Career coaching and resume writing services are an investment.  The most commonly stated phrases clients make when seeking out a professional resume writer, coach, and marketing expert boil down to these phrases, “I am struggling with my resume and I don’t know what to do with it” or “I am at a loss with what I want to do next.”  With the best of intentions, potential clients call looking for the silver bullet with fast results and for a really low cost. Low cost being $100!

The best advice I have for people is to be realistic about expectations. If you haven’t touched your resume for 5 years, you are going to need a great deal of work. While not a popular analogy, but one that I find hits home, is likening resume neglect to neglecting your gums and flossing.  OUCH! Yes, OUCH to both the pain and the price tag!   If you choose to neglect your gums and twice a year dental check-ups, expect to be in pain or run the risk of getting root canals, dentures, or heart disease.

Neglect your marketing, career well-being, and resume and you can expect to be in pain searching for a resume doctor and an expert resume writer who is willing to floss your career.  It doesn’t come cheap!

Professional resume writers are credentialed writers, technically trained, and have honed their craft weaving words to sell your story. If you don’t have the time to do it, how long do you think it takes a stranger to get into your cranial space, extract your accomplishments, strategically map out your career (while diminishing your gaps), and write it in a persuasive manner?  Professional resume writing is not a typing service!!

Professional Resume Writers are not secretarial typists.

Coaching is the next area that causes confusion for many. Coaching simply means you are seeking an advocate who offers you direct and thought provoking questions steering you towards achieving your goals. A coach can help you untangle messes at work as well as teach you how to buff up your resume, social media, and interviewing skills. A coach can help you work through sticky situations with a bully boss as well as help you build your confidence in asking for a raise. A coach is the cornerstone of helping today’s savvy careerist achieve great heights.

A coach is the cornerstone of your career success.

A good coach is objective, honest, asks tough questions, is the voice of reason, and current in today’s workforce challenges. An effective coach will not force you into a structured way of solving your problems, rather guide you towards your intended path and help you identify your skills along the way. Coaching is extremely productive for individuals who are ready and willing to open up and tackle their career issues that they have buried deep or set aside.

Marketing your skills, attributes, executive highlights, and  professional footprint takes an innovative and strategic business partner. If you have not had your resume professionally written for at least 5 years or ever, then consider your professional service provider as an expert marketing person in addition to being a writer and coach.

It truly takes these three tightly knit skill sets to set you up for future success in today’s workforce. Now more than ever you have to see yourself as a free agent and take your career search and job hunt as seriously as an investment. Sure, you can do these on your own, but brace yourself for a grueling experience.  Unless you truly love writing your resume, being introspective and doing self-analysis, and researching your next marketing strategy, do yourself a favor and find a career service that suits your needs.   For a $5 cup of Starbucks 7 days a week, 365-days a year, you could have your resume re-written, several career coaching sessions, a marketing campaign setting you up for success and have money left over for a massage!

Modify your Starbucks habit (or other vice) and invest in your career portfolio!

Relax and welcome to reality!