you’re a C-Suite executive, having these details might make or break your candidacy.Everything was bulleted in easy-to-read segments.
A Slightly Dated Template
There were some drawbacks.I let the resume writer choose the template, and she used one with icons for my contact information.To be blunt, the icons looked quite dated—not to mention the use of blue highlighting made it feel archaic.
In general, I would have liked to have seen a cleaner resume.When I scored it in ATS-optimization software, it only garnered 50 out of 100 on both tests, but again, you should plan to consider human readership here, not any ATS bots.
Odds are if you’re gunning for these leadership roles, a real human will be reviewing these resumes, not putting them through ATS software.
Best for:
– Customizing your resume by writers certified in 65+ industries
– Its 60-day guarantee; double the job interviews or they’ll rewrite it for free
Skip if:
– Limited to two revisions
If you’re seeking a customizable package, TopResume offers four packages to choose from: Professional Growth, Career Evolution, Career Confidence and Executive Priority.The Professional Growth package includes a cover letter and the company sends out three applications on your behalf.You can also opt for extra services by picking a higher-tier package, which can include a LinkedIn makeover, a cover letter and more, depending on your needs.(And for people looking for even more personalized attention, TopResume now offers a job search concierge service called GetHiredNow.)
A Straightforward Writing Process, Plus Two Revisions
Turnaround time is around a week after you’re assigned a writer, but you can purchase an add-on after you choose a package that delivers the first draft of your resume in just 48 hours.Like many other services on this list, I entered my information into a questionnaire and provided links to some roles that hypothetically interested me.
Once I got your resume back, I could revise it twice.
Big Chunks Of Text, But Digs Into Quantitative Wins
The resume I received had a lot of text on it, and that was a problem for my ATS scanner, which scored it 49 and 75 out of 100.That’s not to say it’s a bad resume; in fact, it dives deep into my career details to convey my quantitative successes, one of the most important things you should be doing on your resume.“Sections are called out nicely,” our recruitment team shared with me, noting how the writer used a combination of paragraphs and bullet points.“You usually want to see more numbers and accomplishments, like [any specific revenue streams], especially under a candidate’s most recent role,” one recruiter told me.
I would have liked to have seen the resume service fold in the quantitative accomplishments in with my work history, but that’s personal preference.I also appreciated how the resume writer combined my Dotdash Meredith experience into one for easy readability.
Valuable Education Details
The Forbes recruiting team also called out that TopResume added really valuable details in the Education section of my resume, such as honor societies I was involved in during college along with my degree; they felt that provided more insight than other resumes we tested.So, that’s a handy tip: If you have a degree, list its level on your resume along with other academic honors.
Best for:
– A truly personalized experience, complete with a phone call to learn more about your background
– A wide range of services, including interview prep and career coaching
– An easy-to-read resume with important context built in
Skip if:
– You don’t want to be nickeled and dimed for every extra add-on
ResumeSpice is one of the most expensive options I tested, at $589 for a Professional-tier resume—but for that investment it proved to be a seamless and intuitive processes.For those who need an entry-level resume, expect to pay a slightly less pricey $489.
The company says that turnaround should be around two days, but I couldn’t get an interview slot for over a week; the turnaround time is measured from when you first meet your resume writer via a phone call.
Standout Feature: A Phone Interview That Adds Context
The phone interview is where the service stands apart from the competition.On the call, you can discuss your background and job history and add more context compared with competitors’ less personal questionnaires.My work history includes the transition when Dotdash became the conglomerate Dotdash Meredith, and there are wonky timelines during this period as the merger took place.My resume writer specifically asked for context during that time to ensure she understood my duties and accomplishments.Of all the resume writing services I tried, ResumeSpice was the only one that dove this deeply into my background, and it’s those little details that make it apparent the service was built by actual recruiters.
Slighty Longer Turnaround, But Worth The Wait
Turnaround time proved to be a little longer than the advertised two days, but it was worth the wait.The resume looked clean and professional, with clear-cut bullet points for my job duties as well as a select accomplishments section for all applicable roles.
This resume doesn’t look fancy—in fact, it’s very simple with plain black-and-white text.But remember that so long as a resume looks clean and showcases your talents with experience, core competencies, education and technical skills sections, that’s all you need, and ResumeSpice does exactly this.
When I conferred with the Forbes recruiting team, they also felt that the bullet points were easy to read, and they appreciated that the selected achievements were below job duties.
A Middling ATS Score And Highlighted Contract Roles
But when reviewing the final resume, the link atop the page that should have gone to my LinkedIn profile page was broken—and that was a big issue for me.And when I ran it through ATS tracking software, this resume scored 57 and 74 out of 100, both of which are slightly less than Resumeble’s score.
Something else that I didn’t like about ResumeSpice: The writer highlighted my contract roles as contract in parenthesis.I have experienced times when another candidate was chosen over me at the final round of the hiring process because my roles were freelance or contract instead of full-time.While it’s still considered experience, sometimes a company may choose a full-time candidate over a contractor because full-time positions can be considered better experience.You can ask to remove this language, but remember that you only get two rounds of revisions, so make sure they count.
Extra Services—But They Come At An Additional Cost
You can add on extras, including a cover letter ($199), a LinkedIn profile update ($199), interview prep ($179) and a professional bio ($199) for your websites, social media and more.You can also add a thank-you letter ($129).All of these options can easily increase the total cost by $1,000, which feels excessive.
Best for:
– Free access to dozens of resume and cover letter templates
– Its integration with Indeed, which makes it easy to apply to jobs
– Entry-level workers who want a more professional template
Skip if:
– You’re looking for an interview guarantee
– You want more insightful resume and career advice—this is DIY all the way
Resume.com was the best free resume writing service software I tested.
It offers 20 different templates, and you work entirely on your own, at your chosen pace, to create a resume.
An Easy Resume-Writing Process, Complete With An AI Option
I signed up for an account through Indeed.com, and it took me through each step of the resume writing process, asking me to fill in my work history and job duties.One unique feature is that I could opt to have AI rewrite your resume for me; I could also choose to see what others in your industry have written and “paste” those tasks into my job duties.I ran the Resume.com’s software twice: Once, I used my old resume and uploaded the original language to the template; the second time, I used Resume.com’s AI.
Recruiters Favored The AI Template, But It’s Not Perfect
The resume with my original language looked very, very condensed and cluttered, with lots of black text on the white page that recruiters didn’t like.However, the AI resume was better received by recruiters for its clean, easy-to-read bullets, but it wasn’t without its flaws.At one point, the software revealed its AI underpinnings by claiming a company called Dotdash was in Meredith, New Hampshire.(Dotdash Meredith, where I actually worked, is based in New York City and is now People Inc.) If you use this software, make sure you edit it—it’s far from perfect.The AI also didn’t highlight any of my quantitative accomplishments, which, as a mid-level career editor, I found problematic.
Highlights: A One-Page Resume And Separate All-Skills Section
Still, there were some features that stood out: For one, it limited my resume to a single page.For reference, you can go to two pages so long as you take up at least one-third of the second page.
It also did a great job of keeping the information segregated, so if you were looking for all skills—not just core competencies and technical skills—you could find them all in one place.Our Forbes recruiters really liked this build, since the rest of the resumes separated skills out into the aforementioned categories.
Best For Entry-Level Job Seekers
If you want a resume without spending anything, you can use this resume service.I would recommend it for an entry-level career person looking for a first or second role.However, I strongly recommend against using this service if you’re mid-level professional or higher, because it won’t be able to do your skills and accomplishments the justice needed to wow a recruiter.When I ran both resumes through ATS software, the AI resume scored 42 and 63; the one written by me scored a 49 and 63 out of 100.
How We Tested The Best Resume Writing Services
Process
– Panel testing: To ensure a fair, unbiased review, we blind panel tested several resume writing services.In addition to my own rankings, two of our Forbes recruiters as well as executive editor
Dave Johnsonreviewed and ranked each resume contender.They shared with me what they liked about each one and what could be improved about each one.
Criteria
– Timeline: We timed how quickly each resume writing service produced a first and final draft of a resume.
– Writing process: We considered whether you filled out a questionnaire or spoke with someone on the phone regarding work history.We also considered how many revisions a resume writing service offered.
– Formatting and readability: A good format can help your resume stand out by breaking down your work history into easy-to-read sections, including work experience, skills and more.
We considered how each resume conveyed this information, and whether it felt like too many words on a page.
– ATS Software compatibility: We ran each resume through a several ATS tracking systems to make sure they would read well when reviewed by recruiting departments in the real world.I ran each resume through
resumewordedandMyPerfectResumeto receive scores for how well it can pass these programs, as each ATS resume review software is different.Both software gave me results that were based on scores out of 100.- Cover letters and bundles: Some resume writing services offered customized bundle packages, while others only offered a resume or a resume and cover letter.We factored these customization options into our top choices.
– Price: We considered the cost of each service and compared it to its competition.
How To Choose The Best Resume Writing Service For You
– Qualifications: Some services use writers who are certified career coaches, while others use hiring managers, HR professionals, recruiters or a combination of all four.Yeko advises to always check testimonials to determine if the company is legitimate.“LinkedIn testimonials are ideal because you can review the profiles of the people who wrote them,” she says.
– Writing process: Consider how a resume writing service collects your information and customizes your documents to fit your needs.Some ask you to fill out a questionnaire, while others speak with you one-on-one over the phone.
Many services also offer multiple rounds of revisions to make sure you get the best resume possible.
– Turnaround time: Most services take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to finalize your resume.For example,
Resumeblepromises to provide your documents in four days; however, there are quicker options, likeResumeSpice, that have a two day timeline.- Guarantees: Look for options that offer interview guarantees or refunds if the service is dissatisfactory.Many high-quality services will rewrite your resume for free if it doesn’t lead to an interview within 60 days.
Tips For Writing A Standout Resume
Yeko says your resume should, above all, properly explain why you’re a good fit for a specific role and how your past accomplishments align with its job description.
“It’s truly your opportunity to market your skills, experience and education in a clear and concise manner to that potential employer,” she says.Below, Yeko shares her top four tips for effectively conveying this information to a recruiter or HR manager:
– Explain how your past experience aligns with the role.Conveying exactly why you’re a good fit for the role is helpful for employers who may have limited time to train new hires, says Yeko.“Industry experience that aligns with the role is always helpful when hiring.”
– Summarize your work experience.
Make sure to include relevant software knowledge and skills that match the job description.And don’t forget to highlight your years of experience: “I often see people applying to a junior role that requires, say, two to three years of experience when they have a lot more—or they’re a recent graduate,” says Yeko.
– Tailor your resume to the particular role.Related to our first tip, you want to stand out from the other generic resumes out there; you can also remove experience from another industry if it doesn’t apply.“It should convey your interest in this particular role and be tailored as much as possible to the actual job at hand.”
– Consider writing a cover letter.
While it may not be as important for some companies, Yeko generally recommends writing a cover letter “when the application requires one or when I really want the job.” A well-crafted cover letter further demonstrates to the hiring manager why your experience and education align with the job.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted tech and electronics team has experts in all things consumer technology, including hardware and software.By tapping into our wide breadth of knowledge, we’ve published a collection of tech and electronic guides that are each backed by our in-depth testing and research.
– Author and tech editor
Rebecca Isaacshas six years of experience testing software and online tools that are geared towards career growth.When she’s not writing about topGMAT prep courses, she’s testing products that are key to succeeding in the workplace, like thebest home printersandbest laptops for working from home.- Executive editor
Dave Johnson, who oversaw this story and reviewed each final resume sample, has more than two decades of experience in the consumer tech industry.
He’s authored multiple how-to books on the subject, and his passion for software also led him to share his favoriteAI writing tools.- Because technology is ever-evolving, we regularly update this story.It was last reviewed and refreshed in February 2026.
Our Experts
– Jennifer Yeko, founder and CEO of
Nina Recruiting, a recruiting and career coaching service and former Head of Talent at Penske Media Corporation..
