We pay a therapist to keep us emotionally grounded—why not do the same when it comes to shepherding our professional hopes and dreams along? As I kicked off my own coaching experience, defined as TopResume’s Get Hired Now package, I was prompted to fill out a brief survey about my career goals—past, present and future—for greater clarity before I could talk to a live person. So I did! It wasn’t a huge time suck, but it did challenge me to think more honestly about my aspirations and long-term path. This set the stage for what came next: Access to a dedicated coach (hi, Linda!) for one-on-one sessions, who requested my resumé and set up a call.
I’ll admit, I went into my first phoner expecting a rushed and formulaic conversation. This person, while assigned directly to me, likely has a zillion calls like the one we were about to have. Like the resumés we repeatedly send out during a job hunt, it’s easy to feel like one in a million. Rinse, repeat. But immediately, Linda—and the caliber of TopResume’s services—caught me off guard.
Our first call, like therapy, was dedicated to getting to know me and lifting the hood on my professional journey. What did I love? What did I hate? What were my short- and long-term objectives? What was a job title that made my heart sing? Job interview, this was not. Instead, it was a chance to really sink my teeth into my accomplishments, but also shed light on the areas where I felt a lack of personal clarity, which provided a valuable learning opportunity. And this was only the introductory call.
Enter the Resumé Writing Team
FYI, TopResume offers a range of à la carte-style packages that enable you to flexibly access career support based on your budget, which always bears considering, especially after a layoff. This means whether you’re simply looking for a resumé overhaul (prices start at $179) or more ongoing one-on-one support (starting at $2,495), targeted options based on your needs abound. For the latter, TopResume will automatically set you up with unlimited professional-level coaching and support, not to mention help with your personal branding (think cover letter, LinkedIn profile and more). There’s job search support, coaching to help you navigate your interview and subsequent job offers (yep, you should probably negotiate those)—truly, anything you could possibly run into during your hunt is covered. Still, the resumé service, available on its own or as part of a bigger package, is a premium offering worth shouting out. A professional writing team will work with you to help you really drill down your career objective, grammar, opening summary and more.
They’re also highly familiar with the industry and resumé screen-out processes, eliminating phrases or date structures that have the potential to automatically get you tossed out. In my case, I was stunned to learn that two-page resumés are now A-OK, something I fact checked with Linda, who explained it all depends on experience level. I had no idea.
Bottom Line: Every Job Searcher Deserves a Support Team
The best way for me to put it is that we all need a Linda in our lives. But TopResume, as a package, offers so much more. At its core, it’s like having a support structure; scaffolding that cheers you on as you work to articulate your professional package. (Hey, I’d rather have a coach prompt me with questions that we can workshop together than feel like a deer in headlights when asked the same questions in a Zoom interview with a hiring manager, wouldn’t you?)
Whether you’re in the midst of a job search, in need of some career coaching or just want to update your resumé with the help of a professional, this is a service that is worth the investment. The ‘forever layoff’ era never saw TopResume coming.
