I recently heard from a client whom I helped overhaul her resume for a career change. She made the changes I’d suggested for her resume, and ended up with seven phone interviews for opportunities from Maine to California. She has four more interviews lined up next week. Here’s what she had to say:
The new resume is working and you’re to thank! It looks good and the response so far has been very positive. I just had to be patient during the quiet season.
The quiet season she’s referring to is the time right around the holidays when hiring goes down. There’s an ebb and flow to hiring practices. Hiring, especially within certain industries, have their own seasons, much like sports do! So your patience is important during the down times.
Avoid a Cookie-Cutter Resume
What’s interesting about this case is my client came to me with a resume she’d had critiqued by a professional resume writing service. While the advice the service provided wasn’t necessarily wrong, it was somewhat out-dated. In fact, most of the info on the Internet in regards to resumes is very outdated.
Her resume was also what I call “cookie-cutter.” There was nothing about her resume that made it stand out from the competition. You can’t run the risk of having a cookie-cutter resume that doesn’t stand out among others’ or even your own. What do I mean by “your own”? You can’t use the same resume for every job for which you apply! It must be tailored to each and every job, and there are certain ways to do this.
This client’s original resume also didn’t include the “secret weapons” I share with my clients. Want to know what those secret weapons are? I’ll soon be sharing them in my upcoming on-demand coaching program due out this spring (subscribe here for updates). I’m also always available for a personalized resume critique in a one-on-one coaching session. Email me at lorib@yourpassioninlife.com to schedule a resume and LinkedIn profile critique!
