If you’ve thought about hiring a resume distribution service, the two main factors to consider are cost and effectiveness. Most people are drawn to the idea of resume posting or distribution because it offers convenience and speed. Your resume is quickly sent to hundreds of job boards or thousands of recruiters depending on the service you choose. This can save you countless hours of manually posting your resume online. The quicker you get a job the quicker you’ll start making money, so a little invested now will pay off in the end.

If you’ve ever shopped around for a resume distribution service you have many, many options with prices ranging from $29.95 to $89.95 and beyond. It’s important to find out up front what exactly is included in the price. Does the company do the work for you or are you sent a link and instructions on how to distribute your resume yourself? Are you able to customize the distribution to fit your industry and desired position or is it a general distribution to numerous industries? Can you choose to opt out of certain job boards? Careful research will help you narrow down the service that is best for your needs.

The effectiveness of the distribution is another important factor. Some of the guarantees I’ve come across include: Guarantee that 10+ Employers will call you within 72 hours, money back guarantee, 60 day interview guarantee and free reposting if no interview within 30 days. Before you sign up for these services ask about their success rate; if they can’t give you specific results be wary. I’ve heard vague responses from some companies like, “all of the clients using our resume distribution service have received a response.” What they don’t tell you is that the response had nothing to do with the client’s desired industry or position.

There are a few other things to look at if you are thinking about resume distribution services. What is the follow-up service like or is there even a follow-up service? What I mean by that is, once the company has distributed your resume are you on your own? Are they available for questions or problems you might encounter? Another thing to think about is distribution results. Many services come with a distribution report that will tell you where your resume was sent, how often it was viewed and who it was viewed by. This is a great tool for tracking the response to your resume.

I think resume distribution services can be an effective and efficient way to quickly get your resume out there and jump start your job search, but it’s important to do your research before choosing a company. A well informed decision will generate the best results for you in the end.