Every now and then, when we’ve gone the extra ten kilometres for a client beyond the quoted fee, we ask for a Google review.

It helps with SEO ranking (but not much). More importantly, it shows prospective clients, that we’re not backyard shonks, who cut and paste text and who can never be contacted.

We’re no the only ones. Most professional resume writers do it as well.

One phenomena that successful resume writers discuss amongst themselves, is the general reluctance of the professional class to leave a Google review.

This is curious because it’s their resumes which take the most work; which may require further research, consultation with other resume writers and more.

We know anecdotally that the prime reason is the fear that a future employer will know that they sought the help of a professional resume writer.

For some, approaching a resume writer is much like approaching a drug dealer, “pssst, can you help me write a cracking resume?”

It’s a clandestine operation; somehow unseemly or treading dangerously close to cheating.

First of all: I don’t write resumes by myself. I don’t make them up. How could I possibly write a chemical engineer’s resume without forming a partnership with the client?

Secondly, no current or prospective employer in their right mind, is going to search through the thousands of resume writer websites in Australia, looking for an applicant or employee’s name on a Google review.

Much of this client behaviour has to do with guilt and some degree of fear.

It’s curious that people frame it that way because a good resume writer may be directly responsible for getting a client a job and all of the benefits that flow from that.