At the outset of my search I was fortunate enough to have some very solid guidance from individuals who were no stranger to forced searches and career transition.  The most valuable piece of advice was to release only one copy of my resume……and only ONE copy.  I was told to put as much effort into my resume at the outset to minimize any possibility of releasing V1…then V2….etc.  The goal was to minimize the potential for conflicting information out in the marketplace and the possibility of getting tripped up later over multiple versions.

     While I had always received solid feedback on my resume, I knew that the next career step I would be taking would be one of the most important since I was coming off a V.P. Finance/CFO position and didn’t want anything to sidetrack a successful transition.  As a subscriber to the Finance Ladders recruiting site I decided to throw my resume out there to one of the fee-based resume writers.  I opted to work with Alicia Benedict and she was extremely punctual with feedback, and I have to say, was extremely skeptical about what I might get back.  However, it was clear that the feedback she had offered me was submitted after a thorough review of my resume and was not a cookie cutter form letter.  I also knew that I was not capable of properly addressing the areas she addressed in her response.  I know my place in this world and it’s not in Marketing or as an award winning author.  I opted to utilize her skillset….albeit a bit reluctantly with the fee.

     What I can say now, almost six months later, is that the fee I opted to pay for the resume work was one of the better investments during my search process.  Since I partnered with Alicia in the process I have not once felt compelled to rewrite my resume or draft “multiple versions”.  I love what I do, corporate finance is my path, so there was only one resume I was going to offer. Fortunately, the feedback I have received from Recruiters and companies alike has been extremely positive and complimentary.  For any candidate that is looking to make a significant career switch I can’t speak highly enough of the guidance that Alicia provided and how she took 12 pages of information I provided and reshaped it into a fantastic personal marketing tool.

     If you have a resume success story or an approach that has been successful I’d love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading…….

Jeffrey