Resume Writers Resource

The careers industry has professional associations. We have conferences. You even have a trade magazine (that's me!). And now resume writers have an independent company that will help facilitate success, Resume Writers Resource …

Kathy Sweeney, NCRW, CPRW, CEIC, CCM has built her company, The Write Resume into a well-recognized brand -- and now she wants to share her expertise with other resume writers. Of course, Kathy has been sharing her secrets for attracting media attention and cultivating lasting client relationships for years. Her presentation on "Enhance Your Business Visibility and Increase Your Revenue" in Scottsdale in September 2006 at the NRWA Career Conference yielded tons of ideas for me. During her time as NRWA President, she mentored countless new and "emerging" resume writers. Now she's offering her services to the industry.

"The more you put yourself out there, the more your name will become known."
-- Kathy Sweeney, 9/15/06

One of the most exciting services offered by Resume Writers Resource (from my perspective) is the Press Release Writing Service. Even if you don't want to become a household name or have your company featured on the AOL home page, you will be amazed at the amount of business a single article written about your resume writing services can offer. For about the price of 1-2 resume projects, you can attract a dozen new clients ... ones who aren't just looking for the lowest-priced provider, either.

(The next Special Report from Resume Writers' Digest will give you actionable ideas on how to generate publicity for your business. But if you want to save some time, or don't want to wait for the report, contact Kathy.)

Kathy is also bringing affordable teleseminars and webinars to the industry. Her first offering, "The Nuts and Bolts of Implementing Interview Coaching Into a Resume Writing Business" will be offered tomorrow, Thursday 2/14/08 at 3 p.m. Eastern. The cost is just $25.

Kathy's experience will be a valuable "resource" for the careers industry, so be sure to sign up for her e-mail list to be notified of upcoming events.

Finally, Success!

Well, it finally happened. One of my more "needier" clients landed his dream job today. It was a long time coming. I first started working with him last summer, developing the resume in anticipation of a December graduation. The resume itself was stellar. (I can say this with some confidence because it was reviewed favorably by the volunteers working the NRWA Certification session at the National Resume Writer's Association conference in Savannah in September.)

But the client was picky ... and somewhat resistant to my suggestions. The resume would land interviews, but the interviews were ... shall we say, weird. You know how it is -- the client is giving you feedback, and you're not sure if it matched the reality of the situation or not. For example, he'd have a first and second interview ... things would be moving along ... and all of a sudden, they decided he didn't have enough experience. That seemed strange to me, but what could I do? I couldn't send in a hidden camera to see what really happened. (The brief interview coaching I did with him didn't identify any red flags -- other than the typical "new graduate" attitude that expects to be making $50K with a bachelor's degree and a couple summers worth of job experience.)

I used ALL of my skills with this client. Creative ways to follow-up for the 45th time (without looking like a stalker). My best Nick Corcodilas "do the job before you get the job advice" (for one job in marketing for a mall-based retail store chain, I suggested he conduct an analysis of customer demographics by sitting outside the store at the food court and collecting data. Despite calling me every other day to tell me how "bored" he was by not working, I STILL could not convince him that this was a worthwhile use of his time.)

But it all paid off when I got the e-mail from him telling me he'd accepted an offer for his new job. That's what makes it all so worthwhile, right? (Well, that and the couple hundred dollars paid by his mom for my services as a graduation present...)

Now let's hope he KEEPS that job for a very long time...like until he's ready to retire. I can dream, right?

Search Firm for Search Professionals

I ran across this search firm that specializes in Search Marketing Jobs (SEM, SEO, Social Media, Web Developers). Onward Search specializes in contract positions with benefits.

They are also looking for bloggers and copywriters (for those resume writers who provide business-to-business services).

Survey Shows Tuesdays are "Most Productive"

Want to get something done? Wait until Tuesday.

According to an Accountemps survey, more than half (57 percent) of executives polled said employees are generally most productive on Tuesday, up 9 points from a similar survey conducted five years ago.

Monday was the second most popular answer, although only 12 percent ranked it as their top day in terms of productivity.

The national poll included responses from 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies.

"In addition to serving as a 'catch-up' day after the weekend, Monday is when many regularly scheduled meetings occur, which can decrease the time available to complete tasks," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career for Dummies. "Many view Tuesday as an opportunity to focus their efforts and establish momentum for the rest of the week."