By Joan Axelrod-Contrada, Globe Correspondent, 9/15/02

Ten years ago, Bill Fortin of Northampton set out to write his own resume and ended up on the path toward becoming a CPRW -- certified professional resume writer.

''I read everything I could about resume writing,'' said Fortin, 59, who at the time was trying to move from military recruiting to human resources. ''Obviously, it worked. I got the job. But I would never use the same resume today. I'd make it more hard-hitting.''

Fortin eventually became one of more than 1,000 certified professional resume writers nationwide. He runs his own part-time business and Web site, PrizeResume.com.

Resume writers benefit both from the opportunities created by a good economy and the competitive challenges in an economic slowdown. And in an era of layoffs and cutbacks, job hunters are looking for resumes that ''sizzle'' in an employer's hands, specialists say. While many people still write their own resumes, others believe a professional can do a better job. But finding the right professional can be tricky.

''Prior to certification, anyone could hang out a shingle, and the public had no way to tell [one resume writer from another]'' said Frank Fox, 57, founder and executive director of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC). ''Certification provides a minimum standard of qualification.''

Certification is important because anyone with a computer can set up shop, say resume writers. Sally McIntosh, certification chair for the National Resume Writers' Association, knows of only three states -- New York, Arizona, and Texas -- that have criteria for the profession.

Resume writers are among the many professionals who have recently added certification programs.

''They want the public's confidence that the profession is operating in an ethical manner and that people know what they are doing,'' said Cookie Cottrell, director of credentialing services for the American Society of Association Executives in Washington, D.C.