Career Thought Leaders Under New Management

I received this email from Wendy Enelow today. Wendy and Louise have sold Career Thought Leaders and the Resume Writing Academy (RWA) to Marie Zimenoff!

We are delighted to introduce you to the new owner of Career Thought Leaders (CTL) and Resume Writing Academy (RWA): MARIE ZIMENOFF. Marie is the former President and Board Member of The National Resume Writers’ Association and the Colorado Career Development Association, and owner of A Strategic Advantage resume and coaching business in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her credentials include: a Master of Education in Human Resource Studies with a focus in Counseling and Career Development; Nationally Certified Counselor; Certified Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Certified Executive and Leadership Development Coach; and Nationally Certified Resume Writer. She has trained workforce development, college career services, and independent career professionals and presented at national conferences for The NRWA, NCDA, and NAWDP. Many of you already know Marie, but for those of who you don't, wait until you meet her! She is one of the brightest and most forward-thinking career thought leaders ...  someone we trust will nurture CTL and RWA ... someone we know will take these wonderful organizations and lead them to a higher level of excellence. We couldn't be more thrilled. Here are a few words that Marie wanted to share with everyone: It is my honor to join the Career Thought Leaders executive team and continue the dedicated efforts of Wendy, Louise, and the current/former advisory council members to advance the careers industry. Providing opportunities, resources, and training for my colleagues in the industry to stay abreast of rapid-changing trends and better serve their clients is my passion. I am excited to expand this joint mission of CTL and RWA. So, what does this change mean to you and to the programs already underway? Executive Resume E-Summit: New Formats, New Strategies, New Ideas  – March 20, 2015 I'll be teaching this program with Marie and am already working on the teaching guide. As always, Louise is preparing an exquisite portfolio of 30+ pages of executive resume samples and resources for all attendees. Click here to read program description and register. CTL Conference – April 17, 2015 Marie, Louise, and I are hard at work planning the CTL Conference – both the live (University of MD) and video-streaming events. We shared some conference details in an email last Thursday (February 19, 2015), so take a few minutes to read about our presenter, Gerry Crispin, and his program: "The Candidate’s Experience in 21st Century Recruiting: Data, Influencers & Experiences from 95,000 Job Seekers Worldwide." All program details and registration information will be posted on the website shortly. CTL Associates You'll continue to enjoy all of the benefits of your CTL affiliation! Watch for an email from Marie in a few days with details for your upcoming quarterly call with CTL Board Members Michelle Carroll and Ruth Winden. They'll be leading a discussion about the latest trends in career coaching. Great people, great information, and great colleague-to-colleague interaction! If you're ready to become a CTL Associate and take advantage of the brainstorming calls, program discounts, special opportunities, and more, watch for an email from Marie later this week with a special incentive as she welcomes each and every one of you into the CTL community! Click here to read about all of the benefits that CTL Associates receive. Current RWA Certification Students Louise and I will continue to work with all students currently enrolled in RWA. All new students will have the pleasure of working with Marie and her team as they make the RWA certification program even stronger. Click here to read about the certification program and what a tremendously positive difference it will make in your writing skills! Louise and I put a great deal of thought into our decision to sell CTL and RWA and finding the "right" person to assume leadership. The ideas, energy, and expertise that Marie has made her the perfect candidate, and we couldn't be more excited. Plus, we still get to be involved with great programs and events, without having to manage day-to-day operations. Perfect for everyone involved! Be sure to add (Marie's email addresses) to your address book so you'll be certain to receive her messages and opportunities. We'll be sharing a lot with you this week as we work through the transition to make CTL and RWA even better than before! We'd like to close this message by sending our deepest thanks to every one of you who reads our messages, participates in CTL and RWA training programs and opportunities, contributes your knowledge and expertise as a CTL Associate or blogger, and all of the other ways we've interacted over many years.  We're forever indebted that you've allowed us to be a part of your professional lives and hope that we can continue to be colleagues for years and years to come!

Crowdfunding As a Way To Achieve Certification

Jeffrey Metzger, YourResumeConsultant.com

You may have heard of crowdfunding because of campaigns on Kickstarter for things like the Pebble wristwatch. I participated in a crowdfunding campaign for my nephew's school film project (which reminds me — I still haven't received the DVD I should have received for my pledge), and a friend's desire to bring encouragement to those diagnosed with cancer raised $35,000 just as her mom died from lung cancer.

But I came across a first in the resume writing industry yesterday…a resume writer who is using crowdfunding to raise money for certification as an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) through the Resume Writing Academy.

Crowdfunding is defined as an effort that pools money from individuals — usually via the Internet — to support the effort of an individual, organization, or business. Through small contributions from many people and organizations, a larger goal can be accomplished.

Jeffrey Metzger, of YourResumeConsultant.com, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for him to pursue ACRW certification. You can find his crowdfunding campaign here.

I reached out to Jeffrey to learn more about his initiative.

Bridget: How did you get the idea to do a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for your certification? Is there a crowdfunding campaign that inspired you?

Jeffrey: As with many new writers [Editor's note: Jeffrey notes that Feb. 11 is the one-year anniversary of him operating his business full-time], cash flow is one of my biggest challenges. I've made some excellent progress in building my business, but I can never seem to get far enough ahead to make meaningful investments in myself. Becoming certified continues to be at the top of my wish list and I feel that the ACRW will give me the right combination of training and, ultimately, certification, that will be a huge boost to my business and personal potential. Crowdfunding is very visible, and I kept coming back to it as an option. I found Indiegogo to be the right fit for what I'm trying to accomplish. In researching the concept, I found many small businesses looking for funding to buy equipment and inventory, but very few (if any), service companies looking for funding. I'm sure it's being done, but maybe I'm blazing a bit of a trail.

Bridget: How are you planning on promoting the campaign?

Jeffrey: Currently, I'm only promoting the campaign (with poor results) via social media. I need to personally get past the idea that I'm looking for a handout, and believe in myself and this traditionally unconventional method of raising money. I know I need to do a much better job in this area.

Bridget: Have you received any feedback from anyone about your campaign?

Jeffrey: I've received a few "atta boys" from friends and family, but nothing more than that.

Bridget: Did you consider any other "creative" ways to come up with the money for certification?

Jeffrey: My main goal was to pay for certification the old-fashioned way — by earning it! But then the bills continue to roll in…

Bridget: Do Wendy and Louise (from the Resume Writing Academy) know you're doing this?

Jeffrey: I did have the pleasure of meeting Louise briefly at the NRWA conference in Maine a couple of years ago (2011), but have not been in touch with either (of them) since I kicked off this endeavor.

What do you think, resume writers? Would you be interested in supporting Jeffrey's goal of certification? I will "match" any donations made by resume writers in the next 7 days (until Feb. 18, 2013) with products from Resume Writers' Digest. That is, if you donate $25 to Jeffrey, I will give you $25 in free Resume Writers' Digest products. Forward your receipt to me at editor (at) rwdigest (dot-com) and I will contact you to arrange your free products! 

New Session of Resume Writing Academy Starting Sept. 9

If you're new to the resume writing field, or have been writing for a while but want to position yourself as one of the top resume writers in the nation, consider the Resume Writing Academy, billed as "The Nation's Premier Resume Training Organization."

Founders and trainers Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark will be starting a new group class with live instruction on Sept. 9, 2008. (They also offer an individual, self-paced class with audio instruction that is available "on demand.")

The program features 8 weekly teleseminars and homework assignments, with "detailed feedback to build your skills step-by-step." There are three independent learning programs to develop your capabilities in specific practice areas. The course also qualifies as portfolio preparation for the Master Resume Writer (MRW) credential offered by The Career Management Alliance.

Says Enelow, "The Resume Writing Academy was launched to train and develop top-flight resume-writing professionals who will achieve eminent status in the careers industry based on their unique ability to write and design resumes that get candidates noticed, interviewed, and hired. The first comprehensive, strategically focused resume training program, RWA is guaranteed to improve your resume strategy, writing, and design skills, whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer who wants to strengthen the breadth and depth of your expertise."

For more information, visit the RWA website, or call Louise Kursmark at 781-944-2471 for more information. (Note: Louise will be out of the office until Thursday, Sept. 4, so leave her a message.)