Greetings All,

For those who don't know me, I was first a recruiter before I started writing resumes.  My career began in the mid 90s in Atlanta as an IT and Healthcare recruiter and after the dotcom bust, I hung out my shingle to take control of my recruiting career. Therefore, I like to think of myself as a recruiter first and a resume writer second. (Probably because recruiting pays the bills, and I don't charge enough for resume writing).

Earlier this year, I found myself in a difficult and frustrating position.  Good candidates were calling me for help... Lots of candidates, many referrals from friends and fellow recruiters, and then people who found me on the internet, who were not good candidates at all.  I was shocked at the resumes people would send me.  They were terrible.  Some had no idea just how bad they were, and really didn't care. Then, there were the ones who knew they needed help.  The ones who knew immediate action was required or the job search was going to be a long and arduous process.  This was my  "aha" moment.  These were my new clients, the business savvy ones who were on a misstion and on a REAL job hunt. Hence, RaveResumes.com was born. If there wasn't a search to discuss, then at least I could provide assistance with a first class resume.

Up until recently, I found myself spending too much time on the phone with people I couldn't place giving them all sorts of advice.  God forbid, career advice.  (I am not a career counselor or life coach, and don't pretend to be!) My new resume clients are those who are proactive, looking for a better situation, and wanting to leverage professional contacts.  Yes, I also go through the occasional fire drill, which is fine too.

Resume writing is not a recruiting requirement, but it goes hand in hand.  One can’t be successful without having a command of the other.  After years in the search business, I learned how to qualify candidates by drilling down on their past accomplishments and asking for specific examples of success stories.  I also learned what skills hiring managers wanted to see reflected in the resume during the candidate selection process. Ultimately, I learned how to best match a candidate with a job for both parties to determine mutual interest. When working with a resume writer, I think this is a very important step in the process.  Does your resume writer understand what you do, and how to position your skills to a prospective employer?

The goal is to create a superior product - a spot-on resume, to sell the candidate to the hiring manager. However, all resume writers are not created equally.  Some are better than others, so beware.  I have plenty of references for those who ask, as I want my resume clients to feel confident they are in good hands.

For me, writing resumes is still satisfying at the end of the day, especially in this economy.  I can't guarantee a client will land a job, but I can reassure the skeptics they won't look stupid.  No one likes to look stupid... Not even a recruiter writing resumes.

Happy Hunting,
Leigh