As part of my consulting, I offer resume writing.
I wanted to walk you through a recent client, who is a senior motion graphic designer in the entertainment industry. He was recently laid off and needed a modern resume to help him find land his next role. Timing here was also critical as he has 60 days before his visa expires.
#1. After an initial 30 minute consultation on 5/6, I received the clients resume and immediately started writing notes and framing the questions I needed to ask. The challenge was that his resume lacked significant results and was very wordy, so I had to drill into understanding the type of work he does and how it creates value for a company. My initial set of questions took me around 20 minutes. Also, all my clients get an introductory email, which also requires a key set of questions to be answered that helps me tune the resume based on their top 3 expertise, etc.
I also asked him to provide me details of the keywords/skills in 5 job descriptions that he was targeting. I have clients Pareto these out based on top skills to lowest skills. The goal here is to ensure the client has those skills and that they get listed in the resume.
#2. On 5/9, I received his first set of answers. I sent back a tear-down of the questions/answers on 5/9, item by item, bullet by bullet. You’ll see my notes/questions in red. Typically, I’ll drill down to about 40-70 questions, all with the goal of getting the client to frame everything from the standpoint of a result; a tangible result that can ultimately lead to profitability or revenue generation. This took me around 90 minutes, which included some research on his industry and reviewing job descriptions and other top resumes for designers.
#3 . After a few rounds of exchanging/updating/reviewing, we were at nearly 10 pages of notes. I spend another 20 minutes on 5/11 reviewing his revised answers. The beauty of this self analysis for the client is that it sharpens their own understanding of what they did and how it drives profitability for a company. This will serve them well when it comes to interview time. From my perspective, it helps me to understand the in’s and out’s of the individual so I can capture the best value proposition at the top of the resume. You have to have the WOW factor.
#4. On 5/14, after 3.5 hours of reviewing all notes and then resume writing, quality auditing, etc. I completed the written portion of his resume. The bulk of time is spent on the value proposition at the top and ensuring the experience section has the right mix of keywords and results.
#5. Since he’s a designer, he has to creatively design the resume as its a cardinal sin to use a general resume format. My work was done with a total time spent of 8.5 hours. As a bonus, I provided him a cheat sheet on everything to do to optimize his LinkedIn profile.
Feedback as of 5/23 is he’s getting a lot of traction with it and he’s had a few interviews already. I’m confident that in the next 30-60 days, he will land a great job! As soon as he does, I’ll be sharing the good news!
If you are a recruiter or hiring manager, check out Bing’s portfolio at binggraphic.com or LinkedIn profile.