3 Ways Hiring a Resume Writer is Like Going to Therapy, Only Better!
1. You Get a Pep Talk: Like with any sort of counseling, you don’t take a seat on the couch because everything is okay. In fact you often arrive to your councilor feeling dejected and withdrawn. The same is true if you have been unemployed or struggling to get a new job for some time. Speaking to a career counselor can help you see yourself and your challenges in a whole new light! We focus on the strengths you have to offer in your next role, diminish the memory of that toxic boss and address any weak spots in your resume right away.
2. You Get a Reality Check: Looking over your resume and asking you about your future career goals aides a resume consultant. From here we get a clear picture about whether this new role is attainable, or if you’re setting yourself up for failure. After all, if you have consistently worked in marketing and PR but want to make a shift to pharmaceutical sales, you will be fighting an uphill battle.
Why don’t you like your current job? Why did you get into marketing? What do you like about it? Why do you think you would be good at sales? How do you handle pressure? These are all questions that would be asked to get to the heart of your job issues. Perhaps you are giving up before your career has even begun. Or a resume consultant can advise you on networking affiliations you should join and additional training you should seek to further pad your resume. Both of these will make your career transition easier. Truth be told, your experience my not line up with your career goals but that doesn't matter. How hard are you willing to work for it? A great resume can put what is marketable about you across all fields and put it in the forefront.
3. You Learn To Love Yourself: Rewriting your resume is for the purpose of gaining more interviews. During a Stand Out consultation you may be asked to repeat your work story several times, you may be asked about the nitty gritty of certain job duties. This is a terrific preparation for an interview. To excel in an interview you have to love yourself! Be confident in your abilities! Love talking about yourself! Reviewing your “work story” and acquiring the ability to present yourself in the best light will make you a stronger candidate.
Just like when you leave a therapist’s office you have tasks or homework to complete for the betterment of you. But the reason going to a resume writer or career councilor is better? A new job awaits at the end! Let’s enhance the “WORK YOU.” After all, a resume consultation is so much more than what’s on paper.
Consider the following Questions:
- Can you talk about what you do and your expertise in under 20 seconds?
- When strangers ask you what you do, do you start your sentence with a big "UM, well...”?
- Are you embarrassed of anything on your resume?
- Are you proud to be in your current position?
- If unemployed, how do you talk this period of your career?
Ponder these. In the next blog I will address what the answers to these questions can mean for your professional psyche and job hunt!