Writing resumes, especially science resume writing can be quite challenging, which is why many people turn to professional resume writing services. Such services can be found all over the country, though mostly concentrated in big cities, and usually provide a wide range of services outside of just resume writing, including career coaching, cover letter writing, statement proofing, and LinkedIn assistance. Many of these firms also cover a broad scope of industries, roles, and levels, working with people ranging from entry-level sales representatives to C-Suite executives for Fortune 500 corporations. However, oftentimes people in specialized industries such as science fields are curious if broader resume writing services will work for them.
The sciences are a very broad area, spanning chemists, biologists, physicists, researchers, and more. Finding a resume writing service specific to one of those sectors is not feasible, so instead, many clients look for firms that specialize in science or even wider STEM resume writing. There are such organizations, but not many, and it’s because there aren’t enough clients in those fields to sustain a large business. Therefore, most people in the sciences can feel comfortable utilizing a resume writing service that spans industries, as they frequently work with science resumes and other such career services documents.
That being said, there are certainly some typical differences between a resume in the sciences and one in sales or engineering or nursing. Much of the time, a science resume will not contain much in the way of numbers, metrics, or achievements. A physicist doesn’t have sales numbers, or make process improvements that generate cost savings, or provide direct customer service. Instead, science resumes focus more on responsibilities, interesting findings/discoveries, and work in research or on projects. This can make science resumes a bit drier than a “regular” resume, but that’s fine – the recruiters and hiring managers reading the resumes won’t be looking for those pieces of information anyway.
Do You Need A Resume Or A CV?
One critical thing for candidates to look at before choosing a resume writing service for their career documents is whether the company has experience with Curriculum Vitae (CVs). CVs are very similar to resumes, with the main difference being length – most resumes should be one or two pages long, while CVs can be as long as they need to in order to fit in all the relevant information. Many science resumes would fall in the CV bucket, especially if they’re research-oriented. This is because CVs can contain all the presentations, publications, research documents, and affiliations that are relevant, which for a researcher, can be dozens or even hundreds. While that sort of information isn’t difficult to write, as it’s mostly just formatting and making sure everything is aligned, it is a specialty, so if the resume writing service doesn’t have a section geared for CVs, it might be best to look elsewhere.
Why Consultations Are Crucial
Another crucial element for a science resume writing service is their ability to hold in-person, virtual, or over the phone meetings with clients before the writing process begins. Such meetings are important for all resumes, but even more valuable for science resumes, which can be dense, long, and highly technical. While just reviewing the resume to improve keyword count, enhance formatting, and correct grammar is a great start, the best resume writing services will hold these meetings to truly understand the content and reshape it in a matter that reflects what the client wants and thinks is most important for the resume to convey. These meetings result in resumes are far superior than those that result from simple review via email or even based on a survey of changes. The human, white-glove element is vital, especially for such complicated subject matter.
Finding The Right Fit
Ultimately, making sure you find a resume writing service that has such resources and experience is more important than one that specializes in science. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, while science resumes might be more complex, and feature somewhat different information, resume writing is, in the end, resume writing. Resume writing services with many years of experience will have encountered plenty of resumes in the science field, and will have a deep knowledge of how to write similar documents. Moreover, their experiences covering a variety of industries, fields, and roles will actually enable superior resumes informed by broader knowledge of the career services world.
When looking for a science resume writing service, you should not seek out STEM-targeted organizations. Instead, you should search for a firm that offers CVs, provides more of a human, white-glove element via calls or in-person meetings, and has a wide breadth of experience across career services. Such resume writing services will probably ultimately work better in crafting a document for the sciences than those that have a narrower scope of focus and can’t offer as comprehensive an experience.