Positives
- Simple dashboard
- User-friendly editor
- Numerous download formats
- Pre-written phrases
- Diverse templates
Negatives
- Confusing pricing plans
- Limited styling options
Everyone should refresh their resume when looking for a new job. Luckily, resume builders can help, and LiveCareer is considered a veteran among them. Having been around since 2004, the company has had plenty of time to become a leading resume builder. With its easy-to-use dashboard that evaluates the strength of your curriculum, building a resume is a walk in the park. LiveCareer also provides more templates than you’ll ever need, letting you choose from a more classic format to quirkier styles. Cover letters have also never been easier with LiveCareer’s editor, which almost writes the entire document for you. To top it all off, all these features come at an affordable rate and with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Features
LiveCareer has a user-friendly dashboard. The free version of the service lets you create, rename, and duplicate resumes and cover letters, as these options only require you to register. However, only those with a paid subscription can print and download documents in various formats, like PDF and DOCX. While you can’t upload any documents, the intuitive editor lets you finish resumes and cover letters in mere minutes. All you have to do is write a few keywords, and LiveCareer works its magic.
Editing your resume is simple, as LiveCareer allows you to add and remove segments to your heart’s content. The spell checker is active both when writing the resume and once it’s completed. As for the cover letter editor, it works best when you’ve already completed a resume. Based on your information, the editor writes the letter for you and inserts your hard and soft skills where relevant. The platform comes with an auto-save function, but you can also save modifications manually.
LiveCareer boasts one more exciting feature. Every time you open your account, it shows you how your resume scores. It provides a percentage describing how perfect your resume is, highlighting errors, and providing tips to make it fail-proof. This gives you an idea of how likely it is that companies will actually pick your resume.
Once you have completed your resume and cover letter, it’s time to head to LiveCareer’s jobseeker tab, where you’ll find personalized job offers based on the information you provided in your curriculum. Alternatively, if you already have a job in mind, LiveCareer’s search engine can quickly find ads for you.
Setup
LiveCareer’s resume builder and cover letter creator are straightforward to use, and even first-timers will find it easy to work with them. Unfortunately, the software only allows you to create your first resume after creating an account, but the editor works fast and gives you tips while building your resume.
The editor itself is, of course, at the core of it all. Each time you enter a segment, LiveCareer provides hints and even optional, pre-written phrases. It also lets you rename and move all segments wherever you like.
Although LiveCareer’s mobile app doesn’t let you design your resume, it’s a great way to search through the company’s job board on the go. The software lets you easily apply to the jobs using the resume you’ve created and comes with a handy job tracker. This way, you can check the status of all the ads you’ve applied wherever you are.
Templates
You need to choose one of LiveCareer’s 36 templates before starting to edit your resume. These templates range from traditional to more modern, letting you fully personalize to your taste. This is also helpful when a company asks for a certain type of resume. A minor downside is that only a handful of templates come with the option of adding a photo, which limits your choices significantly if this is a priority.
LiveCareer’s editor is like an oversimplified word processing software, as it lets you do basic tweaking of fonts, paragraph styles, and bulleted lists. Still, while it’s not a remarkably layered editor, it’s perfect for creating simple and attractive resumes and cover letters.
Pricing
Just like most of its competitors, LiveCareer only reveals its prices once you’re ready to download your first document. Even then, the company charges different prices when you go to the checkout page after finishing a resume or cover letter. This seems to be a small mistake on LiveCareer’s side, as both options provide the exact same features. As usual with resume builder providers, LiveCareer charges a hefty monthly fee to make you subscribe to the annual plan. The former costs $23.95, whereas the latter is only $5.95 per month ($71,40 per year). In other words, if you’re thinking of using LiveCareer’s services for more than two months, it’s preferred to opt for the yearly subscription.
You can use LiveCareer for free if you just want to create and save a resume or cover letter. Additionally, all purchases come with a 14-day money-back guarantee, letting you try out every little detail the service has to offer risk-free. In addition, if you let the company know that you want to use the service for an extended period, customer support may provide a personalized rate.
Customer Service
LiveCareer’s customer support is highly variable. Although it doesn’t offer 24/7 support, you can call the company in the U.S. and Canada between 8 a.m and 8 p.m. (CST) on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. It also offers different phone numbers and hours for the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Moreover, receiving a response over live chat is fast. However, you do need to be signed into your account, and the agent will ask you a few account-related questions for identification purposes.
Some of the other free support options are also worth mentioning. For example, LiveCareer’s support page offers writing tips and includes resume and cover letter samples. The company also answers job-related questions and explains how to prepare for and stand out in an interview. Finally, reading some blog articles will provide vital information about contemporary issues in the job-seeking market, such as how remote work has changed the selection process.
Bottom Line
LiveCareer clearly knows what job seekers need. From its simple dashboard to the plethora of templates that offer both classic and modern styles, creating a resume is simple, and the final product looks excellent. LiveCareer helps you throughout the creation process, either by evaluating your resume, providing writing tips and premade phrases, or by automatically organizing the information in your resume. Granted, manually readjusting everything is also possible, but you won’t need to do that as LiveCareer lays out everything logically. The fact that your cover letters almost write themselves is also impressive and noteworthy. However, the company should really double-check its pricing. Still, LiveCareer’s prices are not a hard pill to swallow with the free resume and cover letter builders, a 14-day money-back guarantee, and occasional personalized prices.
Visit LiveCareerFree AccountBest Resume Builders of 2024
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Andrei says
There are two ways to charge for a resume building service. One would be to advertise the features and the low cost openly and convince the customer that they provide good added value, worth the payment. Another would be to saying the tool is free, have nothing on the home page suggesting payment for downloading a Word or Pdf version, having them work on their edits for a while, and then slapping on a charge. There are very specific types of companies using such marketing approach: shady horoscope builders, shady financial advice companies, shady dating companies. Just seeing this strategy being utilized should be an enormous red flag, even if you have invested a little bit of your time into it, consider it as sunk cost, warn others, and disengage.
A company that knowingly misleads is a scam at best. The people working there should be ashamed – there are better ways to make a living.
Plenty of free sites using the exact same approach.
Daniel (Best Reviews Team) says
Hi Andrei, and thank you for your comment.
We understand your concern. However, this is an industry norm among resume builders, which LiveCareer simply follows. Moreover, the company doesn’t make this a secret either; if you check LiveCareer’s Terms of Use, it clearly states under “9. Payments and Subscriptions” that when you use the service only occasionally (“for un-scheduled purchases”), you agree to any charges happening there and then. Furthermore, this should be present in every company’s Terms of Use by law, so technically, it can’t be considered hidden information. Again, we understand if it’s frustrating, so we recommend trying a resume builder on a very basic level first (i.e., don’t spend hours customizing a resume) to learn if it’s worth using even if you don’t know its price initially. We hope we could clarify the issue, and feel free to contact us for any further advice. Have a nice day!
CHARLOTTE LIM says
Scam. Even if you cancelled your account within the 14 days they wont refund you. You cant even reach their email. You have to look for livechats to do refund. Upsetting. I couldnt get through their email. When i get through their live chats they say their system dont allow for full refund. Disappointing . I created account on 9 may. And made a mistake so i cancelled the account . Then to realise they deducted 2.95 . They charged more than the orginal 1.95.. scam!
pd6900 says
LiveCareer.com word-for-word has my resume advertised on their website. I never authorized them to do so and they never informed me it would be posted – I flatly would have declined. It’s intrusive and unsettling to see it up there. Very deceptive practices. I’ve asked them to take it down. I was told it would be taken down in 5 days. Last Friday made the 5th day. If it isn’t taken down next week I’ll be reporting them to everyone I can think of. There’s a multitude of complaints from dissatisfied customers about them on the web that deal with money issues as well. Wish I’d known that in advance.