Monster.com is one of the most recognizable job search and career management sites on the web, and they offer resources that extend a few steps beyond resume creation. For this reason, their services don’t align perfectly with the others on the list; they provide tools that differ slightly in both in reach and in application. For example, their resume tool will upload and evaluate an existing resume, but it won’t create a document from scratch, so a direct comparison can be difficult.

A few things that make this site a useful tool for job seekers:

1. Monster offers broad reach to employers. When companies want large applicant pools and have the resources to sift through them, they post their available jobs here, where they can be seen by a global audience. But there’s a downside to this benefit: If you (the candidate) find a post on a smaller niche site that caters to your own regional area or your own tiny subset of the market, you’re more likely to step into a smaller applicant pool and get more attention. If you respond to a job on Monster, you may be one of hundreds of applicants from all over the world. It doesn’t mean you’ll fall through the cracks, but it does mean that you’ll have to work harder to stand out.
2. An endless trove of example resumes across every imaginable industry. Monster won’t create your resume for you, but the site will provide you with plenty of models. Need to see resume examples from the hospitality industry? How about healthcare or retail? Monster can provide them, so when you draft your document from scratch, you won’t feel like you’re forging into uncharted territory. Not all resume creation sites offer this benefit.
3. A resume scan and assessment. Monster provides FREE first impressions and feedback on your document’s content and visual appearance, and a PAID form of customized resume help at three different price points. Start small and you’ll get your free assessment and guidance back in two days. Go slightly bigger and after a fee and a five-day wait, you’ll get back a document that’s been tightened, optimized to appeal to your target employers, and enhanced with researched keywords that address your chosen audience. For a slightly higher fee, hand over both your resume and cover letter. And at the very highest level, you’ll receive a cover letter review, a resume review and a makeover of your LinkedIn page.
4. Volumes of resume writing tips, articles, and general job search advice. The site also offers an ever-growing trove of articles and how-to’s that can help you take your resume from a blank page to a document that’s more likely to attract interview invitations. As the job market changes and employer preferences and software tools evolve, these articles can help you keep your approach current. Attention-grabbing keywords, memorable formats, and resume styles that work well with employer ATS systems change now and then, so make sure the guidelines you’re reading and following are current and applicable to your own industry.
5. Additional job search tools, forums and useful information. Since Monster benefits from a broad global audience, it’s a great place to find independent reviews of the company you’d like to work for and average salary data that can prepare you for the negotiation process.

Monster’s budget and reach place it in a class by itself, and it’s a great resource if you’re trying to find well-aligned job posts and cast a wide employer search net. But when it comes to creating a beautiful resume from the ground up, you’re better off choosing a site with a step-by-step feature that allows you to complete one section at a time.