TL;DR: According to reviews of TopResume, job seekers found its free resume reviews helpful and the quality of its resume rewrites satisfactory; but many communicated that quality resumes often took multiple revisions, were not delivered on deadline, and that its add-on and premium-package services are overpriced. In comparison, customers of Teal’s all-in-one AI Resume Builder loved its features for customizing resumes to unique job postings and for its flexible pricing options.
Navigating the job market is overwhelming. That’s why job seekers rely on professional resume writers to craft or update their resumes for job postings. Resume writers offer personalized feedback, rewriting help, and, often, assistance with your cover letter.
This article explores reviews of TopResume, summarizes common themes from customer reviews, and considers whether it’s the best option for creating or updating a resume.
What is TopResume?
TopResume is a professional resume writing service that provides a free resume critique and paid options for resume writing, cover-letter writing, and more.
TopResume provides professional resume writing, cover-letter writing, and additional features like a resume review, upgrades to LinkedIn profiles, and more.
TopResume provides detailed feedback on your current resume to help impress hiring managers, such as how you’re highlighting accomplishments from past jobs, formatting your resume for visual appeal, and using language that demands attention.
Their resume writers also work with you one-on-one through feedback and revisions to optimize your resume, improve your cover letter and even update your LinkedIn profile.
TopResume has three core offerings:
- A free resume review, with specific examples for improvement.
- A service that involves submitting a questionnaire about your needs and your background and communicating via revisions with a professional resume writer who will rewrite your resume.
- Add-on services such as a 48-hour turnaround time, a rewrite of your cover letter, a “LinkedIn Makeover,” interview coaching, resume distribution to recruiters and more.
Some users felt their own resume was better than the one provided by TopResume, citing a lack of effort or originality in the professional service.
TopResume also offers an “Elite Executive Priority Package” for business executives, which includes more professional resume-writing support and many of the add-ons mentioned above.
But how does TopResume hold up based on customer reviews? And how do its customers feel about its resume writers, its customer support and pricing?
And does TopResume stand up to AI resume builders like Teal?
We looked at reviews of TopResume and compared them to Teal reviews to see how satisfied users were with the popular resume writing service compared to an AI resume builder.
TopResume reviews on Trustpilot
3.9 / 5 ⭐
On Trustpilot, TopResume has an average score of 3.9 out of five stars, based on over 13,000 reviews from customers.
Generally, a score below four isn’t overly respectable, demonstrating below-excellent customer satisfaction. However, a noticeable share of TopResume's reviews are positive.
Looking through the five-star reviews of TopResume, it’s clear that some people appreciated the work done by the resume writer assigned to them by TopResume. For instance, TopResume user Elizabeth said Mason from TopResume “responded quickly and worked efficiently.”
But these appear to be subjective experiences largely dependent on the particular resume writer job seekers get assigned from TopResume.
According to many lukewarm or even negative reviews of TopResume, not all resume writers are as quick and efficient as Mason.
For example, from these two anonymous customers below, although they were still ultimately satisfied with the quality of work done, they felt the turnaround times were unnecessarily long and the communication with the resume writer lacking. A member of the support team often had to step in to address these customer complaints
One of the reviewers even commented that paying extra for a guaranteed 48-hour delivery of your resume would probably be a good idea because “the lapse between communications was a bit long at times.”
Other Trustpilot reviewers of TopResume had a gripe with the add-on services, while still being sufficiently satisfied with the quality of their resume.
For instance, in the below example, this reviewer felt that paying for add-ons didn’t generate a positive return on their investment, noting how the resume-distribution option to recruiters just felt like a regular subscription to a basic recruiting service.
To provide some additional context, the reviewer wondered if TopResume was just a subscription to Career.io, which is TopResume’s parent company. All customers get a Career.io subscription, but TopResume’s specific subscription add-on for resume distribution is powered by the company Recruiter.com.
As for the LinkedIn add-on, which is a professional rewrite of your LinkedIn profile, the below reviewer felt the service wasn’t unique enough to warrant an additional cost.
Finally, the three-star reviews of TopResume present a mixed bag of opinions on the quality of the resume.
In the below examples, one reviewer wasn’t happy the first draft of their resume was done poorly, and the other disclosed the resume TopResume wrote didn’t yield any job interviews, even commenting that the resume-distribution add-on was more of a nuisance than a benefit.
TopResume reviews on X
On X (formerly Twitter), there aren’t many customer complaints. However, one customer gave TopResume a simple recommendation.
It seems as if this anonymous reviewer got a few more callbacks for interviews after using TopResume’s free resume review—but there’s no indication they used any of TopResume’s paid services for a resume update.
TopResume reviews on Reddit
On Reddit, another anonymous reviewer is satisfied with the early stages of the resume review—but again, there’s no evidence they’ve gone in-depth with TopResume’s paid resume service.
Though not all Reddit reviews reflect a positive experience.
When it comes to TopResume’s “Elite Executive Priority Package”—rewrites for all three of a resume, a cover letter and a LinkedIn profile, plus two interview-prep sessions and a 30-day Career.io subscription—one customer didn’t get their resume in the promised turnaround time.
TopResume reviews on Quora
And over on Quora, another job seeker felt the Elite Executive Priority Resume Package was even more underwhelming, because of missed deadlines for the first draft, poor quality and an unresolved refund request.
TopResume pricing
Most noticeably, reviews of TopResume consistently bemoaned the financial value of the add-on services, especially the Elite Executive Priority Package, feeling the TopResume cost for these services aren’t worth it. This dissatisfaction highlights the importance of prioritizing customer satisfaction in relation to the services offered.
TopResume pricing starts at $149 for a basic resume. TopResume also offers more-expensive packages that feature add-ons like cover-letter and LinkedIn-profile rewrites. All packages provide a Career.io subscription and promise a job interview within 60 days—however, some job seekers who wrote reviews of TopResume said they received no interview callbacks. In response to complaints about pricing, a member of their support team often reaches out to assist and address concerns.
The TopResume price for its most-expensive package is $699, which includes not only a rewrite of your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile, but also a Career.io subscription, interview prep, a promised two-day turnaround time, and a guarantee your resume writer is rated in the top one percent in their network. However, multiple TopResume reviews communicated that this executive package is overpriced for what customers get.
TopResume review summary
If you’re considering TopResume’s resume-writing service to help get more callbacks for interviews, it seems you might get mixed results in terms of customer satisfaction.
TopResume reviews: Pros
- Satisfactory free resume reviews
- Decent final quality of resume rewrites
- Helpful communication from writers
TopResume reviews: Cons
- Often longer-than-promised turnaround times
- High-quality resume usually take multiple drafts
- Poor value in add-on services and the executive package
Although most job seekers who paid for a resume writer from TopResume were eventually satisfied with the quality, many said the first drafts weren’t up to par and required extensive feedback. Some users even felt their own resume was better than the one provided by TopResume. And many others were upset with how long the process took relative to expectations.
Who is TopResume best for?
Based on customer reviews of TopResume, it’s clear there's some value to this resume service for some, but TopResume isn’t a great fit for everyone. Customer satisfaction varies widely, with some users expressing extreme dissatisfaction due to ignored feedback, lack of response from writers, and inadequate document revisions.
Based on the reviews, TopResume’s free resume review is worth it, as most reviewers felt their resume reviews were detailed and helpful. Because this doesn’t cost a penny, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a spin. The free resume critique is particularly valuable for entry-level job seekers who need basic feedback.
However, many reviewers impressed by the resume-rewrite quality, as indicated on social media, were looking for non-advanced jobs in areas like data entry or insurance sales. Customers further along in their careers who paid for the executive package weren’t happy with the quality level.
And even the job seekers who were satisfied with the quality of their resume found that the turnaround times were often needlessly long and they had to give lots of feedback to the resume writers.
Therefore, TopResume is best for job seekers looking for entry-level roles in areas like accounting, customer service, data entry, and retail sales along with those who only need basic feedback on their resumes from professional resume writers. Job seekers with lots of experience looking for advanced positions or anyone who needs quick service to apply for jobs quickly should turn elsewhere.
What’s more, TopResume doesn’t provide any support for helping to find job postings, tailor your resume for specific postings, or organize your job applications. Reviewers felt TopResume’s resume-distribution add-on service via Recruiter.com wasn’t helpful for networking with recruiters.
Should you consider a resume-builder tool like Teal that helps you through every stage of the application process? Here’s a comparison of Teal reviews to TopResume reviews to help you decide.
Teal reviews vs TopResume reviews
Unlike reviews of TopResume, Teal reviews show its users love the add-on services because they provide tangible value for job seekers.
For example, with Teal’s Chrome extension—which is a free add-on—you can import job postings to customize your resume and do side-by-side comparisons of resumes and postings.
Plus Teal has many positive reviews in the Chrome Web Store, like the below examples, with 4.9 stars out of 5 from over 2,800 reviews.
Teal customers also love the AI functionality, which crafts custom resume sections based on keywords from specific job postings.
Teal also provides a resume score called a Match Score to let you know how well your resume stacks up to a job posting.
This means instead of receiving a single, generic rewrite of your resume, Teal’s AI customizes your resume for the job you’re applying to, which helped job seekers like Mark cut his application time by 60 percent and land his dream gig, as seen in his review of Teal below.
Lastly, Teal customers appreciate the value they get.
From TopResume reviews, many job seekers questioned the cost and struggled to get refunds when they weren’t satisfied.
But reviews of Teal demonstrate that users love the value of Teal’s services and even the pricing transparency about recurring payments, as shown below in Amanda’s review.
Why job seekers prefer Teal
When comparing TopResume to Teal, Teal stands out for its features in helping you craft a resume tailored to the unique jobs you’re applying to and for its flexible pricing options that don’t make job seekers feel like they’re overpaying.
With flexible pricing, Teal offers:
- A generous free plan
- Weekly pricing options
- Hassle-free cancellations
Teal vs TopResume cost
- Teal+: $9/week or $29/month
- TopResume: One-time costs that range between $149 and $699, plus options to buy add-ons à la carte
TopResume offers a money-back guarantee if their resume work doesn’t help you get a job interview within 60 days.
However, Teal offers flexibility because customers have to opt in to auto-renew subscriptions. That way, you never pay for something you’re not using.
Plus, it’d take a full five months of using Teal even to surpass the base cost of TopResume’s entry-level package, which only includes a single resume improvement (and a 30-day Career.io subscription).
With Teal, you get so much more, including an AI Resume Builder, a Job Application Tracker, and access to a fully integrated Job Board.
Teal offers more for your resume
What truly sets Teal apart is its all-in-one approach to personalized job hunting to help job seekers advance their career and find the perfect job, just like Ashleigh and Oshen.
Not only does Teal offer AI resume and cover letter creation, it also includes:
- Resume Analysis so you don’t miss any key details
- A Job Application Tracker to organize your search every step of the way
- Contacts and Company Trackers help you remember who you know from where
- Email follow-up templates and reminders so you never miss a follow-up again
- World-class tech support to lean on if you get stuck
- A Match Score to ensure your resume aligns with every role
Teal's AI guides you in crafting a strong narrative throughout your resume, cover letter, and emails along with keeping track of every job application so nothing falls through the cracks. Sign up for Teal to try it for free!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is paying for TopResume worth it?
TopResume can be worth it depending on your needs. According to customer reviews, job seekers felt the free resume review was helpful and many were ultimately satisfied with the quality of their resume updates.
But many customers felt the more advanced services were overpriced and not worth the cost. If you’re thinking about paying for one of the more expensive packages from TopResume or any of the add-ons, consider Teal’s AI Resume Builder so you can customize every resume to each job.
Is TopResume's free resume review really free?
TopResume offers a free resume review, but its resume service and all of its add-on services come at a cost. Its paid packages range between $149 and $699.
How long does a TopResume resume rewrite take?
TopResume claims its writers complete a resume within one week and the revision rounds (maximum of two) take up to one week each. However, multiple customer reviews indicate that TopResume sometimes struggles to provide its resume-writing services in a timely manner as otherwise promised.
TopResume includes a 48-hour turnaround for the first draft of your resume at either an extra cost or as part of their most expensive package.
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