1. What led you to writing resumes? Do you have a background that made you an ideal fit for the industry?
I have an English degree and started my working career in Public Relations firms. From there I ended up in advertising/marketing, then when it came time to start a family, I decided to stay home and work as a freelance writer. A friend asked me to writer her resume 10 years ago and one thing led to another so that I’m now writing resumes full time.
2. How long have you been in the industry? Would you recommend it to others? Why?
I’ve been writing resumes and other career documents for 7 years. I would recommend this field to someone who enjoys working alone, is a good writer and who is, above all things, patient.
3. What is the single best tool you recommend for building client relations? Building your business? Improve efficiency?
My best marketing tool is the resumes I write. Approximately 80 percent of my new business is the result of referrals from previous clients. I am deliberately keeping my business fairly small right now to accommodate the volunteer work I want to do and to have plenty of time with my teen daughter. As for efficiency, I find having a defined system in place in very important.
4. If you could share one learning experience/great lesson, what would it be?
The hardest lesson I’ve learned is that you just can’t trust everyone. So get paid up front – no exceptions.
5. Looking back, what would you have done differently? Done the same?
I would have committed to this path sooner.
6. What advice would you give someone just entering the resume-writing industry?
Don’t bother if you can’t write well. I am horrified by many of the resumes I see, some of them from people with multiple certifications listed after their names. The grammar, the sentence structure, even the spelling. Yikes! Don’t get me started.
7. How do you see our industry transforming over the next 12 months? 5 years? What do think resume writers need to know in order to survive?
I have a feeling we’ll start to see a more standardized format for the resume because of the technology that companies and recruiters are using to review them. That’s a shame, in my opinion, because it takes away the ability to personalize the resume. I don’t mean fancy graphics or boxes, but I hate the thought of all resumes looking nearly identical in the future.
