A prospective client wrote that she just needs a resume and doesn’t understand why I told her about my process for developing a resume.  

I can hear her saying to herself “why do I need to spend 5 to 10 hours on this? Can’t she just rewrite what I already have?” And behind this is the thought “I can’t afford this” or even “she just wants to make more money.”

Completely understandable thoughts, but they are mired in the old economy – the pre-2008 economy, the economy before the Great Recession, the economy where employers needed workers.

In today’s economy, workers need employers.  And employers need people who can produce results. They need people who are virtually guaranteed to produce the desired results.  Employers want risk-free hiring. 

Employers are looking only for people who:

  1. meet the stated qualifications;
  2. have experience doing the kind of work required
  3. demonstrate clear impact doing the work required;
  4. really want the specific job and admire the employer; and,
  5. fit in with the employer’s culture.

That means that, today, there’s no such thing as just a “resume.”A resume can no longer be just a statement of your past experience doing things.  Instead, your resume is a marketing document, showcasing your “personal brand.”

My process is part of doing a new resume.  For today’s job search, you need to know what you do well, how you do it, and what impact you have.  I call this your core value proposition for an employer.  My process helps you do that, so you stand out from the crowd, and so you are applying for jobs that are a good match.

If you just want a resume, there may be some people in the business who will simply rewrite what you already have and perhaps spend an hour with you.  But most of the good resume preparers are all about positioning you most effectively.  So they probably cost about the same as me and may in fact have to spend the same kind of time I do. Why? Because most people:

  • Don’t focus on their accomplishments and impact.  So we have to dig for that.
  • Don’t know how to showcase their personality so potential employers get a sense right away of their personality and can tell if you’re a good potential fit or not. We do.
  • Don’t know how to format a resume so it’s easy to read and conveys the right information quickly. We do, because that’s our speciality, our expertise, our work.

I think of my work with you as you making an investment in your future.

I still carry with me the lessons I got about myself from the career coaching my dad bought for me almost 20 years ago.  The self-knowledge I gained gave me enormous confidence in my value to an employer and validated my sense of my abilities so I could “sell myself” to an employer. After that coaching, I got my job as Executive Director of a NYC non-profit, where I stayed for 11 years of the most professionally fulfilling work I’ve done in a traditional employment situation. I then used the same tools to figure out that my next step was being a coach.

That self-knowledge is what my clients take with them.  The few hundred dollars spent will yield dividends forever.

If you still think you want “just want a resume,” visit careerealism.com for lots of great information on what resumes are like these days. Then decide if you need professional help or if you can give it a go on your own. Whatever you decide, expect it to take at least several hours to come up with a resume that positions you for work you can and want to do.

Good luck!

print