Story of the search – Spring makeover series helps readers spruce up résumés

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Background

Amy came to me with one goal in mind - to secure her dream job as a therapist at the nation’s leading provider of care for women battling eating disorders. Amy, a recent grad with a Master’s of Clinical Pastoral Counseling, operated an equine therapy nonprofit, and most importantly, had an absolute passion for using an integrative approach to counseling to foster personal growth and healing.

Strategy

As Amy did not possess all the requirements for a therapist role with this facility, I knew I needed to be very creative in the design of her résumé in addition to developing highly targeted content. When speaking with Amy I started mapping her transferable skills gained through leadership of her therapeutic riding program, spoke more with her about her spirituality (as she was applying to a Christian-based program), and her personal passion for the field. In our talk I learned Amy herself had battled and overcome an eating disorder, part of what fueled her resolve to serve in this role. By understanding what qualifiers she had and performing research on the program to which she was applying, I set out to create a résumé that set her apart from the hundreds of others who also wanted to get their foot in the door of this renowned facility.

Design

The design of a résumé is critical in attracting or repelling the reader. With strong content and an appropriate design, a résumé will yield extra time in front of the reader, vital when the screening process is only 7 seconds long. To lengthen the time Amy’s résumé spent in front of the reader, I created a unique design that spoke the language of her target market while reinforcing her personality and passion. I chose to use soft colors, uplifting images of women and girls, and a very unique format to make every effort to really get her noticed.

Result

So, did it work? Yes! Amy was called for an interview and is currently awaiting a position to open – her foot is in the door! Amy emailed after receiving her project, stating, “I love the work you've done, it looks awesome!” We worked together to make sure her résumé was printed properly, sending her files to Kinko’s to print on 11x13 paper so we could trim to letter size and get the full effect of the design. She emailed her new documents to the program and followed up with a nice hard copy sent in a paper pocket folder. She was thrilled that she landed an interview for her dream job. I was thrilled I had the chance to help someone take a step toward their dreams