Frequently Asked Questions

I wrote my first resumes in a college business writing course, which I came out of frustrated that I was already better at them than the instructor.

I happen to be innately wired to parse and categorize information in a way that is ideally suited for crafting resumes, and I've been doing so ever since that class in 1993. I haven't stopped writing them since, though it was 2005 before I formally began offering them as a professional service.

In addition to 25 years of hands on practice, in the early part of my career I held several positions directly related to screening applicants, reviewing resumes and hiring, including:

• HR position screening applicants - assisting with interviews and conducting background checks
• Recruiter with an agency focused on IT - reviewing resumes, identifying and matching potential candidates with opportunities
• HR role in a Fortune 500 firm - initial screenings and reviewing/filing all incoming resumes for required retention periods

I moved from the last HR role into a technical role where I truly belonged, but the experience those early positions gave me meshed perfectly with the technical writing experience my subsequent roles provided.

This somewhat atypical career path, paired with my first degree in Technical Communications, have made me an exceptionally skilled resume writer capable of working with commercial, industrial and technical professionals many mainstream writers find it difficult to adequately represent.

I work with resume clients from fresh college graduates to global corporate executives. I am happy to help anyone at any level, because I firmly believe everyone deserves to have a resume that accurately represents their value as a candidate.

Because of my technical background and corporate experience, I do specialize in IT professionals and executives, commercial / industrial / engineering professionals, and upper level executives. I am part of a small niche of writers with the technical competence necessary to fully explore and present the skill sets specific to these careers.

My resume projects follow a standard process...

Inquiry / Review / Quote

When a prospective client inquires about a resume project, I need a few things before I can provide a quote.

• What you do now
• What you want to do next
• To review an old resume and/or new existing new draft
• If possible, links to job descriptions that interest you

This information tells me whether the person needs a 1 or 2 page resume, and which tier base rate is applicable.

I review the existing materials in detail, and determine if the base rate is applicable or if the scope of work necessitates scaling up. I provide the formal quote in writing via email. I can provide quotes in a contract format on request.

The client then decides whether or not to greenlight the project.

Timeline / First Pass

Once a client decides to move forward, we block out the timeline, including:

• Start date
• Target date for follow up call
• Target date for initial draft provided for review

At times I can begin a new document right away, and at times the start must be scheduled out around projects in process.

The first pass entails me translating every piece of information provided into what will become the master file. This file is heavily annotated with follow up questions regarding information provided and questions regarding information gaps identified.

This can take a couple of days up to a week or more, depending on the level of complexity and how many follow up questions need addressed.

When a client agrees, I prefer to ask as many questions as possible via email in advance of the follow up call. This makes the follow up call less overwhelming for the client, and provides them enough time to look up any information they don't remember. This also shortens the time between the follow up call and the polished draft being submitted, because any questions that require the client to look for information are already taken care of.

I employ the Master Resume methodology to create my client's resumes, and use a proprietary template I've spent about 20 years working on to keep it up to date with evolving standards.

Follow Up Call / Master File Initial Draft

On the follow up call, I ask all the follow up questions annotated into the master file and document the answers in the file itself. This call generally takes at least an hour, usually two. Sometimes multiple calls are necessary.

After the follow up call, I take the information provided and generate the master resume file.

Depending on the level of complexity and number of follow up questions to process, this can take a couple of days up to a week.

Depending on the type of job, technical level of information, timeline and various other factors, sometimes I have the client proofread the master file before proceeding to the next step.

Postings / Polished Draft

Before editing a copy of the master file into a polished resume ready for submission, I review any job postings the client is actively interested in applying for. This is a crucial step when making decisions regarding what information should be included when trimming down a master length file to a single page (or two).

Reviewing relevant job postings also allows me to incorporate any specific primary and secondary key terms relevant to the position, which is necessary to help ensure an optimal match score in automated screening systems.

I then provide the polished first draft to the client for review.

This step generally takes a day or two after completion of the master file, assuming the client provides any relevant job postings in a timely manner.

Revision Cycles / Approval

The client reviews the polished draft and provides their revision requests in a format that's comfortable for them.

Once I receive revisions requests, I can generally turn them around within one business day.

Once revisions are completed and the client approves the document, I provide the finalized resume in Word and PDF formats, as well as the master file for the client to use as they wish.

Most people create their resume as a single page document each time they need one. Over the span of a career, you end up with numerous files, all containing slightly different information. I've been around long enough to see people have resume files across numerous types of digital media and be unable to, for example, access resume on a floppy disk because their new PC only has a USB drive.

I realized early on when I began working with resumes that the solution is to keep all the information from someone's career in one single master file.

With a master file, you never have to look for an old copy of a resume trying to remember how you phrased something from a previous job that hadn't been relevant on other versions, but was suddenly necessary again to demonstrate experience in that area for a new opportunity.

For the purposes of my process, it allows me to generate the most accurate representation of a client's skills, as well as ensure every possible detail relevant to an opportunity is covered.

I provide the master file to my clients as a courtesy. It is a byproduct of my process, but also a living document and a valuable tool for their career development.

In this way, a single resume project with me allows clients to continue adding their own information in the correct format in perpetuity, and provides a foolproof method for creating polished resumes custom tailored for every opportunity to be generated in a matter of minutes.

Note

To my knowledge no one formally teaches or has published a guide on what I call the Master Resume Method(TM). I coined the term, and if I ever find the time will be trademarking the term and finishing the book I started on it. I've also taught some classes I developed on it.

One Page

A standard professional resume is one page.

It doesn't matter what some article said about a trend for more. It doesn't matter that you know someone who got a job with a two or three page resume.

It is not in a candidate's best interest to step outside established professional standards. It can create the appearance they are out of touch, or worse, that they don't care.

And with digital media measurably shortening attention spans, it's even more important to keep the length down.

When Two Pages Are Permissible

It is generally appropriate for professionals in senior level management positions to have a two page resume.

It is often appropriate for IT professionals to have a two page resume due to the detailed technical nature of their roles.

IT professionals in management positions nearly always need a two page resume.

Beyond Two Pages

The only time it is appropriate to have more than two pages is when academic professionals have a Curriculum Vitae, which is its own specialized type of document.

What To Do With The Extra Information

The advent of LinkedIn has made it very simple to make the information that doesn't fit on a resume available to potential employers.

There is absolutely no reason to exceed the appropriate standard length for a resume. Put the rest on LinkedIn.

Resume services start at a tiered base rate, and scale up if a particular project requires an unusual amount of work. The tiers are:

• Standard single page resume
• Two page executive and/or IT professional resume
• Multi page Curriculum Vitae

All writing requires editing, it's a natural part of the process. With this in mind, all resume projects include 2 free rounds of revisions. On the rare occasion additional rounds are requested, they are charged at an hourly rate.

I cannot provide a firm quote on any resume project until I have reviewed the source material to determine the scope of work. Quotes are provided free of charge.

No. Resumes are incredibly time intensive and I actively lose money on them. My rates are quite low for the quality of work and time necessary to produce it. My base rate does not go lower.

No. If you want to hire a resume expert with 20+ years of experience and a client base of global executives, you need to be prepared to pay appropriately for their services.

I understand that my rates are not within everyone's budget. I am happy to refer people to other resume writers when I am able.

In short, no. Here's why...

In my experience there are two kinds of resume clients:

• Those who know their document needs rewritten
• Those who think their document needs a polish when it needs to be rewritten

In over 20 years of writing resumes, I can count on one hand the number of times a draft resume I've reviewed has truly only needed a polish.

Aside from the fact that resumes are just plain hard to write and most people neither want or need to learn to do it well, the market has changed drastically. Automated screening systems have altered the way resumes need to be planned and structured in order to get through to the interview process.

Even extremely well written resumes usually need to be rethought, reorganized and keyword optimized in order to come up to contemporary standards and be competitive in the digital job search marketplace.

If a resume really, truly only needs a polish then I will tell the client that. They then have to option of hiring me at the standard rate for their type of resume, or of using my resume consulting option so they can have a detailed roadmap for revising it themselves.

I work from home and have family obligations. My availability is limited and there are times when my writing calendar doesn't allow me to begin a new resume right away.

Because of the natural tendency people have to wait until the last moment to address their need for a resume, and because job postings people want to submit for have limited life spans, there are times when I cannot help a prospective client in the tight time frame they request.

Also due to my family obligations, I work remotely and am generally unable to meet in person to discuss projects.

I am aware of the limitations my availability puts on my place in the market regardless of my expertise, and base my rates somewhat below market because of it.

Yes. Hiring a resume writer is outside the scope of the average family's budget, and most private clients choose to use credit cards.

I use the Wave accounting platform for invoicing, as well as offering a couple of other options. I am able to accept:

• Credit cards, via the invoicing platform
• PayPal
• Zelle
• ACH

Due to the high cost of transaction fees, I strongly prefer not to receive payment from my B2B commercial clients via credit card. My accounting platform does accept ACH transactions, and I can accept Zelle. Many commercial clients still choose to send a paper check.

It varies slightly with each individual, but on average it takes about 2 weeks. This includes:

• Initial pass at analyzing existing content, transcribing it into its new format, and annotating questions regarding missing information.
• A client phone call, usually about 1-2 hours, so I can ask my detailed follow up questions to fill in information gaps I have identified.
• Generating the first draft of the master file with all the information available.
• Analyzing master content against client's career goals and relevant job postings.
• Editing the master file down to a polished final piece tailored for current goals and opportunities.
• Client reviewing the draft and providing edits.
• Completing edits, including any additional conversations necessary for clarification.

The timeline for any project begins at its scheduled start date. This can vary depending on the volume of work in process at a given time. Generally speaking, new resumes can be started within 1-2 weeks.

The timeline is also dependent on client availability to schedule the follow up call(s), and on the draft(s) being reviewed and returned with edits in a timely manner.

My availability varies depending on current client load and family obligations.  In general, a new resume project can usually be scheduled to begin within 1-2 weeks.

Yes, this concern is routine and expected.

The majority of job seekers need to keep it quiet at their current job. I do not expect to be able to contact clients regarding their resume during business hours.

I am accustomed to scheduling resume calls outside of business hours to help ensure client privacy, typically at 8pm Central. Weekend calls are not preferred, but are an option if absolutely necessary.

Yes. I maintain my completed client project files in a secure, cloud based backup service. There is a small document retrieval fee of $25 to retrieve copies of archived projects.

There are a couple of answers to this question...

Privacy

Resumes are by their nature very personal documents, and contain private information. It would not be appropriate to publicly post client resumes as writing samples.

Scrapers

Many a job seeker has been horrified to discover their resume posted on random spam sites they have never visited. This happens when unethical "scrapers" steal resume content a client posted on a legitimate job site for the sake of creating fake websites that make money with ads.

I don't share my client resumes publicly, and I recommend they never post it on online job boards, only submit to opportunities as directly as possible.

Plagiarism

My resumes are very high quality, and my clients pay for a carefully crafted document unique to them.

If client samples were public, anyone Googling resume samples for that type of profession would be able to copy and paste the content my clients paid for, and possibly even compete for the same jobs.

Exceptions

I do have explicit permission from a handful of clients to share redacted / anonymized versions of their piece to demonstrate my abilities in certain niches. These are only shared privately when necessary, and with the understanding they are not to be shown to anyone else.

Yes, I write cover letters.

That said, with the advent of electronic submissions, cover letters have become a lot less common. And rather than a single general cover letter people use repeatedly, when they are necessary they now need to be customized to each opportunity.

While I am happy to write one if a client insists, I hesitate to generate a single generalized letter when the current market requires them to be unique to get noticed.

I always encourage people to first give it a try on their own with a template I developed. This way they can incorporate unique personal details, and it will sound authentically like them.

The cover letter template is provided free on request for anyone already having a resume done. Cover letters I am contracted to write are discounted if done at the same time as a resume.

Yes, I write professional bios.

Depending on the intended use, bios range from short blurbs to full page, detailed career histories.

It's important to be clear on what you intend to do with a bio. Some people try to use them in print and as introductory material for speakers, but the writing needs to be approached differently in such cases.

The short answer is yes, I can.

That said, rather than assuming you need professional assistance I recommend first referring to the wide range of information available on how to optimize a LinkedIn profile.

The most important thing to know is that your LinkedIn profile should not be a copy and paste of your resume. This frustrates hiring managers and creates a poor impression.

• Use more conversational language than the choppy business speak of a resume
• Provide more substantiating detail than on your resume
• Include a larger variety of information, such as an extensive list of projects, experience wider than a resume is tailored for, and affiliated organizations

A key benefit of the master resume methodology is that a natural byproduct of any resume project is a robust career history perfect for translating into LinkedIn.

One LinkedIn reference book worth checking out is The LinkedIn Professor: Class is Now in Session - Your 21 LinkedIn Questions Answered.