“ré•su•mé (rézumei, rezuméi) n. a summary. A curriculum vitae [F.]”

 — New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language

résumé n. a powerful, nearly magical document endowed with special powers that got someone else a job but is governed by arcane rules about which everyone has different opinions.

—The lexicon of the layman, too many job posting websites,

and an army of uninformed résumé writers

résumé n. a document offering easily grasped value…to employers, clients, professional résumé writers, career coaches, and our industry.

—The careers professional’s lexicon

The first definition seems right to the harried lexicographer who must sort 230,000 words. The second seems right to most job seekers and many potential clients. This is becoming even more true with the advent of AI. The last should be right to professional résumé writers—once they reflect on the precise, powerful roles we should demand of every résumé we write.

I’ll start by describing the stress affecting hiring decision makers. Then I’ll lay out three roles you can use to judge if your next draft résumé is good enough for the client to see. Last, I’ll show you how to use our definition to build your practice.

Context counts: why the interviewer is more nervous than our clients:

A harried executive is shorthanded; he needs another sales representative. His boss’ office is his first stop. There he must get his boss’ permission to spend company money and risk bringing on a new person. He is appealing to the person who writes his performance review. There’s only one argument our potential hiring manager can muster: the new employee must make the company more money than it costs to find, hire, and keep him. 

It’s quite a gamble. In a recent LinkedIn discussion, the “best answer” to the question “is it still hard to find good help?” included these words: “Yes.… We're still having a problem finding highly qualified candidates that are not currently employed or who are seeking to make a career move,” wrote an IT recruiter. 

Our harried executive has seen people who aren’t good on the job. He knows someone, just like him, chose those deadbeats as the best of a field of eligibles. If others can make that mistake, so can our hiring manager.

When someone hires the wrong person, he does more than break the ROI promise he made to his boss; he lets down his entire company. 

Nevertheless, the work must be done. So he turns to his best employee. He explains how the new guy needs help and asks his top performer if she will assist. She probably will…for a little while. After all, she’s already overworked (that’s why they hired the new guy). Now her boss wants her to continue to do her work while also doing part of the new guy’s work, all without getting part of the new guy’s salary. If that keeps up, the company suffers three body blows.

The top performer, now disgruntled, goes to the competition with all the proprietary information and customer databases. (Body blow one.) Then she recruits her friends, also valued employees. (Body blow two.) Meanwhile, Mr. Incompetent has been fired, thus costing the company money they invested his training. (Body blow three.)

To put yet more hyperactive butterflies in the interviewer’s stomach, he knows he isn’t trained for the task. It’s surrounded by folklore, comical if it weren’t so corrosive. For example, precisely why did the following question turn up on a job site’s top ten list: “If you were an animal, what kind of an animal would you be?”

If the résumé you write is the first to ease the employers’ burden, your client gets job offers. Let’s make it as easy for you as you made it for the employer.

Three roles every résumé must fill:

A document that lets the hiring decision maker to deliver on the promise he made to his boss and his entire company. Each résumé must exceed hiring decision makers’ expectations, proving your client understands the target company’s key problems and has a track record of success transferable to the new organization. In short, organizations must grasp how your client plans to make them more money than it costs to bring him or her on board. The previous sentence should be read again.

“Summaries of Qualifications” rarely meet that standard. (“An Obituary for the Summary of Qualifications,” The Spotlight, August 2023, pp. 9+) They are usually a collection of buzzwords or traits that unintentionally describe mediocrity. (Would anybody hire anybody who isn’t a “top-notch problem solver?”) Responsibilities, too, have little place in the résumé. (“Where Quality Resides,” The Spotlight, May 2023, pp. 8+) If the reader recognizes the list of responsibilities, she still has no idea how well the applicant performed. If the reader doesn’t recognize the responsibilities, she may draw the wrong conclusion: our client isn’t qualified.

Why not let organizations see how our client intends to act as the best in his field? Since invitations go to individuals, why not include the company’s name in that pledge? Here’s an example:

What I offer Arista as your newest HR Manager

• A proven leader whose teams get cost-saving results that last,

• An expert at turning compliance requirements into opportunities that build production and save money,

• A respected professional who designs and administers affirmative action and diversity programs that contribute to corporate success, and

• A capable project manager who delivers results on time and on, or under, cost estimates.

Yes, I know all about the fixation of “key words” and ATS. We all also know that the success rate for posting a résumé on line is small. So let’s cover both bases.

Write your ATS résumé just as you always do. Then offer the advanced résumé described below. It and the cover letter go directly to the actual hiring decision maker (who will rarely be HR). In the cover letter, tell the reader your client has already applied on line. But your client is writing because he knows the reader has the biggest stake in the outcome. Thanks to mail merge, you don’t have to “tailor” each copy of the advanced résumé or cover letter.  Of course, you charge for both versions. 

In the end, it’s transferable performance that counts. The Challenge-Action-Response-Transferability model is very well known. But why not make the value stand out? Here’s a typical example:

  Transforming Compliance into Productivity 

Payoffs: When the leader of a $20B organization asked me to streamline the complex ISO 9001 audit program, I improved the policy so all 16 offices would respond to SMEs’ suggestions. Got every player training and certifications they needed. Delivered two months early and $100K under budget. My approach now the corporate standard. Saved $600K in manpower costs.

As templates for outstanding interviews, our résumés must “sound” like our clients, so they look as good on paper as they do in person. And we have to entice the interviewer to ask questions our clients want them to ask. Therefore, our documents should pass these tests:

• Did we, inadvertently, give our client too much or too little credit for what they’ve done? You and the client must stand behind the integrity of what you write.

• Did we capture all the client’s relevant success stories? Our client deserves credit for all she does. Showing what the client did isn’t good enough. We must also tell how the client performed in ways the target company values. 

• Does the philosophy and word choice sound like our client? The words we use must show our client’s passion and thought process clearly. If we used jargon, did we do so correctly?

As levers to negotiate salary, benefits, perks, bonuses, and severance, what we write should protect our client from a lowball salary offer. When we quantify results, particularly revenue made or dollars saved, the interviewer stops thinking of our client as a cost and sees him as a good investment. 

If the applicant saves the company a single turnover, if he can rescue one $25K contract, no well-run company will quibble over a $5K gap between what they planned to offer and what your client needs to reflect the return on investment he delivers.

Now you have three solid criteria to judge a résumé before you start to write. Use them in your initial consultation with potential clients. Do they understand what it takes to be the best? Does their track record reflect that understanding? Are they thinking like the next employer? If you sense the answer is “no” to any of these questions, you may not want to take on this job seeker. No one can—and no professional should—try to portray a lack of performance as a benefit.

Use the same criteria to help build your brand. Once you demystify the process, you’ll attract better clients and find it easier to work with them. Also, your in-depth knowledge will reflect well on our industry. It also will make this key point: AI can only go so far in helping people win great jobs. 

When your documents meet their required roles, clients win the jobs, companies win great employees, you win more money, and our industry wins the stature it has always deserved.

I am a bit fuzzy about the most important project I ever worked in my previous career—except it shapes the way I run my practice even today. I remember the project directly affected national security, was classified above Top Secret, and would be read by people whose names I saw regularly on the front page of the Washington Post. I’ll tell you what I learned because I hope it will help you run your practice and manage your life a little better.

Just like that first email from your last client, my project came at a very busy time. And, just like your last client, the general officer who asked for my help had a large personal stake in the outcome. And perhaps like your last client, I had never done precisely this kind of project before. And perhaps just like you, I signed up enthusiastically and agreed to a deadline I should have thought about twice.

When it was all done, my mentor took me aside. “Next time,” he said, “try using this.” He handed me his business card. Puzzled, I just stared at him. “Turn it over,” he said.

There, on the back of the card, was a single column of three boxes. This is what it looked like:

❑ Good  

❑ Cheap

❑ Fast

Pick any two!

For a moment, I didn’t get it. Then it became very clear: If you want it good and fast, it won’t be cheap; if you want it cheap and fast, it won’t be good. You get the idea. Now I want you and your clients to get the idea too by adapting the model that has served me so well. 

If I had the same thing on the back of my business card, I would print it with the word “Good” already checked. And I would say: “Check any one of the remaining two boxes.” Good is not negotiable. 

I know you’re tempted sometimes to take on a project you know you shouldn’t, but you need a little extra money. That extra money costs way too much. Whatever you write may have your client’s name at the top, but it is your work. It will always help define your brand. Because your work is excellent, those in the know will want to hire you. 

But when you charge low rates, you’re not making enough to grow your business. Because your prices are low, those who don’t know you may go elsewhere; they think they get what they pay for. Those who have little to offer will seek you out, but you can’t do much to help them. And they may blame you for their failures.

Consider the résumé writer (usually not a member of a professional organization) who churns out “cookie cutter” résumés at very low cost. they charge less because his labor is less. 

But his brand is defined for him—by his clients (whose “cookie cutter” résumés keep them from the best jobs) and by perspective employers (who recognize hackneyed writing when they see it). His brand is: cheap. They are the Spirit Airlines of résumé writers. 

It only gets worse. Others in our industry would never refer a client to him. Because they have no new ideas, they never contribute to the literature, you never see them at professional conferences. If their work didn’t reflect so poorly on our industry, they would be irrelevant. That is why greatness in what you do is never negotiable.

While “cheap” isn’t something we want to be associated with either, it does remind us about levels of investment we set and the value we deliver. There are two important ideas referenced in that previous sentence.

First, I never refer to “price.” I like neither the denotation nor the connotation. Webster’s definition: “…that which must be done, sacrificed, suffered, etc. in return for something…a price on someone’s head…to have one’s price, to be willing to be bribed if the bribe is big enough.” 

Also, prices are associated with commodities. Because commodities are always identical, those who sell them usually compete on price. No matter where you buy, that refrigerator you’re thinking about will always be precisely the same thing.

No one—not career professionals, not job seekers, not recruiters—can afford a “one-size-fits-nobody” résumé, bio, or LinkedIn profile.

“Invest,” on the other hand, is much closer to the mark: “to expect a yield, profit or income.” Even the secondary meaning is positive, “to confer an office or rank upon.” In short, our clients should make or save more money than it costs to engage us. That’s a grand thing for us to believe. But it counts for nothing if our clients don’t believe it.

We want our clients to see a return on their investment. The greater the investment, the greater the likelihood of a big return. That reminds us to tailor the products and services we offer to the level of investment our clients can make. And we’re talking about more than money. 

Consider two clients. Both are senior. Both have great track records. Both need about the same services. One is very busily employed; the other is between jobs. Should the levels of investment—can the levels of investment—be the same?

My unemployed client can make a much greater investment in time. That means I have to do less work. His level of investment is appropriately lower. On the other hand, my working client’s days are not her own. I must do more of the work. Her investment is correspondingly higher. The same reasoning is behind all the services we offer.

People pay me more when I prepare Federal applications. Why? Because Federal applications are arduous. Time is money. 

Even when there are no forms, the difficulty of the task raises the amount I charge. Those who have written Executive Core Qualifications as part of a Senior Executive Service application know exactly what I mean. The writing standards are very high indeed. Quality costs money.

Time is money in another way as well. That’s where “fast” comes in. You can usually spot potential clients who want to know, right up front, how much you charge for a résumé. What they probably want is your price for doing a résumé overnight or over the weekend. 

If they could see the back of your “improved” business card, the only word that would blare out at them is “FAST.” If you agree to this arrangement, you both paid too high a price. 

Naturally, you charged the client more for night or weekend work. And you incurred the cost of time away from your family and the extra fatigue that comes from working two weeks straight. We avoid such waste by remembering the first standard: “Good.”

Good defeats most arbitrarily imposed deadlines. Your client may think he needs a résumé right now, but what he really wants is a job. Guide him to see the difference in terms that serve you, your client and his next boss. Let’s listen in:

Caller: “How much do you charge for a résumé? I need mine updated right away.”

Coach: “Are you trying to meet a very tight deadline? I ask because I like my clients to help set the level of investment, so they get top value.”

Caller: “Yes, they said they needed a résumé by tomorrow morning.”

Coach: “I can see the pressure they’ve put you under. Let’s see how we can help them and still get the best value for you. People who want your résumé need your help to fill a job right away. Someone thinks you are a good candidate. He’s putting his credibility on the line when he forwards your résumé. Does that make sense?”

Caller: “I think so. But if I don’t get the résumé to them by COB tomorrow, I may not get the job.”

Coach: “So let’s offer that person an alternative. Tell him you understand his problem. And your first thought was to give him the résumé you have now. But you want him to get the credit for helping hire the right person. So, if he can trade a little time for a lot of quality, wouldn’t he prefer a document tailored right to his company’s needs? 

Rather than being dismissed for not meeting some arbitrary deadline, I think you’ll be seen as ready to do something extra to fill the company’s needs. There are very few jobs that can’t go unfilled for a few days.” 

I have lost a few sales with that approach. What if the caller persists in his unreasonable deadline? You could update his résumé, but you need information from him after normal business hours today. Of course, you want to be sure your client has time to review the draft. Since the company wants the résumé in the morning, that means the client must work with you late today and before normal business hours tomorrow to complete the review. It’s going to be a long night for him. 

However, it will be an even longer night for you. You must give your undivided attention to this project. Specifically, you may work until midnight and then come in early. All these things you are happy to do, but there is an express charge.

How much should the express charge be? Large enough to meet your needs. I hate working weekends or through the night. So I kept doubling the express charge until I knew no one could afford it. Today, a client would have to pay me an additional $1,000 to work under those conditions. 

The reason I know that is a ridiculous amount is simple: I haven’t worked through the night or over a weekend in more than five years! And if I ever get a client who will pay $1,000 above the normal investment, I will do two things. First, I will admit my plan failed. Second, I will raise the express charge to $2,000!

It is up to us to maximize our efficiency. Simply put, we must write truly exceptional job search documents quickly. We can speed up our writing in several ways.

Put Word to work. It’s amazing how much time you save when you exploit automated templates, AutoText and AutoCorrect, high speed desktop search engines, unattended backups and security scans. If any of those terms are new to you, pick just one and master it. 

Proofing slow you down? Word can read what you wrote aloud. That helps me find the typos I miss if I am just scanning the file.

Each time you use a software trick, you save only a few seconds. Each time you use several software tricks, you are saving a minute or more. How many documents do you produce in a year? If your answer is around 160, then you might save 240 minutes each year. That’s four hours of your time!

Put your self-discipline to work. Because time management fills many books, I won’t dwell on it. But I offer this suggestion: treat yourself as you would your best client. When you commit to writing anything, commit to scheduling yourself uninterrupted time to complete the task. You’ll be amazed at what a lack of distractions can do for you. Promising yourself time to write the documents means you can promise your client a fixed review date, something that gives her peace of mind.

Put your professional development to work. You’re already doing some of that now as you read this issue of The Spotlight. But I’m going to suggest a better approach. Decide which skills you need to master, then pick just one and follow through. 

Do you want to expand your coaching skills, then consider the CPCC coaching program like the one offered by Diane Hudson. Do you want to tap into the huge veteran market? Sign up for the CVCS certification, the first and only one of its kind in the nation. 

But there is another, irreplaceable opportunity. Thrive!2025 is 208 days away. Check https://www.thrive.show/ regularly to learn which topics will be covered. One or more are bound to fit your needs. 

I know. April 27 seems a long way into the future. But it takes time and effort to get the most from attending. 

If you master just one skill, your practice will continue to grow and prosper.

My mentor’s “magic business card” was something new. It introduced me to the difference between value and features. 

Our brands must be promises of value, never a collection of features. That value rests on greatness. What remains is how quickly and at what level of investment we’ll deliver that greatness. When we do that well, our clients win…and so do we.

                    הצורה הגבוהה ביותר של חוכמה היא חסד

“The highest form of wisdom is kindness.”

– The Talmud, 200 AD

If you are like most of us, you’ve spent a lot of time on your brand.

If you are like most of us, you define your brand as your promise of value. You work hard on the details. You strive to show value, not features. You act diligently to make your brand authentic. You concentrate on having it uniquely yours. I hope it is also your business conscience.

You make it “speak” everywhere. It’s in your signature block, on your website, in the outgoing message in your voice mail, on your business card, in the Headline, About, and Experience sections of your LinkedIn profile, and in every post to every social media, blog, and e-list.

But no matter who you are, no matter what your practice, the foundation of all your work is right at the top of this article. Those words were written nearly 2,000 years ago, but you’ll find the same guiding truth from many other sources.

Whether you realize it or not, those words are always your unspoken brand. Your “spoken” brand attracts clients; your unspoken brand retains them, generates referrals, drives repeat business—and can transform what you do every day from work to fulfillment.

We serve many markets. However, one thing is common to all. Every one of our clients is under stress. Yes, they want to know how much a résumé costs, have questions about formats, interviews, applying for Federal jobs…the list is endless. What they really seek is reassurance and support.

Because we are in a helping profession, we get satisfaction from providing great products and sound answers. However, we must never forget what we do affects lives…not just the lives of our clients, but also those of their families for years to come.

Let me make that come alive. Suppose I sell you a new refrigerator. Suppose it’s a “lemon.” That’s serious! You’re out more than $1,000. You’ve lost more than a hundred dollars in spoiled food. There may even be puddles on your kitchen’s brand new hardwood floors.

You’ll get over it.

It’s only a refrigerator.

You’ll have a new one by Tuesday.

However, if I don’t do a good job guiding your career, it affects your ability to support yourself and your family. It can make you feel not only stressed, but inadequate. For men in particular, it can affect what gives meaning to their lives. Moreover, the effects can stretch over weeks and months. What we do is vital to our clients; how we do it is our unspoken brand. It’s vital not just to our clients, but to us as well.

We may not talk about it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it some serious thought. Like the words on your website, your unspoken brand offers value; it’s authentic and therefore unique.

Just as we write out our spoken brand to make sure it is right for us, so too should we put our unspoken brand in writing. Nothing makes your thought more visible than to see it in black and white. Committing words on paper is a wonderful way to concentrate on the promises you will make every hour of every day for the rest of your professional life.

What follows are suggestions. Adapt them to your style. Add more if I’ve left something out. But once you write them down, act on them every day.

• q Qualifying clients based on their backgrounds and ability to pay is good. Qualifying them on your willingness to respect them and be compassionate is better.
• q Offering advice is good; giving supported advice is better.
• q Answering clients’ questions is good; giving them the right answers, even if they don’t like them at first, and answering the questions they should have asked, are better.
• q Writing decent products is good; crafting each document as if it were your child’s is better.
• q Claiming to be responsive (“Your call is important to me.” “Visit us at www.automatedbrochure.com.”) is good; always responding to queries just as quickly as you can is better.
• q Making money is good; investing money in your own professional development is better.
• q Having knowledge is good; sharing wisdom is better.
• q Promoting your practice is good; supporting our industry is better.
• q Doing the right thing is good; doing the right thing even when no one will ever know, even at a personal cost, is very much better.

It’s easy to do the right things when everything is going well. It’s when things go wrong that you’ll be tested—and rewarded.

When you surmount unexpected challenges, you get more than pride for a job well done. You’ll probably learn something you never knew before, something you can use to expand your practice. You’ll gain even more if you share your new knowledge with others.

No matter how hard we work, the market defines our brands both spoken and unspoken. Meet and anticipate market needs and your spoken brand is enhanced because its unspoken counterpart supports it. Forget whom and why you are serving and both your brands will be damaged because the two will be at odds.

Perhaps you’ve seen people who never miss a day without posting platitudes, clichés, or “me toos” again and again on Instagram and LinkedIn. They think their contributions are helpful. But because they confuse quantity with quality, their unspoken brand begins to overshadow their spoken version.

Their inattention allows someone or something else to define their value. The site’s algorithm may call them “top contributors,” but the market (the only measure that counts) sees them as truly annoying spammers. Worse yet, because their contributions tend to be shopworn, their brand is now self-centered, uninformed, lazy, and out of touch.

In the end, they’ve confused what we offer with selling a commodity. My senior clients in advertising and marketing tell me we must make seven “impressions” about our product before our message stands out from all others. That’s why you see the same ads back to back between TV shows. It works for them; it works against us.

Commodity sellers seek sales...we seek clients. If you dispense “value” as if it was some faceless app, you will attract customers. The best you can do is satisfy them. Once you do, they will forget you. Clients, on the other hand, don’t buy from you. They hire you. They become your clients for life.

Offer kindness as value and you will gather clients around you. They will repay you in ways far beyond what comes with their credit cards.

There’s a market for you that’s made in heaven. It's huge with 519,000 job seekers. It's also badly underserved. 

Every member of this market has a great track record you can easily document. They're experts in their fields and at every level you can imagine. Yes, you guessed it: I'm writing about veterans.

I wrote this article to help you transform them into value for you as well as them. At first sight, this market seems beset by obstacles.

Every veteran attended a class on how to get a civilian job. Much of the focus there was on “tips & tricks” with a lot of energy devoted to translating “military speak” into civilian terms. 

It's also natural for veterans to think AI tools can write their résumés for them. AI tools, like ChatGPT, have limits they'll understand as soon as you explain them. AI is driven by a hiring system which is often broken. It places enormous emphasis on keywords. And it scans applications primarily by algorithms which often cannot measure true value.

AI tools are driven by the large language model and that means it has two key shortfalls. GPT uses models based on résumés it finds online. It works hard to use that model to “write” veterans’ résumés. But as you know so well, most of those documents people post online are mediocre. 

There's an even more powerful limitation. The vital data for a compelling résumé are missing. Imagine this GPT query: 

“I'm a veteran seeking a job as a project manager. I have 15 years’ experience on active duty. Review my performance evaluations in each organization where I was stationed over the last decade. Document precisely which problems I solved, how I solved them, and what the results were.”

It just won’t work for two compelling reasons. First, the challenge-action-response-context stories are not online. 

Second, most veterans look to their performance reviews to power their résumés.

As the person who wrote the Air Force’s first course to help military supervisors write Airman Performance Reports, these limitations stand out:

• The reports are written for readers steeped in the same culture. Because they bring their own experiences to bear, the forms have little space for descriptions. 

• They are focused narrowly on the relevant culture. An aircraft maintainers’ report carries the most weight when written and read by people in the same discipline.

• The military culture is “baked in.” Most reports are signed by the person’s immediate supervisor and two leadership levels immediately above the author’s. But top performers can be endorsed at much higher levels. At that point, it’s not so much what is written as it is the rank of the endorser. A young Army captain’s report might have the following words: “A fine officer worthy of promotion.” They say little. But if they are over the signature of a two-star general, military people know it takes an exceptional person to earn such an honor.

No wonder there is such a large culture gap the veteran must bridge (with your help!). Veterans know employers say they want to hire those who have served. But 95% of hiring officials have no idea how different the military culture is from their own. They believe these myths:

• The Services have only one way of doing things.

• Veterans are rigid. They only gave and took orders. 

• Veterans don't understand profit and loss.

• They always had unlimited resources of every kind. Just look at the defense budget!

• Senior veterans are prima donnas who wear their rank, even after they transition into the civilian world.

Now let's translate that bad news into good news.

Because you have so much experience working with civilian clients, you have insights and wisdom into cultures veterans often misunderstand. When veterans leave active duty any instruction they get is perishable, easily forgotten, and not renewable.

Now change hats! Yes, a veteran engaged you to write their résumé, but you can't do that well until you put on your coaching hat. That means introducing them to this primary key to success: they will be hired for any job as soon as they prove to real hiring decision makers (which will almost never be HR) they can make companies a lot more money than it takes to bring them on board!

That information is contained in their brands. You can capitalize on veterans’ experience because, when they were on active duty, they wore their brand, usually literally! Rank carries weight. 

When working with veterans, don’t try to translate what they did into civilian words. Rather, you're adapting their performance in a military culture into strengths that work well in the civilian world. Veterans have a distinct advantage. They were always promoted based on proven leadership.

Every active duty member knows their leadership must always support the mission. The military has tough, built-in measures to judge how well people do that. 

The first is the “up-or-out” element. In the military culture responsibilities are tied directly to success. Active duty people either perform or their careers are over. And promotion underwrites advancement. 

If people don't perform well enough to get promoted, they are either discharged or their careers stagnate. The higher the rank, the more competitive the promotions. For example, I placed in the top six tenths of one percent of hundreds of eligibles when I was promoted to full colonel.

You offer great value, not by focusing on the differences between military and civilian cultures, but by leading veterans to see how the former can serve the latter. Past military members will continue to thrive because their dedication to the mission is still important. It’s just a very different “mission:” profit and corporate growth. The military “esprit de corps” is just what’s needed to form coalitions that get things done in business. 

The résumés you’ll write will make your veterans’ brands come alive. Those brands describe actions their bosses will see them take that adds to the corporate bottom line. No room for responsibilities or traits here. As you know so well, only transferable stories of problems solved get people hired.

Your PARWCC membership gives you a distinct advantage. You're eligible to earn the Certified Veteran's Career Strategist (CVCS) credential. It's the only one of its kind in our industry.

Yes, CVCS will help increase revenue and market share. But it will also give you the indescribable satisfaction of serving those who have served you so well.

My clients…all rising, senior, or very senior executives worldwide…first introduced me to the parallel between LinkedIn and cemeteries. The huge majority of LI profiles read just like obituaries.

That probably won’t change because LI doesn’t guide people to use its site as the powerful networking tool it should be. Since Microsoft purchased LI, things probably haven’t got better.

What a great opportunity for us! It’s more than a new revenue stream. It’s an exceptional tool to serve our clients powerfully for life. It will set them apart, not by the uncertain hunt for “key words,” not by the number of connections or skills endorsements. It will show them as some of the very few who “get” what networking should be.

Our clients come to us believing the established, toxic definition of networking:

net’-work-ing: a mutually mortifying ritual in which we impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger to ask them for something none can give us: a job.

Compare that to the real definition of the word:

net’-work-ing: the natural disposition to offer value, with no immediate expectations of a return, and without giving away the store. The dedication to make one’s brand visible, valuable, and irresistible to anybody who needs us—particularly hiring officials.

Because many hiring decision makers go to LI first to find new employees, shouldn’t we set our clients apart as the best by reflecting true networking in every part of the LI profile we write for them?

Posts

Start here because this section offers the most compelling, current proofs of our clients’ authentic brands. But only if we help them write thoughtful, useful posts, and choose photos to capture readers’ attention.

Please resist the temptation to use ChatGPT or something like it. We understand our clients and their personality far better than any acronym. And remember AI uses a large language model. Said another way, it scans lots of texts, most of which weren’t successful. Why would we ever consider charging our clients to provide them mediocrity.

Let’s also allow others to confuse LinkedIn with Facebook as they post pictures of trite motivational posters or “articles” that are little more than filler. We should encourage our clients to post when they have something to add. (And something we can help them write…which adds revenue.) They shouldn’t post too often. Those who post nearly every day can be seen as spammers.

Your clients should post in the two areas available to them. They can post to “everyone” in the space they see when they open LinkedIn. But they should also post to the special groups that represent their target markets.

The first line carries the day best by leveraging a common shortfall. For example, many clients think a collection of traits (sometimes confused with keywords) will set them apart. We know those are the minimum standards. I needed a compelling way to capture that idea.

Here’s what it looked like:

“Would you hire my dog?

I am a hard-working, self-starting, great people person, with good communications skills. So is my dog, Archie. (That’s a picture of him.) I’ve seen similar descriptions in hundreds of résumés I’ve reviewed…So why load the top of your résumé with such a mixture of traits and nice-sounding words?…Hiring decision makers…must know how you’ll make their organizations more money than it takes to hire you…in the first line of your résumé. Have it and you go to the top of the stack. Miss it and your résumé goes into the shredder. Questions? Contact me any hour of any day or night.”

Results? More than 2,000 views in 24 hours and, eventually two new clients. It took me a few hours to write and post it. It also generated about $6,500.

Obituaries begin in the “About” section. They read like biographies. Most try to shoehorn in some condensation of their résumé. It doesn’t help for two reasons. First, hiring officials want to know what people can do for them, not what they did for others. Second, the context is often missing. We can’t expect readers to know and appreciate differences in unfamiliar industries and firms on sight.

The “About” section should be home to the full brand statement. Please pardon the following extensive example. I include it to show a full statement of the value of client’s brand:

“What follows is my pledge of value to you and your business as an experienced international business development executive.

I am fortunate to acquire a rare combination of in-depth knowledge of a broad mix of defense programs, products, support, and services. Even more, can optimize their development value to the US government and international customers.

Most business development professionals say they anticipate customers’ needs. But they rarely say how they do that. To anticipate needs, I make time to learn my international customers’ optimum end state. I willingly take on the burden of understanding the world in which they must work, the support they need, and the threats they must face. That’s what drives the best solutions, programs, and development.

To some, ‘exceeding customer’s expectations’ becomes a catchall phrase that focuses on business customers. I agree. But I won’t be satisfied until our internal customers’ needs are served every bit as well.

It’s more than delivering specific developmental products, programs, or services to businesses. My goal is to have our organization seen as the trusted, ‘go-to’ choice in our industry. When that happens, the greatest and most enduring benefit will go to the warfighter and to US national defense and international foreign policy goals.”

The bottom line is right at the top. The pledges of value are clear and supported by examples of how my client thinks and acts in the best interests of his employer.

Experience

If only people remembered the true definition of experience: acquiring and applying wisdom over time. Most don’t. Most put their résumés here. It doesn’t work for the same reasons you read in my discussion of the “About” section.

Wisdom becomes alive when you help clients show how they added capability in each job. If you illustrate it with success stories from the résumé you wrote, this section reinforces the brand.

Here’s an example from the same client whose brand you saw in the “About” section just now.

“Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché, Helsinki, Finland

United States Department of Defense

March 2019 – June 2022 (3 years 3 months) Helsinki, Finland

When I got this job, I had little experience in diplomacy, political-military affairs, or working in an Embassy. I wanted to make a difference.

I studied Finnish language and culture, but I knew relationships mattered most. I found influential people in government, political-military affairs, security, business, and defense. I got to know all of them in business and social occasions. We have done great things for bilateral relations. Many are now good friends.

Through these relationships, I anticipated our partner country’s government's needs. I steered them towards US programs that met those needs. I've also steered them away from those that wouldn't; enhancing trust, and boosting the US ‘brand’ in Finland. That’s best for both countries. For example, I raised US foreign international military sales to Finland 25%, over $1.6B, a significant development.”

Those words came from a success story I wrote for his résumé. Notice how it supports his brand. Moreover, it goes even further. We had to disarm the common objection that my client, a full colonel, couldn’t understand a very different civilian culture. The first two paragraphs meet that requirement head on.

The Headline

Use the expanded brand statements in the “About” and “Experience” sections to help you and your client get maximum impact from these 120 characters. Remember: brands are actions that deliver value. No room for generalities here.

Use all the other sections including Activities, Projects, Volunteering, Skills, Licenses and Certifications, and Education to expand the brand as well.

You can fold key words into every section. But you can load up the entire Skills section with nothing but key words.

I hope I’ve offered some practical ideas for making your clients’ profile a powerful destination to draw employers and influencers to the best possible display of their brands.

Now go the next step. Guide your clients to build the right network. Yes, there are algorithmic reasons why the number of connections might be useful. But quality beats quantity. Every connection should be someone who can help our clients and who our clients can help. If my legislative relations professional has thousands of connections, but most aren’t in government, that number might mean little.

Use the definition of networking to have your clients reach out to the most useful people. Whom can your clients help who might be able to help them as well?

I have two domestic law attorneys in my network. Why? Because career development can be part of alimony packages. If I have a client who happens to tell me he is considering divorce, I can refer him. If my attorneys want to include career services in the alimony agreement they draft, they will refer me. Everybody benefits.

I hope this article is an example of true networking in action. We can all win. Your clients win because their value really stands out in the huge mass called LinkedIn. You win because you have more and better services to offer and the chance for more revenue. I win because I have the privilege of being part of this careers community.

Chances are excellent your veteran clients are better trained and educated than their civilian counterparts with a similar number of years in the workforce.

Unlike most private sector industries, education and training is in the DNA of every defense organization. Ninety five percent of hiring officials know almost nothing about how that element of active duty service can work for their companies. That’s because ninety-five percent of Americans have never served on active duty.

Most people associate training to being in uniform. Because it involves mastering specific skills to complete discrete tasks, and since many of those tasks involve warfighting, most military training doesn’t transfer to the civilian world. 

Military professional education (your veteran clients may call it by its acronym: “PME”) is mandatory. It progresses from the basics to the very advanced. Leadership is the theme that runs through every course. That’s because the military is the only culture that promotes primarily based on how well its members can lead. Your civilian clients can claim to be leaders; your veteran clients can prove it, partially by the schools they attended.

Here are questions you can ask your veteran clients that will set them apart when it comes to education:

• Did you attend in residence or in non-residence?

Most professional military schools award a master’s degree. The courses are usually ten months or less, similar to executive masters’ programs in the civilian world.

Nearly all schools offer their courses remotely and in residence. Because every active duty member must complete the course, it’s not feasible for all to attend in residence. The Services convene selection boards to decide who will go in person. That is very competitive. For example, most of the intermediate and advanced schools select only the top four or five percent of all eligibles to attend in person.

If your veteran client attended in residence, ask them to estimate the selection rate. Most can. Those that can’t, should find an approximate answer on line or with a quick phone call. 

Capture the investment the service made in every member who attends in residence. First, they paid them to move, with their families, from their bases to the school house and later from the school house to their next assignment. The learners’ pay and benefits continued, even though they were full-time students, usually for ten months. 

The average tuition for a master’s degree is about $65,000—and that doesn’t include books and other fees. Depending upon your veteran’s rank, their Service could easily have invested nearly $200,000 in their education. 

Was your client a distinguished graduate? That honor is truly rare. Ask your client for an estimate as to what it took to make DG (distinguished graduate).

Be certain you show all that impact in your veterans’ résumés. You may even want to show it as an assignment:

If they attended in residence, consider showing that like this:

• Full time student, Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB AL May 23 to Mar 24

Selected by senior leadership to be in the top four percent of 5,000 eligibles to attend this in-residence executive master’s program under a full scholarship. One of only 12 from a class of 650 to be a Distinguished Graduate.”

But there is still more impact you can mine. Afterall, every new hire must be a problem solver. Hiring officials don’t care if that person was paid to solve problems or not. So every test, every essay, every case study, every simulation your student completed—whether in residence or not—is a problem solved. Be sure you document the problem and any feedback from the faculty. Did they award your veteran the highest grade? Did they offer comments beyond some letter grade or numeric score?

A veteran’s diploma is almost a guarantee. The only way your veterans could have graduated was because the staff and faculty said they had mastered the material. And the faculty are often subject matter experts themselves, very often with a terminal degree.

Consider these success stories from the education section of one of my client’s résumés: 

“Results: Sparkplug behind our team getting top grades in a comprehensive simulation of building an organization from scratch. Won the trust of two established experts to gain insight into every aspect of daily operations. Exceeded expectations by building their mission statement in exchange for their help. Fielded tough questions from an experienced professor and senior executive.

Results: Delivered a comprehensive investment analysis of a major organization in half the allotted time. Dug deep to find all the right data. Then translated them into information decision makers could use easily. One of relatively few teams to get an ‘A’ for this assignment.”

Use what you have learned to get the value of their education to the hiring officials. Your clients’ school work didn’t just get them credentials. What your veteran clients learned frees hiring companies of training costs. Here’s an exceptional example. Every active duty member is trained to counter sexual harassment, violence, discrimination, dangerous drugs, and suicide in the work place—every single year. In addition, they were instructed in diversity, equity, and inclusion decades before those became buzzwords.

Let’s allow other “career professionals” to just fill in the blanks when it comes to education. They mindlessly drop in clichéd information about degrees in résumés they write. Sadly, they limit the career success of the very clients they have pledged to support.

I hope this article helps you teach your veteran clients the value of their education.

“Clients for life!” 

You may have heard that phrase a lot. What you may not have heard is a specific way to help make that come true. I hope to change that with this article.

The good news is you’ve probably done all the hard work when you provided your client with a commanding résumé. 

And the value of that document doesn’t rest in a nice sounding collection of key words. Those usually include admirable traits and lists of responsibilities. You know…the minimum standards. No employer would even consider a candidate who didn’t fit those clichés.  

You’ve worked hard to prove to the hiring decision maker that your client will make their company a lot more money than it takes to hire and retain him or her. You’ve done it with CARC (Challenge, Action, Results, and Context) stories. No wonder your clients get those great jobs!

And how easy the press of business can erode the relationship you and your clients worked so hard to fashion. It doesn’t have to be that way for either of you.

After you’ve congratulated your successful clients, ask when their first annual performance reviews are coming up. Then show them how you will help them get their first raise. Below, you’ll see that suggestion gets you a “raise” as well.

You’ll capture and keep their attention when you remind them how you can help them avoid what happens all too often. Employees get a frantic email from the boss. The performance review is just around the corner! What should the boss write? Supervisors are so busy they don’t keep track of your contributions. You can easily fall into that same category. The result? The rough equivalent of, and with the same value as, a “general” résumé. It doesn’t justify a raise.

The good news is you have already trained your clients to build the foundation when you developed the success stories for their résumé, bio, or LinkedIn profile. Have them do the following:

Step1 :Every week, without fail, they capture the problems they solved, how they solved them, what the results were, and if there was a context. No need for editing. Just have them write!

Step 2: At the end of the first month, they send the draft. Here’s your chance to get them credit for all they’ve done.

• Don’t let them confuse a symptom with a problem. Example: Falling sales is not a problem. It is the symptom. Ask yourself what caused the symptom. In this example, falling sales happened when a new competitor entered the market, a fall in demand, an understaffed sales force…you get the idea.

• What did your client do to solve the problem?

• Specifics count. It isn’t what your client did so much as how they did it. 

• What were the results?

• Have them quantify results if they can. Remember: the applicant with the number wins. 

Can they compare their results with their previous performance or the company standard? Was there an unusual context? Did they do two weeks’ work in three days? Was this a problem they had never worked before?

• Express results in dollars if you can. The little digging required is well worth the effort.

• Example: Your client streamlined a routine process thus saving two hours in labor costs. How many people saved those hours and how often? Suppose three people saved two hours every week. What’s a conservative estimate of their salary? Suppose they were paid $45K annually. That $21.63 each hour multiplied by twice a week yields a savings of $43.27. But three people saved time. Now the number is $43.27 X 3 = $129.81. But that was only for one week. Consider a 50 week year. Now the number is $6,490 a year. 

• That is an ROI. Did this streamlining cost the company any extra money? No? Be sure you mention that in the note.

• Here’s an example I used recently:

  Optimizing Financial Data 

Payoffs: Designed and delivered new financial forecast reporting tool in only one week. What once took days, now done in about four hours. Near perfect accuracy right from the start. Done without spending one extra dime. Saved $1K in manpower costs.

Step 3: Follow up every few months. You (and your clients) will be impressed as the numbers grow.

Step 4: Use your clients’ notes to draft an email to their boss. It might read something like this:

“Hi Sam:

I was thinking about my upcoming performance review.

Of course, I’ve kept you informed of what I’m working on. I’ve also attached a brief summary of the contributions I’ve made in this year. I hope they can be the foundation for expanding my responsibilities.

Looking forward to our time together,

Jane”

Step 5: Suggest your client forward your note to their boss about two weeks before the review. It won’t be lost on the supervisor how Jane helped them prepare to write her review. Since many supervisors have money they can use for bonuses or raises, Jane’s given them all the support they need to do just that!

Step 6: If a raise isn’t forthcoming, you and your client can update the résumé powerfully and quickly. If the boss is awake, they will notice Jane’s note looks suspiciously like the résumé that got her the job—a résumé she can use to find a new position. Executives know it takes about three times the annual salary to replace an employee. If Jane leaves, she’ll take inside information to her next company which may well be a competitor!

But thanks to you, everybody wins. Your client got a raise. Their boss can justify that increase to retain a top performer. But your client and their bosses aren’t the only winners. You won as well! You charge for the service, and you’ve got everything needed to update your clients’ documents quickly and well.

How much you charge depends upon the client and the number of stories you must draft. But just one percent of the client’s salary may well offer great ROI for them and for you. After all, their raise would surely be more than one percent!

Consider a modest salary of $50,000. One percent would be $500.00. If you work with executives, as I do, the most modest salary of $100,000 will net you $1,000. 

But no matter how big the raise nor how much they make, you’ll have earned clients for life!

I wrote this article to help you leverage your practice against most of your competitors as they try to serve a huge, undervalued market: veterans

Your competitors fall into a trap completely unknown to them when they work with veterans. They, and most probably you, are like 95% of Americans. Neither of you ever served on active duty.

Until you hold the Certified Veteran Career Strategist (CVCS) credential [https://parwcc.com/page/CVCS] you may not serve your veteran clients as well as you could and as well as they deserve

Your veteran clients know little of what to expect because they come from a very different culture. In addition, almost all of them have never held any other job. Active-duty service has shaped every moment of their time “at work”—which can sometimes be decades. 

Practically all veterans attend transition assistance programs run by their service. These programs vary widely in quality and are often conducted by those who have never run a practice, don’t write résumés and cover letters often, and have limited wisdom learned from their civilian counterparts, like you.

Most veterans have also been influenced by well-intentioned, often non-profit organizations that sprang up to help them. Because many of these groups have so little funding, they rely upon unpaid “career advisors”. That’s why those “advisors”—through no fault of their own—often hold no professional certifications, can’t attend conferences, are not members of PARW/CC, do not podcast, and rarely write for publication.

As a result, veterans are often influenced by the same kind of unsupported, sometimes even toxic “folklore” you often see spouted on platforms like Instagram.

Career professionals who have never served tend to treat veterans as a single kind of client, but among the many differences two stand out:

The first difference is between commissioned officer and enlisted. Every commissioned officer outranks every enlisted member, including some of the more experienced ones who are called noncommissioned officer or NCO. In the Army there is an intermediate group called warrant officers. Every commissioned officer outranks every warrant officer, and every warrant officer outranks every NCO.

There are ranks within commissioned officers, grades among warrant officers, and grades within NCOs. At the higher levels, the selection process is very tough, and many good people are passed over. For example, when I was promoted to full colonel, I ranked in the top 0.05% of similar eligibles.

The second difference is between managerial and leadership roles and preferences.

Every service member is given more and more responsibility as they rise in rank. Said another way, they transition from manager to leader. The old saw approximates it well: managers do things right; leaders do the right things.

Generally as they rise in rank, many had responsibilities not even CEO’s of Fortune 100 companies have wrestled with.

In summary, the higher the rank or grade, the better prepared they are to target more senior civilian positions. A key difference? Commissioned officers are permitted to allocate funds; NCOs, even very senior ones, generally cannot. Nevertheless, many warrant officers and senior NCOs are fine executive candidates.

When you are dealing with a veteran, asking these questions can shape both your mind sets well, right from the start:

“In what rank or grade did you leave the service?”

“Did you serve as commissioned, warrant, or noncommissioned officer?”

“How long were you on active duty?”

“Do you see your next position as primarily managerial, or are you drawn to more senior leadership positions?”

Use the answers to these qualifying questions and everything, from the initial consult, to information gathering, to writing résumés and cover letters, to preparing LinkedIn profiles, to providing coaching services, will go as well for them as they will for you.

You can take pride in serving those who have served us so well.

“X” always marked the mysterious location of buried treasure. PARWCC wants to give you a “treasure” that isn’t mysterious at all!

It’s the wisdom you’ll get from relationships you can’t find anywhere else.

The spot isn’t shadowy either. It’s the Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel, the Thrive! Conference site.

When you heard about the Conference, what came to your mind first? Were you looking forward to getting your “batteries recharged,” meeting old friends again and making new ones, gathering innovative, profit-building ideas, rubbing shoulders with the thought leaders in our industry, seeing interesting sights?

Or did you dread the “expense,” the “time away from your practice?” When you are on a journey, do you concentrate on the costs of travel or the rewards waiting at the destination?

In this article, I’ll try to enhance the latter and offset the former. For years, I practiced every one of the concepts you are about to read. As a result, each conference earned me more money than the entire cost of the trip. I want you to have that kind of return on your investment.

Now is the perfect time to apply what you learn to reap the rewards in about 87 days, on 28 April when Thrive! begins. I’ve laid out things you can do before, during, and after this Conference. (Later, PARWCC will provide more about what to expect, what to pack, how to get to the resort, what you should bring, and the like. Watch for it soon.)

Now, before you go:

Book your airspace early. The longer you wait, the higher the fare. When it comes to fares, please don’t let ultralow cost carriers deceive you. While their published fares seem very low, add-ons for things for which you never expected to pay add up so fast you might easily spend more than if you flew on a regular carrier.

Reliability is a factor as well. Low-cost carriers have fewer planes and crews. If there is a delay anywhere in their system, your flight may be delayed or cancelled—sometimes for days. When that happens, don’t expect much support or reimbursement.

As soon as you know when you’ll be travelling, block time to prepare yourself. After all, aren’t you as important as your best client? If you do this well, you’ll treat your clients better than ever, retain the best, and attract new ones. Also set aside time you will devote immediately after you return to put what you’ve learned into practice. If you do, you won’t be distracted by the press of daily business.

Start with promotional activities. These bring excellent returns for little money. Aim at your clients. Since most of them see or read the news, or visit social media, or your website, think of your trip as a news story that will interest listeners and viewers.

The important message in your release: listeners and viewers can optimize their careers with information not available anywhere else. Be sure to mention some of your key takeaways as they apply to your clients. As always, tell your audience what value they can gain. Never tell them how they can do that. They get that by engaging you.

After you’ve written your press releases, get even more mileage by incorporating them in your telephone messages or your autoresponder:

“…I can’t reply right now. I am mastering even better ways to serve job seekers just like you by attending the Conference of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches. When I return, I’d like you to have the benefits of all I’ve learned to help you go beyond just getting a job to the rewards of a satisfying career.….”

Up to now, my suggestions aimed at helping others. You can also help yourself. What, specifically, do you want out of this event? Take a moment to write direct questions to which you need answers. I suggest writing because it sharpens your thoughts. Consider this example to see a typical train of thought from the general to the specific.

General question: I have heard major online job boards as we know them today may disappear. What’s coming next?

Specific questions: How can I help my clients get ahead of their competition by using the latest net-based recruiting tools to their advantage? What’s the likely increase in ROI for those I serve? How do I reflect that improved ROI in my pricing structure?

Once you have the questions written, think who might have the answers. (Does this sound like the kind of advice you offer job seekers about networking?)

Do you want your time with clients to be even more effective, more efficient, more rewarding? You’ll want to attend Cami Leech Florio’s session on structuring client sessions for impactful results.

Do you have nagging suspicions you’re not helping your clients get the most from their exposure on LinkedIn? Denise Bitler has the answers from creating a captivating headline to delivering background banners that champion your clients.

Don’t forget the networking events like Beers and Careers hosted by Franklin Buchannan. These are informal discussions, focused on building your peer-to-peer connections and industry insight while having fun.

Use what you find to contact perspective “mentors” well before the Conference. That courtesy will allow them plenty of time to think about your questions. Later, when you see them at the Conference, no formal introduction will be necessary. You may want to set up some private time to get the benefit of their knowledge. There’s always breakfast — what better opportunity could you ask for?

Use your questions to decide which speakers you want to hear, which presentations you must attend. Now go the next step. Leave your “comfort zone”. Attend sessions about which you know the least.

With the sessions identified, there is still more to do. (Now you understand why I suggested you block time before you go). For each session, make a list of what you already know about the subject. This trick will uncover what you don’t know, what information you need from the speakers’ talks.

From time to time, review your list. Check it against the slides and handouts you got from the speakers. Take both copies of the slides and your lists with you to the presentations you’ve chosen. Use them as checklists to capture vital information on the spot. Finally, if speakers didn’t touch on the information you need, use your list to ask appropriate questions during the Q & A sessions.

While you are there:

Work your plan. Follow up with people who can answer your vital questions. Be on the lookout for others. Whether it’s during a presentation, or just informal meetings, take careful, complete notes.

If you really want maximum impact, set aside a few minutes before the end of your day to refine your notes in the quiet of your own room. Concentrate on information that helps you. No need to focus on examples speakers use, unless they reinforce some action you should take.

Listen for new ideas, possible introductions to “rising stars” or established people in your part of our industry. After all, we designed Thrive! as a priceless learning tool.

When you return:

Capitalize on your investment. Refine your notes one more time. Pay particular attention to methods for increasing your productivity, your profits, or both. Moreover, schedule time, even before you leave, to put those methods into action.

It will be easy if you commit to just one action first. That will keep you focused. Later, you can always tackle more.

And don’t forget to update your autoresponder message:

“…I can’t respond right now. I’m helping job seekers like you leverage the very latest information I mastered at the leading professional development conference. They are benefitting from the distilled wisdom of hundreds of years of experience available nowhere else. Now I’d like you to have those same advantages. The first and only step is easy. If you can suggest some days and times for me to listen to your needs….”

I’ll cover the rest quickly for professionals like you:

Of course, you’ll post press releases and social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and others, before and after the event.

Of course, you’ll send brief thank notes to those who helped you. For those that went the extra mile, offer to write a recommendation on their LinkedIn profiles.

Of course, you’ll take the business cards you collected and put them into your organizer (adding special notes about those people with whom you spoke). And, of course, you’ll bring plenty of your own cards.

Of course, this year you’ll have more than just pleasant memories of your trip.

Of course, you’re already anticipating the great ROI Thrive! will deliver.

Now you are ready to earn greater profits that come directly from joining us at Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel. That’s the best reason to attend the next gathering.

Still have questions? Reach out to me before you leave. Do it now while you are still thinking about it. Email me at dorlando@yourexeutivecareercoach.com or call me at 334.264.2020 (central time). I’ll respond quickly.

When you read the first part of this article’s title, did you think of the all-too-common question that makes some clients nervous - “What’s your greatest weakness?”

In this article, I’ll encourage you to share a “secret” that gives your clients more confidence in every interview. What follows works just as well in the virtual interviews of today as it does in the traditional face-to-face settings. Then I’ll use the “greatest weakness” question to suggest an approach to help your clients do much better during those critical meetings with each target company.

Here’s the first part of the secret: most interviewers are untrained or unqualified for the task. In words your clients will love, the most nervous person in the room is not them; it’s the person on the other side of the desk. If the interviewer hires the wrong person, he could lose his job. His boss knows the cost of replacing a professional employee is about three times the annual salary.

Want more indicators that interviewers aren’t prepared? The irrelevant questions they ask are all the proof we need. Let’s look at the “reasoning” behind those questions, using the one in the title as an example.

Surely, the interviewer doesn’t want an actual list of greatest weaknesses. What does he expect the applicant to say? She was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon? She has a weakness for vodka? She hits people who ask foolish questions in interviews? Of course not. 

And does the interviewer think himself a highly trained forensic interrogator who interprets, on the spot, every subtlety in an applicant’s answer to spot potential problems unerringly? Even if he did, we wonder about an approach focused mostly on hiring the applicant with the fewest deficiencies. 

Since we know the interviewer doesn’t want many questions answered literally, what is the unprepared applicant to do? Unless she’s your client, she must guess. Usually, in desperation, she trots out some tired cliché the interviewer as heard so often: “I just take my job too seriously. I work too hard!” (That sound you hear in the background are tiny violins!)

Folklore took over. Does the interviewer think it’s his job to judge every applicant and hire the one with the fewest faults? The unprepared applicant can fall into that plan if she thinks the interviewer is trained. The result is an interrogation.

But all our clients (and every interviewer) want a collaboration. 

Remind your client he has been interviewing every day on the job. When your client’s boss asks her a question and together, they explore alternatives - that is an interview! Each time your client solved a problem on the job, he never needed a script beforehand.

A collaborative interview, then, is a discussion in which our clients explore the company’s needs in a specific field to see if they can offer more value than it costs the company to hire and retain them. 

That brings us to the second part of the secret. Since the interviewer is almost certainly unprepared, let’s answer interview questions the way most Presidents run a news conference. The President answers the question the media should have asked, not the one the press asked. Consider the question in this article’s title as an illustration.

Perhaps the question the interviewer should have asked sounds like this: “Can you think of any skills or knowledge you don’t have now that might equip you to do well in this position?” That question is a wonderful opportunity for our clients to tell the employer about their self-development plans. 

All our clients must have such a plan. We should help them build it as part of our services. And charge for it.

Now our clients have something concrete with which to work. Ask them which professional skills and knowledge they would like to improve upon. Even if they are at the top of their field, they must continue to learn if they are to continue to earn. Perhaps an example may help.

Suppose you aren’t entirely sure how blogs might work for your clients. You have the beginning of a plan. It will help you focus if you put your needs in the form of a question. That question might look like this: “Can I use what I learn about blogs to serve my clients better and grow my practice?” The rest follows naturally. 

You might post a request on PARWCC or LinkedIn. You may seek webinars, excellent books, and respected blogs or podcasts. Schedule milestones to measure your progress. Accountability transforms desire into advantage.

Have your client use that same model and the fear of the dreaded question is replaced by opportunity. Let’s listen in to a conversation between an interviewer and an applicant seeking a position as an associate professor:

Interviewer: “Tell me, what is your greatest weakness?”

Our client: “In my own professional development plan, I noticed a new trend in our field, post-secondary curriculum development. You may have seen the related article in the latest edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Dr. June Smith (an acknowledged thought leader) has an excellent piece on the challenge of delivering high quality distance education while still meeting our students’ growing demand for flexible course scheduling. 

Since your school is expanding your distance education program, I have already emailed Ms. Smith some questions I wrote with your student body in mind. I expect to see her reply soon. I’m looking at other resources. I can, however, certainly outline a concept for you very soon.”

That’s one very powerful response. You can be sure a career coach not only guided that client’s approach but helped her find and use the resources required. (And you can be sure the client didn’t balk at the level of investment that preparation required.)

There are lots more “standard” questions you can think of. Since the idea of an interrogation is behind them, don’t be put off by their accusatory tone. Here are some from the net with suggestions about the questions the client should be prepared to answer:

As you think of other “standard” questions, take a moment to transform those probing demands into valid questions someone might ask a potential team member as if they collaborated on a project. Then equip your client to give the answer we both know is much more valuable. 

Our clients don’t have a greatest weakness. 

They have coaches or résumé writers who help them take the pressure off the interviewer. Said another way, we equip our clients to replace uncomfortable interrogations with mutually satisfying collaborations.

We sympathize with companies as they try to manage the flood of résumés they receive for each position they’re trying to fill. While the tools they use may be quick, easy, and automated to make the process more efficient, they can also limit our clients’ chances of getting jobs. 

In this article, I'll cover factors you should consider. The first helps the employer; the second protects our clients from misguided systems that could knock them out of consideration at once. Worse yet, when that happens, neither you nor your clients will never know which element redlined them.

Harried hiring decision makers are our ultimate clients. So, like any other client, strive hard to give them solid value right from the start. Remember, nobody got permission to hire anybody unless they promised their own boss the new person would make the company lots of money.

Help hiring managers deliver on that promise by making your clients’ brands come vividly alive. Let the competition be distracted by endlessly searching for keywords. Those are usually collections of glittering generalities that only hint at the minimum standards.

Brands must be actions your client pledges to deliver. Consider a comparison.

This example comes from the top of the first page of a résumé for a chief financial officer:

“What I offer Topline, inc. as your newest CFO:

• Leading and optimizing strategic direction in every aspect of financial operations.

• Enhancing reporting to provide comprehensive control of every asset.

• Guiding direct contributions to the bottom line.

• Avoiding and mitigating risk.

• Transforming data into information senior leadership can use almost intuitively.”

Readers can’t miss the value to their firms. When my clients do similar things, they’ll make their companies a lot more money than it will take to hire and retain them.

Now look at the top of the résumé this client gave me at the start: 

“Global CFO of an integrated advertising agency with data and technology focus, with a solid track record of delivering strategic and financial objectives through revenue and profit growth. Comprehensive experience building high achieving global finance organizations and leading global client relationships. Career includes all aspects of finance with leadership roles in financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, corporate operations and investor relations for a large multi-national media corporation.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the words he struggled to compose lay out the absolute minimum standards. Said another way, no company would hire a CFO who couldn’t do those things!

A carefully considered brand statement will help your client avoid being hired by bosses insecure in their work. Because their brand lays out specific actions, it's clear this applicant will never be a “yes man.” 

But you can help the company in other ways as well. Please include the applicant’s zip code as many companies file the résumé using that number. However, never show your client’s full mailing address. Companies can use sites like zillow.com to estimate your client’s mortgage payment. That can work against them when you help them negotiate for compensation. (You do charge for that service, don’t you?)

Your documents should not tempt readers to guess your clients’ ages. That's why you never put the year of graduation on college degrees, particularly bachelors’ degrees. That's also the reason why we don't use language like “…highly experienced…”, or “…with 20 years of experience….” That information has hiring decision makers may think your client is either out of date or can’t communicate with today's modern generations.

Please don't be hesitant to show volunteer work, particularly if it's in the same field your client is targeting. For example, a CFO serving as the treasurer of a chapter of a community organization like the Kiwanis. If so, reference that passion in the cover letter. You'll get even more power if you have specific success stories supporting their charitable work in the résumé. I place those stories under the heading of service to the community. Take care not to include a religious denomination or a faith in such stories.

ATS’s use common errors to eliminate résumés at quickly as possible. One way is to find unexplained breaks in employment. If your client had to spend considerable time as a primary caregiver, or devoted themselves to full-time professional development, make sure that’s clear. Treat those success stories just as you do when they relate to employer and have a separate section for each in the résumé, just as you do with each position your client held.

If your client will consider a remote or virtual assignment add that information in the header. That not only saves hiring decision makers time, it can open up related jobs that haven’t yet been posted. 

Many clients may have names reflecting an ethnic affiliation. That’s why it's important your headers show such clients are legally able to work in the United States. It's much too easy for hiring officials to discard a résumé coming from a person they think may be an alien, thus raising possible liabilities for the firm.

Does your client have foreign language skills? Go the extra mile to help the decision maker. Show how well your client reads, writes, speaks, and thinks in another language. Useful categories include working knowledge, professional conversation, or near native fluency. Notice the value we added by showing how well our clients think in a foreign tongue. 

One of my clients made that vivid when he told the story of hiring a new VP of Sales whose résumé claimed he spoke German. That was vital as the company was working hard to expand their market into Germany. Off the client went to Hamburg. And there he greeted the senior team of a potentially important new customer. But he used the informal pronouns. In a flash, he had insulted the very customers he wanted to win over. His pronunciation and grammar may have been flawless. But because he never shifted his thinking to the German culture, the results were disastrous. 

If the job search is confidential, add that word to the header and footer of your résumés, cover letters, bios, and lists of references. Once a résumé passes initial review, it's common for the lowest paid member of the HR staff to verify employment. They contact companies listed on the résumé and verify your client did have those job titles with those companies during the stated times. If your client’s search is confidential, that can tip off their current employer they are getting ready to jump ship.

Help targeted companies even more by including your clients’ IT literacy. You may assume, as most employers do, your clients have reasonable proficiency in basic office tools like Microsoft Office. However, if they have proficiency in proprietary or specialized software, they may be more productive faster and not need expensive training. Tell readers what proprietary software does rather then what it is called. Please also include your clients’ comfort level with the common social media channels. Many companies communicate with their teams and customers using those aps. Finally, show the level of capability. These three seem to work best: working knowledge, comfortable, or expert. 

Clients with extensive experience may be very proud of the work they've done early in their careers. However, I recommend you limit the success stories and history of employment to the last ten years. There are two important reasons for that recommendation. First, although your client may have been successful more than a decade ago, they are solving much more difficult problems now. Second, the world has changed a great deal over the last decade.

Your clients may want to respond to online postings. How can we offset the relatively poor success rates such approaches deliver? Have your clients follow up with hiring decision makers. After all, they are your ultimate customer. 

After the client has applied online, encourage them to contact the hiring managers directly. They are the ones with the greatest stake in the outcome.

Yes, I can hear the same words you hear from clients: “How do I find the hiring officials name?” 

You can help. Ask your client for the most likely job title of the person to whom they will report. For C-suite executives, the reporting official is often the CEO or president. For CEOs and presidents, it’s often the chair of the board of directors.

Go to the target company’s website and look under the heading of “leadership.” There you will often find the name, title, and mailing address of the person to contact. That information can help your client get even more value. Start by Googling the hiring decision maker’s name. You may find stories which help clients relate to their next prospective bosses. And while LinkedIn has many problems, it's possible to find a point of commonality. Did the hiring decision maker attend the same schools as your clients? Did they also serve in the Armed Services?

Think of hiring decision makers as those you ultimately serve. Do that by making their jobs easier. Help by removing information that might assess your client unfairly. 

Do those two things and everybody wins. Your clients get the best jobs. Companies get the best team members. Your practice grows. Our industry’s brand is strengthened.

How natural is it for us to encourage our clients to “network”? But are we educating them on how to network well?

Before you answer “yes, of course!” let’s look at two definitions for that term. You’re about to read the one so many of our clients (and some of our colleagues) rely on. Sadly, it rarely works. It just increases our clients’ stress. Here is the meaning many people attach to networking:

Networking: A mutually mortifying ritual whereby people impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger, to ask for something none of them can give: a job.

No wonder those clients cringe inwardly at the thought. No wonder some of us are so frustrated when they don’t “do what we encourage them to do”.

Now consider this definition:

Networking: A natural preference for extending value to those who can reciprocate, without any immediate expectation of results, and without giving away the store.

The difference represents a boundary our clients should never cross. That boundary is imposition. Tasking a stranger won’t get results.

When our clients tell everybody in sight they are looking for a job, when they inquire of employees about whether their companies have openings, when they ask friends to “help them find a job”, they have crossed that boundary. When they do, the process shuts down.

Suppose you and I were longtime friends. And further suppose you are employed, while I am looking for a job. I ask you if there are openings in your company. You care about me and want to help. 

But I may well have put you in an uncomfortable position. That we are friends doesn’t mean you know how good I am in my career field. If you champion me, and I don’t work out, your brand as an employee has been damaged. We may be friends, but what you call a great job might be a turnoff for me. There are too many chances for too many things to go wrong.

Now let’s consider the power, pleasure, and rewards that come with using the second definition. If I am going to offer true value best, it follows I must have a commanding brand. Once I have a powerful brand, it needs to be digitally visible. (Making brands digitally visible through LinkedIn and elsewhere is not only fun, it’s a wonderful source of revenue for your practice.)

Brands, even digitally visible ones, don’t run on autopilot. Guide your clients to find who they can exchange value with. Don’t ask clients to come up with specific names. Rather, ask what kind of professionals would fit into that category.

Let me use myself and my clients as examples. I don’t need colleagues in my LI network. We all know each other already. I need people who can help me and my clients beyond the knowledge we all share about our industry. 

Since I work with rising, senior, and very senior executives, my network includes enrolled agents (accountants specializing in Federal taxes), employment attorneys, staff for members of Congress, professionals running think tanks devoted to international trade, organizational development professionals…you get the picture. Each of these experts can help my clients (through me) expand their value.

My clients expand their network by offering value to people in other fields. So my client, an executive director for a professional organization, can give a Congressional staffer insights into new trends in her industry. My international business development client helps a commodities trader understand how Chinese businesses work.

When my clients know what kinds of people in which career fields should be in their network, they search LI and professional organizations to find the best. Then they use LI profiles to find some commonality. 

My clients’ first contact with a potential new member of their network never relies on LI’s insipid, canned email that says: “Hi! I would like to have you join my network.” 

That’s not networking; that’s spamming. It will shut down most networking opportunities.

Here’s a sample email from my client, a program manager in the aviation industry, to someone who might help her. She’s reaching out to a director of an air traffic control center:

“Jim:

As soon as I saw your LinkedIn profile, I made writing to you my first priority. 

Let me say right up front: I am not selling anything.

Because we are in related industries I wonder if we might learn from one another.

I guide programs that produce the latest in avionics. In a way, because you’re in air traffic control with the FAA, you are my ultimate customer. 

To serve you well in that capacity, I would value your reactions to a new transponder system we’re thinking about.

If that interests you, please suggest some days and times for us to talk. I’ll work hard to align my schedule with yours.

Janet”

Janet got an answer the next day. And her discussions with Jim continue to add value. As she looks for new program management opportunities, you can be sure her cover letter mentions her in-depth knowledge of the customer base. Jim, on the other hand, is much better prepared to join the discussion on how the air traffic control system must improve.

The best way to master networking is to exercise it yourself. My practice has run on networking for more than 30 years. As I find ways to help others, I learn what works and what doesn’t.

For example, years ago I wrote articles to post on LinkedIn. I uploaded to appropriate groups, the ones where my potential clients live. I never got more than 50 readers. Interest would peak for one or two days, and then the curve flat lined. 

Now I only post updates. I get 500+ views in a matter of days. Many clients find me through those posts. It’s wonderful to have pre-qualified people seek me out. 

That approach really pays off. I am the only senior professional I know who has never had a website and will never have a website. 

I am not a Luddite. My clients won’t stand for being directed to a faceless website (they call it an “automated brochure”). They want to speak with a human. They are not a “gold,” “silver,” or “bronze” package. They want answers that fit their needs. That’s why they go to my LI profile. 

Because I target my posts to markets in which my clients live, those who contact me are prequalified. When they see my brand on my profile they are presold. 

Compare that to my trying to “salt” my profile with “key words”. LI has more than 775,000,000 members. If they search for “career coach” they will get 58,000 matches! I am supposed to believe my set of keywords is so exceptional searchers will find me first? Even if I place in the top one percent that would bury me among 580 competitors. 

The point? Key words aren’t brands. Key words don’t build networks.

Continue to help your clients build powerful brands. Guide them to become digitally visible. But also keep them from crossing the networking boundary. That way both you and they will enjoy great success.

I was a bit startled when I heard the door to my office fly open. Very few clients live close enough to visit me and I’d planned the day to be on my phone and online. I was more startled when my visitor rushed into my office and plopped down on a chair. He was dressed like a bum. He looked like a bum. He even, forgive me, smelled like a bum. And he wanted a résumé!

I never did find out from which mental disorder he suffered; I was just relieved to get him out the door. I tell you this story because it illustrates an important point. I knew I couldn’t help him, but he didn’t.

When you meet potential clients, the same conditions are present, though not as dramatically, I hope. No matter how potential clients contact you, you can soon tell what they want, usually a résumé. In this article, I won’t cover the business of giving them products or services. We do that every day. 

However, delivering products and services can be such an all-consuming activity we sometimes lose sense of our clients’ other need: to trust you with a major part of their lives. That necessity comes under the heading of ethical expectations. Meeting those expectations must be part of your brand. The rewards of exceeding them, however, are beyond anything else that keeps us loyal to this industry. 

Building trust starts with a clear understanding, in writing, of the limits of what you provide. There are some aspects you may not have thought of. However, before I introduce them, please let me list the obvious items briefly: a complete description of the products and services you will provide, how you will deliver them, methods of payment, and billing arrangements. 

Guarantees: Some writers guarantee their work using a promise like this one: “If you don’t get interviews in 30 days, I will rewrite your documents.” I have no doubt such statements come from the heart. After all, we want to help our clients succeed, not be just a typesetting service whose commitment ends with final proofing. But every pledge is part of our brand, the things we want to be known for in the marketplace. What meanings might such a “guarantee” carry?

Webster defines the word like this: “a pledge given by the makers of an article that they will repair or replace it free if it is unsatisfactory or develops defects within a stated time from the date of purchase.” The words might be formal, but our clients hold us to them. 

That meaning has served manufacturers well for over two hundred years. Yes, defects in production sometimes occur or a weak component fails. It’s all part of the business of buying things that “come in a box.” However, that definition works against us because we are not manufacturers, and we don’t sell a commodity. (See “Are You Stealing from Yourself?” The Spotlight, January 2020, pp 5-7.)

For the guarantee like the one at the beginning of this section to be true, here’s what we might really be saying to our clients. “You’re not getting interviews? That’s because I didn’t deliver my best work. This time you’ll get a better product because you complained.” Now our clients think we weren’t giving them our best shot the first time. They ask themselves, “Just how will this rewritten document be better?” After all, when clients review what we write we expect them to point out information they thought missing, not presented accurately, had typos or grammatical errors. We, as writers, thought we were giving it our best shot. Too late; the mistrust has already arrived. 

But our “guarantee” causes still more problems for our clients and us. Consider some common events that come after we have written a super résumé and cover letter. Our grateful clients go off with their new treasures and apply online all over. They can’t wait to see the offers flood their inboxes.

You already know what they’ll experience. Many find the process time consuming and tedious. The competition is fierce; everybody else is applying online, too. The process is slow and has a low success rate. No wonder it can extinguish applicants’ enthusiasm…and (unfairly) their view of what you wrote for them.

The problems we create with that “guarantee” aren’t limited to how our clients look for work. What about this scenario? Again we wrote truly excellent documents. And our clients are getting interviews because they are active, not passive, job seekers. But they don’t understand how to use their résumés to advantage in the interview or to negotiate for compensation. (“Where Quality Resides,” The Spotlight, February 2018, pg. 4) It won’t take long for the interviewer to think along these lines: “This is one great résumé. I wonder who wrote it.” 

Countering all those unfortunate outcomes should help us keep on track as résumé or coaching professionals. We want to do everything we can to help our clients find a rewarding career, not just have a perfect résumé. That’s the way we measure how good our marketing is. But there are just too many variables for us to “guarantee” any part of any job search…which is what our clients would like us to do. 

Limitations: We all know the limitations of what we do, but our clients may not—particularly in the face of claims that “guarantee” an interview, placement at “the top of the pile,” or worst of all, a job. Also, we can’t forecast what reactions a potential hiring official may have to the advice we give or the documents we prepare. 

Also, there are limitations imposed on us. Last week I attended a webinar on Applicant Tracking Software (ATS). I was reminded of how, in their quest to limit the number of résumés a human must read, ATS can make arbitrary and unfair decisions. Did you client have even a relatively short break that wasn’t explained in the résumé? The résumé you worked so hard on could be swiftly redlined even before a human reads it. For example, when your client had to be a primary care provider for a family member, that noble effort suddenly becomes a liability. Consider showing such a break like this:

• Full time primary caregiver for a terminally ill family member Jan 23 – Aug 23

In short, a brief, honest, limitations section has a place in your proposals or contracts.

Expectations: If we think of expectations as driving methods and goals, we get the best of both worlds. We and our clients get peace of mind that comes from knowing what to expect. We are also free from stress that comes with a rigid and constraining process. In short, when we tell our clients what they should expect from us, what they should expect from themselves, and what we expect from them, we are laying a strong foundation of confidence.

What our clients expect from us is rooted in the investment they made in our services. Let’s look at an example. My client invested in a résumé, a cover letter, and a set of references. But I plan to exceed his expectations right from the start by delivering more than he expects. I promise to give him my undivided attention during our times together. I promise to deliver those products precisely on time. I promise to answer all his questions as quickly and as completely as I can. I promise to give him the tools to evaluate my work: tests he can apply to be sure what I wrote and the advice I offered meets his needs. 

Consider how that last promise might benefit you. Your client expects accuracy and completeness before he sees you. But suppose you invited him to test your products in ways that build his confidence and open the door to selling follow on services. Here are three tests I suggest my clients use to judge my work:

• Did I, unintentionally, give you too much credit, or not enough credit for what you have done? We both must stand behind the honesty of these products and I may have misunderstood what you told me.

• Did you think of another “success story” since we spoke last? I want you to get credit for all you do.

• Do the documents “sound” like you? Is that your word choice? Your philosophy? Are we using your career field’s jargon correctly?

Overall, I promise to use my expertise to help my clients every way I can. That requires me to educate them. Again, let’s look at a hypothetical situation: A prospective client asks you to prepare a “general” résumé. She isn’t sure what field she wants to pursue and “wants to keep all her options open.” Could you agree to such a request? 

I thought not. Of course you could produce an accurate, attractive document. But you should tell the client a “general” résumé is dead on departure. You are protecting yourself and your client from her unrealistic expectations. If this person persists in her request, you are honor bound not to engage her.

What our clients should expect from themselves reminds them that we help them manage their career; we do not manage it for them. Clients should be full partners in the process, whether it’s filling out worksheets, being prepared for information gathering sessions, verifying the facts in a résumé, even being fully prepared for our meetings. I tell my clients if they don’t communicate with me, I assume they are working on this project. They also know if I don’t hear from them for 30 days, they incur a $150 reengagement fee. That’s necessary because we would both spend additional time catching up.

What we expect from our clients overlaps with what they expect from themselves. In short, we expect them to work hard. Let me illustrate. We know three factors that add power to job search documents. We quantify whenever we can. We place stories in context whenever we can. We compare performance to others whenever we can. 

My client tells me he was on the dean’s list while earning his degree. I want the employer to see just what that means. And so I expect my client to call the college’s registrar and ask this question: “What percentage of my class was on the dean’s list as often as I was?” He does the work. He gets the benefit. Rather than seeing just the words “Dean’s List” on the résumé, I want the employer to see this: “One of only 4, from a class of 150, to be on the Dean’s List every semester for four years.”

How do you handle unmet expectations? If we haven’t met our clients’ expectations, we must make it  right as soon as we can: for them and for us. How you make it right for the client is up to you. Sometimes I offer additional services without charge. In rare cases I refund all the client’s money after I have tried, and failed, to please him. (“In Case of a Toxic Client, Read These Instructions,” The Spotlight, January 2023, pp. 7  ̶  9) 

When it comes to making it right for me, I use such an event to strengthen my brand and grow my business. I “charge” myself $2,500 by transferring that amount from my business to a savings account. I pledge not to withdraw that money for two years. The savings account pays no interest at all. Yet four times each year the bank sends me a statement on that account. Each one of those statements is a painful reminder that I could have avoided the situation entirely if only I had qualified that client better. (I’m pleased to say that savings account has had nothing in it for eight years.)

But what if the client hasn’t met my expectations either? I try never to lose sight of the goal: helping her win the career she wants. So my first step is to be sure she understands what’s needed. Think about the client who seems to have a fine background. You are looking for proofs of performance as the heart of the résumé. Yet no matter how hard you try, all you are getting is generalized statements of responsibilities, the cold, distant voice of a bureaucrat. That should signal the need to reeducate her about how examples of performance prove her a good ROI for the target company. That usually fixes the problem. 

If it doesn’t, I sometimes use the “shock” treatment. The words sound like this: “I know you have a great background. You know you have a great background. The only individual who doesn’t know your worth is a person you probably have never met: your next boss, the interviewer. He needs proofs of performance to champion your selection. As it’s going right now, we have nothing to offer him. Therefore, he will have nothing to offer you. Without proof of performance you don’t look like the person I know you are. Now, tell me about a specific problem you solved, how you did it, and what the results were.”

Perhaps a client fails to show up. I solved that problem by telling them, in writing when they engage me, if they don’t show and don’t tell me about their change in plans, I charge an extra $75.00. I am proud to say I have collected precisely two of those fees in the last decade.

Avoid clients who are slow to pay. Get all the money up front. If a client objects, tell them getting all the money up front motivates you to deliver what you promised. You can’t afford a damaged brand by not doing your best in a timely way. Second, many professionals have charged at least partially up front for years. It’s true of doctors, many attorneys, dentists…even plumbers and electricians charge just to discover the customer’s needs.

The rewards of exceeding your clients’ expectations can be summed up simply: everybody sleeps well every night. You and your clients know what to expect, when to expect it, and why to expect it. Long after they are hired, long after they have forgotten what the résumé said, they will remember you as an ethical, honest, caring professional. That’s a reward nothing can match. And while we are sleeping soundly each night, our clients are helping us build our brand with friends and colleagues. That, too, is a reward nothing can match.

How we all long for the perfect client! 

Yet, how will we know when we have such a gem? “I’ll know it when I see it” is an excuse, not an answer.

But the answer is key to transforming your practice into a center of excellence. The ideal client benefits most from the power of your knowledge, skills, abilities, passion, and wisdom. Those advantages came not from lecturing your client. They didn’t come because you churned out a résumé, almost in isolation, and pushed it to them attached to some email. You aren’t Google which dutifully spits out some canned response that might, or might not, suit a client’s specific needs. ChatGPT can do that in a flash. It’s your knowing which tools to use and how and when to use them that lets you serve clients better than they expect. What follows are suggestions drawn from my 50,000 hours in a practice spanning 30 years.

If profit overwhelmingly drives every part of your practice, you are in the wrong business. There are many other honorable jobs that will pay you a great deal more. And your hard work will be appreciated by many. In such a job, did you exceed your sales goals by 15%? Did your improved operations save a company $250K? Those things make a difference—until next Tuesday.  

Your practice must be a calling. It’s often said we are in a helping profession. If you really want the joy and fulfillment that comes from being the best, then yours must be a serving profession. It should be so because everything you do affects the lives of your clients and their families for years to come.

Passion must ignite all you do. Passion isn’t enthusiasm on steroids. It’s your willingness to tackle tough problems to reach worthy goals — for you, for your clients, for our industry. That’s what makes you so like your ideal client. When clients see your passion, they will trust you and rise above the stresses assailing every single one of them. 

They’ll trust you as soon as they know you are the only one who can truly help them. Their bosses and their coworkers aren’t interested in guiding them to new careers. Their customers aren’t either. Their spouses may love them, but they almost certainly aren’t in the same field, work for the same company, or have the same goals. Offering your clients compassion and  demonstrating empathy, is much more important than helping them ace the interview. Make those concepts come alive from your very first interaction with a prospective client.

Decide now that you will never say the word “price” again. (“Keeping Your Prices Right: Why We Never Use the ‘P’ Word,” Spotlight, pp 7 – 9, November 2021). Drive that toxic concept from your website and your posts. 

Commodities — identical products — have prices. You must offer investments. That’s not a word you throw around lightly. You offer clients greater value than the money they spend with you. You deliver value immediately right to their checkbooks.

Every client has a career field. Every career field offers a salary. When you cut your client’s job search by just a few days, they will make up every dime they spent with you before their first day in the new job you helped them land. Want an example?

Consider a director of marketing. It didn’t take me long to find a representative salary for such a position: $184,545 a year, or $3,548 a week, at the time I wrote this article. 

How many days would that client have to work to pay for the investment? Dividing the investment by the weekly salary gives the answer: $1,200/$3,548 = .33 of a week or just under two days. Since the average job search takes months, your client will make up their investment quickly.

Offer the same value to a client who is employed. Just ask this question: “Since you probably wouldn’t accept a new position that pays less than what you make now, what’s the minimum increase you would consider to take a new job?”

Suppose that number was $10,000. To recoup that investment, all you must do is cut the job search by eight weeks, or about 40%. 

To build a commanding résumé, you ask for an investment of $1,200. One thousand two hundred dollars for a résumé? 

No, it’s $1,200 for a tool that drives hiring decisions more than any other factor. It’s proof your client will make target companies a lot more money than they expect. It also offers the untrained interviewer (that’s most of them) success stories they can use to explore your clients’ worth. And, thanks to you, your client can speak to every single one with conviction — even in automated meetings. No wonder the résumé you wrote is a template for outstanding interviews! When you illustrate your client’s contributions to the bottom line, that same document becomes a lever to negotiate compensation. 

You know they aren’t paid by the hour. But if you can help negotiate the equivalent of a fifty-cent-an hour increase in starting salary, they will earn $1,040 more in a year. If you ask $500 for that service, your client gets a 100% return on their investment!

When you take on accountability, you build trust and value. You must set criteria that measure excellence in the résumés you write. After all, if the client could write as well as you do, they would have produced the same excellent résumé you could.

Imagine the trust you build when you suggest your client apply the following tests to your drafts: 

• Did you inadvertently give the client too much or too little credit for their work? You both must stand behind the honesty of what you write.

• Did the client think of another success story since you wrote the drafts? You want them to get credit for all they’ve done.

• Do the word choices and philosophy sound like your client? Does your client look as good on paper as they look in person? Did you use jargon appropriately? 

We never want a hiring official to say: “What a great résumé! I wonder who wrote it.”

When you build in self-accountability your work will rise far, far above those who just search endlessly for keywords. Those people have a name. They are typists. 

You, on the other hand, offer far more value than tiresome recitations of responsibilities that don’t document value and relate to companies readers neither know nor care about. 

So far, I’ve focused on documents. But nobody needs a résumé, or a cover letter, or a bio, or a LinkedIn profile. They need a career. Only a coach can provide insights that show clients how to use those tools to great effect.

So make yourself your own best client. Envision, as completely as you can, your practice when it is running exactly the way you want it to. What knowledge and skills would it take to do that? Describe those as accurately as you can.

For example, it’s so easy to say: “I must be able to help a client build a great brand!” 

Too vague. How will the client know you have equipped them with a great brand? Now the description of your excellence becomes more exact: “I must prepare my client to offer hiring decision makers observable actions that grow their companies faster, better, and cheaper than every other job seeker.”

When your list is complete, inventory what you already know how to do well. Whatever remains are needs you rely upon certifications to provide. You now have a way to choose the best certification — as you define “best”. Specifically, you know what you will be able to do after you earn the credential that you couldn’t do before. 

Just like your best client, do not give away your hard-won expertise! Your time is valuable. You’ve spent many hours and a lot of money to be able to offer what you do. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, even electricians and plumbers charge for the initial consultation. So why don’t you? The amount you ask to tailor a proposal need only be modest. 

What a great way to qualify potential clients. Of course, you’ll mention your modest fee will be folded into any services they buy from you. If a client isn’t willing to invest $50 to get your undivided attention for an hour, they certainly can’t pay for your services. 

Do the same to keep the conversation going. All my clients know if they aren’t in touch with me for 30 days, they pay a $150 reengagement fee. After all, we’d have to spend time catching up. How effective is that approach? I’m proud to say I haven’t collected a re-engagement fee in seven years.

Because we are in a serving profession, most of us want to “give something back”. You equip your best client to learn from others, to network by sharing value, to “give something back”. Since you should be your best client, do the same. Rise above the isolation that can seep into any practice. 

Be fully prepared, not just to attend, but contribute to conferences. Go beyond reading the articles in the Spotlight. Distill and apply the knowledge they contain. Better yet, write an article yourself! 

When you offer content to the media, when you participate, not just listen, in webinars, when you provide thoughtful, useful social media posts, you are proving your excellence. And in doing so, you’re helping our industry gain the status it should have had long ago.

Your best client gets the best return on their investment. You get the same and more when you are your own best client.

“Business has only two functions—marketing and innovation.”

— Peter Drucker

PARW/CC members have contributed so many powerful marketing ideas and innovations over the last few years. But when it comes to day-to-day interaction with clients, I sometimes wonder if our industry does as well as it could. My comment isn’t a criticism at all; it’s meant as encouragement. We do so well helping our clients. And yet, the careers industry has never risen to the stature it deserves. I hope this article will be an early step in channeling some of our energy toward correcting that inequity. 

Given the growing influence of AI, the need is more pressing than ever. (See Heidi Scott Giusto, “Generative AI and Our Profession: Threats, Limits, and Opportunities,” The Spotlight, August 2023, pp. 20 - 22). Never forget how naturally uninformed our prospective clients are. To drive the point home, try to answer this question as honestly as you can: Has any prospective client ever sent you an excellent résumé for review? Thinking back over 30 years, I can never remember a single job seeker who ever sent me such a document.

How does that happen? There is an ocean of pernicious “folklore” about what should be in a résumé. AI only makes it worse. It can produce mediocre content. But that run-of-mill text is much better than what went before. Now, more than ever, the operative word in the title “résumé writer” is “writer. (See Don Orlando, “Writer or Typist?” The Spotlight, October 2019, pp. 5 – 8). As the article says: “What You Write Proves How Well Your Clients Think.” That implies human engagement that must go far beyond worksheets. 

In the paragraphs below, I’ll describe the subtle, but powerful, forces that too often drive our “marketing” for us. I’ll illustrate how destructive that situation has become. And I’ll include some innovative steps we can take to put marketing the careers industry in the most capable hands: our own.

The most effective marketing is education. Haven’t you bought a product after you found it had value beyond your expectations? You did so because some capable marketers went beyond the needs of the “average” customer. They told you about a benefit you didn’t know you could have. And then they showed you how to get that benefit by buying their product. 

What they didn’t do was to amplify your fears, repeat old wives’ tales, or turn over their education efforts to an uninformed public. And yet, in some of the marketing materials produced by our members, in some of our social media posts, in some of our workshops to jobseekers, we direct their attention to ideas that suggest their career paths are hopeless or random. If we allow those thoughts to take hold, we’ve added another barrier to making a sale.

Some of us, inadvertently, go to extraordinary lengths to embarrass the very people we want to help. Do you offer free résumé critiques? I know you’re trying to be helpful but think like our customers. Here he comes, résumé in hand. He comes reluctantly because he’s already seen the word “critique.” If I told you I wanted to critique you, what idea flashes into your mind? Critique = criticism = deficiency = your own fault probably sums it up. We are critiquing someone else’s writing. It is a very personal subject. We have no business commenting on it.

The operative word in the last sentence is “business.” Let’s assume we’re willing to offend a potential client by critiquing what he’s probably spent hours doing. What’s our goal? Do we want him to rewrite the résumé so it’s really powerful? No, and for two reasons. If he could write that well, he wouldn’t need us; and if he mastered that complex art in the few minutes we spared with him, we’ve lost a sale. Our marketing misses the point.

Nobody needs their résumé critiqued. They need feedback about their career plans. People naturally bring us their résumés (for which they are either apologetic or convinced it just needs some “tweaking”). Let’s use that opportunity to show them that we are on their side. Let’s start by finding something good about their work. And then quickly educate them to our real mission: helping guide their careers.

If you were a client, what would you like at the end of your meeting with someone in our industry? Would you like a report card with all your mistakes—which you know you can’t correct—falling into the “needs improvement” area? Do you want to feel at the mercy of a ghost writer? Or would you rather walk away with a solid, informed, caring advocate in your corner and a plan to help you and your family reach your career goals?

I thought so.

Often, we go out of our way to find the most fearful language our most uninformed consumers use to describe the career search process. Want an example? How often have we told our clients they must “sell” themselves? Think of the image we put into our clients’ minds—clients who are already under stress as they search for a job. We’ve reduced them to nameless commodities. We haven’t sold anybody in this country since January 1, 1863, the day President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. No wonder people distrust the idea of sales. Ready for some more proof? Let’s try a little word association. I say insurance salesman; you run for the exit. I say used car salesman; you snicker.

But there is hope. You have heard it said: people don’t like to be sold to, but they love to buy. Think of the time your neighbor bought that new car. She was so proud of it. She picked it out and she haggled with the salesman (there’s that word again) to get just the right accessories. And she got great value because she paid what she thought was a fair price. You have never heard anyone tell you how some salesperson sold him (there’s that phrase again) a car he didn’t want.

We want our clients to be like your proud neighbor. We want to equip every one of them with the unshakable confidence that comes with knowing that employers need them. Far from being a nameless commodity, our clients are the success partners with the organizations for which they work. Think of the positive impact we can make with that message. Our fearful clients come to us because others told them to “sell” themselves. We should tell them they are valuable people, team members good companies want to invest in, not nameless objects with price tags around their necks. 

While we’re at it, let’s root out another toxic term. Do you recommend an “elevator speech?” Shame on you! We, of all professionals, should know the power of the words we use. We can put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and envision that most welcoming, most businesslike, most productive setting—an elevator! And what do we want our clients to do? Make a speech. Those three words have appeared prominently in major studies about which things terrify average people most. Yes, right after death, injury, disease and divorce comes “making a speech.” 

Our clients should have value statements—the specific benefits their employers can see them deliver. Now picture the clout of those words from the clients’ viewpoint. They think of themselves as powerful. We expend a lot of skill and energy to show that in résumés and cover letters. We want our clients to know why they are powerful: they can add to an employer’s bank account. In fact, we want an unspoken message in the mind of every employer: you may hire our client (if she thinks it’s a good match), or you most assuredly will compete against her.

Our favorite conversation takes place when our clients work with interviewers to find corporate needs and suggest how they, our clients, can fill them. The myth that we sometimes perpetuate is at the other end of the spectrum. It’s based on a flawed assumption: Our clients come to us believing that the interviewer, or some algorithm is in charge.

That’s based upon another faulty assumption: that the interviewer is always well trained in the process or that an algorithm can internalize our clients’ brand. Specifically, this idea holds that the interviewer has thought deeply about the purpose of the interview and has come up with the only questions that can uncover the right candidate. If there ever were such “magic” questions, they have long since disappeared. Questions now seem to be standardized, numerous, vague, sometimes mysterious, even downright silly. (“If you were a sandwich. . .”) 

Yet some of us perpetuate this odd thinking by drilling our clients on the “top 10 (or is it 15?) questions” and how to answer each of them. When we do that, we ask our clients to be actors, setting them up for stage fright. Why do we make it so hard? Even actors’ lines come in sequence. If we follow the conventional “wisdom,” our clients must memorize all the questions, be able to identify them in all their forms, and recite the right answer, and, by the way, do it all naturally. In short, we must not tutor our clients to appear at the interview, cringing in their request for a job and clutching their résumé. That image comes from people who have yet to be our clients.

When we’re honest with ourselves and our clients on this subject, great benefits occur. Our goal is to have our clients leave for the interview confidently. We should supply them with a few questions of their own. We no longer think of anyone being in charge of the interview. We should help them transform the interrogation that underlies the public view of the interview into the collaboration we know works best for all parties.

That’s why our clients never have to lie. And yet, one of our industry trade magazines quoted an “expert” whose advice included deceit. Whenever someone in the careers industry suggests trickery as the road to success, the public will be forgiven if they rank us with psychics and tarot card readers.

Our clients pay us for well thought out advice. When we stress the importance of including unsupported keywords in a résumé, we are capitulating to an irrational idea that came from outside our industry. The idea never made sense from the beginning. When employers complained that there were too many résumés for them to review quickly, some enterprising soul thought up software that can track the appearance and frequency of keywords. Notice the hidden assumption: keywords = performance. So, these wordsmiths claimed, we need only count the number of keywords to find the best fit. (Don Orlando, “An Obituary for the Summary of Qualifications,” The Spotlight, August 2023, pp. 9 – 11).

Those “experts” missed the point. Employers weren’t complaining about the number of résumés, they were complaining about the lack of effectively written résumés. There is no place for ambiguous keywords in powerful job search documents. 

keyword: a significant word from a title or document used especially as an index to content” – Merriam Webster Dictionary

We have confused keywords with jargon—the language of a specific occupation that conveys powerful meaning to an informed reader. Properly used, jargon is commanding precisely because it works best when illustrating our clients’ performance. 

But no matter where we stand on keywords, we should never suggest we include as many of them as we can in the résumé because their sheer number might influence selection for a job. There are good reasons why that approach is counterproductive.

Keywords usually describe traits. But those traits define the minimum standards. Consider this collection from a résumé a client sent me. I included an interviewer’s likely comments in blue in parentheses:

“A principled, multidisciplinary professional (‘Nuts! I wanted an unprincipled, niche-limited amateur!’) with 21 years of non-profit leadership, mentoring, and program management experience in foundations, education, and humanitarian organizations, (‘Experience doesn’t equal performance. I don’t know if this guy has 21 years’ experience—or one year 21 times!’) Ben brings the invaluable perspective of a broadly capable, servant leader (“Sorry, that’s not invaluable. It defines mediocrity! I wouldn’t pay any executive who couldn’t do all those things from day one! Where is that shredder when I need it?’)”

Reliance on keywords implies software makes hiring decisions. And so, whenever we over rely upon them, we are suggesting our clients follow the least effective path to a job: launching résumés into the cyber void and hoping for the best. 

Particularly at the executive level, very few jobs are filled primarily by announcements. Companies think the risk is too great to rely on that source. That’s why so many positions are filled with recruiters’ assistance.

We, however, know how to multiply that dismal rate by a factor of twenty. We know the value of networking—or do we?

Perhaps the most pernicious of all the folklore we sometimes indorse has to do with networking. There’s no shortage of studies that show networking works. But we should never be a party to the sound bite advice that suggests our clients should “tell everybody they are looking for a job.” 

Stripped to its essentials, that approach defines networking as that mutually mortifying ritual whereby people impose upon every friend, relative, acquaintance and total stranger for something none of them can give—a job. Our clients deserve better than that. We are the only ones who can guide them to become a known value in the eyes of a decision maker. That’s networking the way we know it should be done.

Up to this point, I’ve suggested practical ways to get our marketing message to clients and would-be clients. But, as an industry, we must do more. When you’ve convinced business editors at your local television stations and blogs to think of you as the careers expert, you’re in the front lines of the fight. When you write an article for a trade magazine outside our industry, you’re moving us forward. When you speak at a professional conference, appear at a job fair, author an informed book, you are serving all our best interests. When you write thoughtful social media posts, you’re helping everyone win. And when, in all these venues, you lay out logical, well-supported ideas that pass a commonsense test, you become a power for good for our clients, for our colleagues, and for our industry.

Let me close by tailoring Peter Drucker’s quote to our business: our most important function is to use innovation to take back our marketing.

Summary of Qualifications passed away slowly during the second decade of the twenty-first century. Summary was a leading element of résumés for many years but succumbed after a prolonged fight to ward off obsolescence. 

Although still used in many résumés, Summary won’t be missed by progressive career development professionals, people dedicated to moving their careers forward, and most hiring decision makers. 

Summary leaves behind a large family of applicant tracking software and associated hundreds of “key words.”

In lieu of flowers, job seekers are urged to engage career professionals.

I’m sorry to say no such obituary has been published - at least not yet. But hope springs eternal as I believe the majority of these summaries work against the job seeker and the hiring decision maker.

Consider the plight of the hiring official. New positions originate with him or her, usually in the form of a much needed capability: “We need a new sales professional, an accountant, an EVP for Operations” …you get the idea.

The hiring official’s next step is to ask his boss, the person who writes his performance reviews, for permission to advertise and fill the position. We’re seeing the outcomes of those kinds of conversations every day.

Companies still must make money as they always have. They try to increase sales; they strive to reduce costs. Boosting sales is always tough, especially in the wildly overcrowded virtual markets. Economic slowdowns or recessions add to the problem. 

Reducing costs is somewhat easier, especially personnel-related costs as they are among the highest.

And so, our hiring decision maker must make his boss this promise: “I give you my personal bond, the next (sales professional, accountant, EVP of Operations) I hire will make or save our company a lot more money than it costs to find, recruit, and retain that person.”

But there’s another element of doubt the hiring decision maker also faces. He sees other people, sometimes other people in his own company, who are not very good at what they do. He thinks someone, just like him, hired that slacker as the best in a field of eligibles. If someone else can make that mistake, he can too.

And if he does, some bad things will appear before his boss. First, our hapless hirer broke his return on investment promise not just to his boss, but to the entire company.

Second, morale is going down. He may have hired the wrong person, but the work remains. He must seek out his best person to take on some of the less capable worker’s duties. His savior will certainly help out…but only for a while. That top performer is already overworked. That’s why the new position was announced in the first place. Now this best employee is being asked to do part of the drone’s work, but she isn’t getting part of the drone’s pay. Soon, she will start looking for a new job. 

Her best bet is the competition. And she will take with her lots of proprietary information, her network, and perhaps even people who work for her. Finally, the cost of replacing an employee is roughly three times their annual salary.

Those are the clouds the hiring official is under as he picks up the first résumé. What does he see?

Too often, it’s a Summary of Qualifications that looks like this one:

Dynamic and highly skilled strategic hr executive. Values-Based Initiatives, e-Human Resources, Organizational Change, Learning and Education, Strategic Planning, Leadership and Mentoring, HR Policy, Process, & Systems Design

I’ve used red to show how many harried hiring decision makers would read those very same words:

Dynamic (Nuts! I wanted a slow moving person—not!) and highly skilled (as opposed to what?) strategic hr executive (strategy is what executives are paid to do, as a minimum). Values-Based Initiatives (as opposed to what?), e-Human Resources (this is the minimum requirement for my entire HR staff), Organizational Change (wouldn’t hire a most junior person who could not do this well), Learning and Education (a job requirement in all of HR), Strategic Planning (didn’t I just read that?), Leadership and Mentoring (expected of every executive), HR Policy, Process, & Systems Design (a required responsibility shown in the position description for every HR executive)

Remember what the hiring official promised his boss? It wasn’t a list of traits, responsibilities, or “concepts.” Those are kind words to describe the minimum standards. He promised money-making or money-saving capabilities.

That’s why companies want to know what the applicant will do for them. So why not tell them, in the very first line of the résumé? Perhaps it might look something like this:

What I offer TopLine as your newest Director of HR:

• A proven leader whose teams get cost-saving results that last,

• An expert at turning compliance requirements into way-of-life opportunities that build production and save money,

• A respected professional who designs and administers affirmative action and diversity programs that contribute to corporate and personal success, and

• A capable project manager who delivers results on time and on, or under, cost estimates.

We’ve now replaced the “summary of qualifications” with specific pledges of value. Gone are the tiresome recitations of traits that are rightly assumed for nearly every team member. Missing are the rehashed responsibilities lifted right from the announcement in an effort to “game” any one of hundreds of ever-changing applicant tracking software suites. In their places, our client is promising to perform the very measurable actions which the hiring decision maker is looking for.

Where do we find accurate descriptions of such capabilities? They come from the very best in every industry. These are the people who give the keynote addresses at their professional conferences. These are the authors of influential books, blogs, and newsletters. These are the people sometimes called to testify as expert witnesses.

When our clients speak with these mentors, the insights can be remarkable. Consider a young person graduating with a degree in criminal justice. She’s gone to all the websites that show such openings. The requirements are all the same. She must help build community relations, enforce the law, deal with suspects, qualify on the weapon, and so on.

With your help, she speaks with the best in the public safety world. Her question is straightforward: “What does it take to be a really great cop?”

The mentor doesn’t hesitate. He says: “If you are willing to lay down your life for your partner, you’ll be a great cop. If you won’t, not only will I never ride with you, but I will also make it my personal crusade to have you busted off the force!”

You will never see that in any job announcement for a police professional. Yet, our client must transmit her willingness to take that risk.

If she will, she’s in the right career field and will do very well in the interview, quickly becoming a valued member of “the thin blue line.”

If she’s not, now is the time to coach her to find a field better suited to her.

If you use this approach, your clients will see you as a powerful coach who takes them beyond the tough work of writing résumés to help build their careers.

Let the Summary of Qualifications go to its much-deserved eternal reward. 

That will free us to do what we do best: position our clients as applicants of choice.

If leading psychologists could eavesdrop on a client reviewing a draft résumé, I wonder if those distinguished Ph.D.s might question a foundation of their calling. More than 70 years ago, Dr. Abraham Maslow claimed people have a hierarchy of needs. 

At the bottom are food, water, shelter, and sleep: the basics of life. Only when those needs are met will people worry about higher levels, like security and friendship. But I found a need Doc Maslow missed. Even before food, water, shelter, and sleep, some clients are driven to tinker with our drafts.

The word “tinker” is very carefully chosen. We welcome genuine improvements to our work, correcting errors of fact, choosing just the right word to convey a specific meaning, making changes that strip away ambiguity. Those suggestions help our clients and make us better writers. Tinkering, however, is capricious. Substituting “happy” for “glad” is my shorthand for this time-wasting predilection.

I wrote this article to help you defuse that annoyance. When you do, you’ll have happier clients, more powerful marketing, and better growth.

We begin with assumptions about clients. Many clients believe the “folklore” about what résumés should be. Résumés must be one page. Résumés must have a summary of qualifications, have one-inch margins all around and must be adjusted (tinkered with) to match what we hope are the key words. All these slow our clients down, increase the chances for error, and make it difficult to recall which résumé went to which employer.

Also, some clients don’t recognize grammar for what it is: a series of preferences, not all strongly held. Most clients aren’t sure how to use our documents well. Finally, they have an uninformed image of the “reader.” Many consumers are entirely focused on the idea their résumés might not be read by a human at all—at least not at first. Others think the reader must be someone in HR or at least someone well trained in the business of hiring. When we correct these misleading ideas right from the start, everybody wins.

We, and our clients, should demand our job search documents help match a client’s excellence with an organization’s need in the client’s career field. We reach that goal when we set three vital standards.

Job search documents should be research tools for the interviewer. They should provide clear and compelling proof our client can solve a target organization’s problems, offer vivid proof to backup that claim, and can show how they used her mind to get those proofs, and demonstrate passion. That means that we must go beyond the common “Challenge-Action-Result” model. Consider this example from a typical résumé.

“Asked to increased sales in my territory. Called on every account. Revenue increased ten percent.”

I know it wasn’t the author’s intent, but doesn’t that example describe the minimum standard? Let’s look at the same performance with all the information included.

“Sought out by our regional manager, over five other associates with years’ more experience, to revive a territory that hadn’t made quota in four straight months. Met every account’s unique needs better than ever. Payoffs: Sales up eight percent in just one quarter.”

Did you notice how I got the maximum impact? First, I got rid of the passive voice (“Asked to increase sales…”) because it hides the actor. Then, I compared the client’s performance to others, set it in a specific context, and drew comparisons wherever I could (“…over five other associates with years’ more experience… a territory that hadn’t made quota in four straight months. . .”). Finally, I quantified results at every opportunity. Said another way, I gave the employer a research document that proves my client will bring them more money than it costs to hire that person.

Résumés should be templates for outstanding interviews. It’s no secret that most busy employers know little or nothing about how to interview. If that were not so, the folklore I reference so often wouldn’t have lists of key questions. 

We want our clients thinking like their next boss: to win the interview, land the job, be compensated fairly, and position themselves for their first raise. We should prepare our clients to answer any interview question — without memorizing. Some of their competition will approach every interview feeling unprepared because they rely on memorized questions and answers. To them, the interview is theater — and they know they are not actors. The result is often an interrogation. Our clients’ résumés, on the other hand, should help the employer make the interview a success. What everyone deserves is a collaboration.

How that is done is best left for another article. At the top of the résumé should be the capabilities our clients can offer the employer to boost profits. That gets us away from discussions about which adjectives or traits to use. Adjectives and traits wind up being statements of the minimum qualifications. Would you hire someone who doesn’t have “keen decision making abilities?” Of course not. 

But suppose we clearly laid out the capabilities a client can offer a company. Consider this example, taken from a résumé for a vice president for marketing:

• Documented track record of translating corporate vision into solid market share—faster and better than the competition

• Polished skill in helping leadership find or build, exploit, and dominate underserved markets

• Solid experience in separating the problems from the symptoms to focus on the very best match between our strengths and real customer demand

• Acknowledged talent in applying marketing skills that serve our company, our vendors, our “partners,” and the marketplace well over time.

Notice how closely we can integrate the résumé. If those capabilities appear near the top of the résumé, then the supporting examples follow immediately below. Here’s one such example from the same résumé:

Generating 1,000% ROI fast

Payoffs: Brought in nearly $1M in new revenue, a 1,000% ROI on a $10K investment. Expanded our presence into a new market: trade shows. Soon my team and I were speaking at these heavily attended venues and were active in the leading trade organization. 

A résumé should drive negotiation for salary, benefits, bonuses, perks, and severance. According to leading recruiter Robert Half, 70% of managers expect candidates to negotiate salary. Here’s what that means to our clients: most hiring decision makers are ready to offer a higher salary—but only if we, as writers, prove our client’s worth. 

In the preceding story, my client generated $1M on a $10K investment. Suppose the industry standard for salaries for VPs of marketing is around $150K. Wouldn’t an employer jump at the chance to have my client on board for a 10 percent increase over the “standard” of $150K? And how long would it take my client to make up the “extra” 15K? Two months? Three months? Or would the employer like to run the risk that my client will go to the competition?

When we are talking to our clients about the real power behind their documents, then we can have a professional discussion about reviewing résumés. Here are the questions you may ask our clients: 

• “Did I, unintentionally, give you too much, or not enough, credit? We both have to stand behind the honesty of what I write.”

• “Did you think of another success story?”

• “Did I use words that ‘sound’ like you and reflect your philosophy? Did I use your industry jargon correctly?”

When we have those discussions, clients get the unmistakable idea you are interested in their future. And thanks to such a high quality review, they go forward with new confidence in their abilities to land top-notch jobs, and your skill as someone who should be their lifelong résumé writer or career coach.

Never forget: our clients hire us as excellent writers. Never give them the opportunity to change that view by going along with “happy” to “glad.”

No, this isn’t an ad for the Marines. They may be looking for just “…a few good men”, but our clients are looking for just one capable career coach or résumé writer. I want to help you make that match over and over with confidence that your practice will be well respected and therefore profitable.

Let me begin by laying out the main thrust: “qualifying” clients needs a new definition tailored to our industry. In other fields, owners or employees qualify the potential customer. In our industry, both you and your potential clients need to qualify every time a potential sale appears. Let’s explore this new idea a little before I offer some suggestions to help you translate this concept into dollars.

The “old” definition of qualifying could be summed up in this simple question: “Can this prospective client afford my services?” The new definition includes that idea, but takes on a more powerful form: “Can you and a prospective client build a mutually-profitable partnership?”

To bring clarity, what follows is a step-by-step explanation. However, you’ll recognize the process is not a rigid progression of actions, but something that evolves. With that in mind, let’s look at the first step.

Begin by expanding the old definitive question, “Is this client qualified?” to recognize that we must educate the public about our value. Those who email, call, or visit your website may believe you are a typesetter with the arcane knowledge to arrange magic key words into a “silver-bullet” format: you know better.

Judging qualification now begins with this new question: “Is this person ready to change how they manage their career?” This is the best starting point because some people will never be ready to take that step. You cannot help those people.

How do you recognize these timewasters? Some types come to mind. The perpetual whiner just wants someone to listen to his or her complaints, endlessly. The “utopian” wants a position that couldn’t possibly exist: high pay, entertaining duties, short hours, great flexibility, wonderful coworkers, an understanding and supportive boss, an office in walking distance, located in a beautifully restored old building, and on and on. You get the picture: each new requirement makes the desired outcome less obtainable, and none are negotiable. Finally, there is the person who needs professional help you cannot give. While we’re not mental healthcare providers, we should try to spot some danger signs early. Once, I failed that test and took on an autistic client unknowingly. Because every résumé and every cover letter had to be exactly alike, because every approach to finding a potential position had to take the same steps (in the same order), there was no way I could help this person.

That said, we should not confuse the unsure with the intractable. For career coaches, the uncertain job seeker is our stock in trade. If you’re a résumé writer who doesn’t do coaching, there is still an opportunity for you. Because coaching takes time, many unsure job seekers need the income from an immediate job. A few deft questions and you’ll know which field you can position him for. In summary, to the unsure, you offer solutions. To the afraid (and they all are, to some extent), you offer reassurance by clarifying the process they must rely upon to get their next job. If you think they have the ability and desire to learn under your guidance, they will become excellent clients.

Up to this point, we’ve qualified the client’s ability to be helped. However, client qualification isn’t complete unless he or she can pay you what you are worth. The client must pay you at least as much as you would be paid doing anything else. The client influences his own investment. If she is very talkative and unfocused, she’s still a great client, but she pays more because she needs more of your time.

Up to this point, we’ve been qualifying the client. I hope you won’t be offended if I suggest you take time to qualify yourself. My question doesn’t reflect on your competency at all. It goes to your bank account. Let’s look at some questions to guide your decision.

Can you meet the client’s deadline? There is always a deadline, even if it is only your estimate of how long this potential client can stay focused. If you have to make a special effort, your prices should reflect that. That’s how I shaped a part of my business.

In the beginning, I had to go the extra mile offering service at night and on the weekends. Now that I am established, I don’t want to work those hours. And so, I kept raising the fee for weekend service until nobody could afford it. And I am proud to say that I haven’t worked a crash weekend package in over six years.

Can you work with the client’s style? Chances are you’ve taken at least one assessment instrument that helps you judge your style and accommodate other’s preferences in how the work is to be done. If you haven’t taken this step, please investigate it.

If you don’t have all the skills or knowledge a specific client needs, can you acquire them in time to be useful? Too often, we in the helping professions aren’t comfortable unless we are an expert in every aspect of our field. That’s natural, given the time, effort, and money we invest in our careers. Nevertheless, don’t be too quick to turn away business. 

Last year, a colleague called to ask me if I could help her experienced government inquirer apply for a Senior Executive Service position in Washington, D.C. It didn’t take long for us to see that, with a little digging on her own, she could handle this client herself. She did. The client was thrilled. My colleague put $2,300 in her bank account.

There will be times when you aren’t comfortable taking on a specific job seeker. In that case, refer the person to another professional. Be selective in whom you recommend; your brand depends on it. Refer to people whose work you know first hand. If you’re unsure, consider how our own membership directory can help . Here, you can narrow your search to only those who hold the right certification or to a specific state or city.

However you choose to refer, in the short term, you have lost revenue. But, in the much longer term, your honesty and professionalism will generate much more business than you referred on any given day.

People—including us and our clients—love to work with people we can trust and help. Apply a little thought to how you qualify yourself to serve your clients and how they qualify themselves to benefit from what you give. When you do, your practice will be even more successful.

“Quality, relevant content can’t be spotted by an algorithm. You can’t subscribe to it. You need people—actual human beings—to create or curate it.”

Kristina Halvorson, “Content Strategy for the Web”*

*Yes, that’s true even with Chatgpt…which produces mediocrity. 

It may be the toughest job you have: making sure you always deliver the very best quality. There are two parts to that challenge.

The first is a seeming paradox. The more clients you have, the bigger your bank account. That would be great…if only it would last. 

Soon, there never seems to be enough time. You knew you should keep up with leadership addenda and other advanced documents. You just didn’t have the time. 

You kept meaning to get up to speed on LinkedIn’s ever-changing interface. There were just too many résumés to write.

Then clients start to ask for products and services you’re uncertain about. Your business starts to fall off. It’s sliding toward failure.

Volume does not drive quality over time. Not for your clients. Not for you. Not for our industry.

The second challenge can be difficult as well. Which measure of quality is most important? The question is nearly complete. It should read which measure is most important…to the client. What defines his optimum experience?

The operative words are “most important…to the client.” She really doesn’t want a résumé. She wants a job. She really doesn’t want the formula for a great interview. She wants a career. 

This is where your wisdom comes into play. Not all our clients really know what it takes to get a job or land a great career. If they did, they wouldn’t need us. 

Making matters worse, some clients think they know what it takes. The executive who initially insists on a one-page résumé fits in that category.

The client should rely on us to guide him across all the stepping stones to the best possible outcome for him. 

Consider the résumé. When a typical client comes to you, he often thinks the résumé is a “magic” document. He’s heard (somewhere) résumés are somehow influenced by an ever-changing mass of obscure “rules” nobody can define.

When he sees the great résumé you wrote, he tells you “It captures me completely!” He sees his true worth for the first time. No wonder it gives him confidence. 

Now we uncover the true definition of quality. Quality is the intersection of your wisdom and your client’s value.

Your wisdom about a résumé starts with your knowledge of its three roles and missions: 

• The first role and mission is to prove to the hiring manager (who is rarely in HR and never an algorithm), your client will make the company a lot more money than it will take to hire him. This proof should appear in the first line and consist of observable behaviors. 

No room for glittering collections of traits, responsibilities, and minimum standard skills. (See “An Obituary for the Summary of Qualifications,” The Spotlight, February 2010, pp. 4 – 6) 

“I am privileged to know a hardworking, great communicator, an outstanding “people person”, with wonderful communications skills. That’s my West Highland White Terrier, Archie!”

• The second role and mission is to guide outstanding interviews, enticing the interviewer to ask questions that interest both him and your client. The CAR stories you write are just what gets the ball rolling.

You’ve given your client all he needs to transform the too common interrogation most untrained interviewers fall back on into the collaboration both parties want.

• The third role and mission is to help your client negotiate salary or commissions, perks, benefits, and severance. Because you have quantified the results in your stories in dollars, you’ve equipped the client to guide the interviewer to go beyond cost to see value.

Consider the candidate of choice who appears to want $8,000 more than the interviewer had in mind.

If the interviewer is paying attention, he knows your client isn’t just targeting his company. Yes, the hiring decision maker could pick a less qualified applicant who will accept the lower salary. Meanwhile, your client is targeting all the interviewer’s competition. If your client brings in a minuscule contract—say $10,000—the interviewer’s $8,000 “savings” will cost only $10,000!

It will dawn on the hiring decision maker how little time it will take your client to make up the $8,000.

Use the intersection that defines quality to build tests to optimize the client’s job seeking experience. I suggest these:

• Test number 1: Did I unintentionally give my client too much, or two little, credit for what she has done? We must both stand behind the integrity of what I write. If a part of my draft fails that test, it’s my fault; I must not have taken the best notes. I was sure she said she saved her company ten million dollars. Turned out, in my haste, I added an extra zero: it was a one-million, not ten-million-dollar savings.

• Test number 2: Has my client thought of another success story? I want him to get credit for all he does.

• Test number 3: Do the words sound like her? Are those her preferred choices? Do they reflect her philosophy? Did I use her industry’s jargon correctly?

Yes, there are usually minor changes we generally fix on the spot.

Notice how high I set the bar for myself to deliver more than a great résumé. At every stage—from information gathering, to writing, to proofing—I never lost sight of the experience my client would have when he used the document I prepared.

When you write a résumé, give the client more than a Word document. Provide her with keys to memorable job seeking experiences and a great career.

Isn’t that where quality resides?

The most important client you have contributes most to your success.  

That would be you!

Your tradecraft—your abilities as a résumé writer or a coach—are vital. However, they alone won’t carry you to success. What you do as an entrepreneur makes the difference between annual sales of $30K and $100K…as long as you’re not distracted. 

Many tempting parking places line the road to success. The press of business gets in our way far too often. It is so easy to lose sight of the difference between what’s urgent and what is important. 

Urgent affects the present; important drives the future. 

Everything seems urgent. Only a few things are important.

We guide our clients to strip away distractions so they can offer irresistible value to hiring managers. Shouldn’t we drive ourselves to follow that same approach so we can offer that kind of value to our own practices? In this article, I’ll suggest ways to do that.

Start with your most important goal. Does that sound too obvious? 

Let’s see. Right now, without hesitation, say that goal aloud, clearly, concisely, with precision and power. 

Can’t do it? You’re on the first step to success. After all, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will lead you there. Your goal determines everything you do, every day, from now on. We don’t just write our goals down. We live them minute by minute every working day.

The easiest way to delineate and reach your goal is to ask questions. Here’s the first one: how will you know when you’ve reached your goal, when your practice is running even better than you thought it could? 

Consider objective and subjective measures.

Because objective goals are easier to define and measure, let’s start there. How much profit (not revenue) do you want to make? How much time do you want to devote to your practice yet keep your personal and work lives in balance?

Compare those two numbers to the ones in your business plan. If you don’t have a business plan, your practice is running you. (See “I’m Lost, But I’m Making Good Time!,” The Spotlight, September 2019, pp. 5 - 9) 

Now write down last years’ numbers. The profit number is easy to find. It’s in your tax return. You can estimate the number of hours you worked each week last year. Are your targets for the coming year still realistic? 

If you drive yourself to charge the lowest amount to capture the most clients, the good news and the bad news are the same: you will “succeed.” 

You took on a huge number of clients. And you envisioned making lots of money. 

Let us assume you charged about $250 for each résumé. You had to undercut your competitors’ prices otherwise your plan would fail. Your low price drove you to turn out five résumés every week. Since there were holidays involved, you worked 50 weeks a year. You grossed $62,500. 

Sounds impressive. 

But there are costs to running your practice, even if they are minor. You drove those down to $100 a month. So you netted $61,300.

Since you had to work so hard, there was no time to invest in developing your practice. Because you had to turn out so many documents, you found yourself relying on templates. 

You didn’t really write 250 résumés. You came perilously close to writing the same résumé 250 times. And you had to work 50 hours a week to do it. 

When you do the math, you’ll find you made about $25 an hour. Who else makes about $25 an hour? A delivery driver, entry level customer service person, general inside laborer, hair stylist, part-time nanny, waitstaff person, maintenance mechanic, and medical coder to name some.

Want more good news? Since you’re working so many hours to keep your prices low, you can never make a lot more money.

But change your approach to offering your clients a return on investment and things look a lot different. Consider a client who makes $70K. That was the median salary in the United States in 2021. Every week such a person is unemployed costs them the $1,300 they didn’t make. 

If you now charge such a client $500 for a résumé, all you need do is shorten their job search by two days and they will recoup their investment before their first day on the job!

If you now write three not five such résumés a week, you will earn $75,000. You gave yourself a $12,500 raise!

Now consider your subjective goals. What’s holding you  back? Which resources do you need, but don’t have?

Is a lack of technology slowing you down? If you find yourself doing routine tasks that take too long, technology might be the answer. Customer relationship and email management software come to mind. 

Nevertheless, even simple things like using Word’s AutoText feature can give you more time to build profit. Consider something as basic as adding a date and time to your client records. Typing that information took me around 13 seconds. However, when I used AutoText, it did it instantly. 

Doesn’t sound like much does it? However, if I enter the date and time five times each workday, at the end of the year, AutoText gave me one man-hour. That’s $320 based on my revenue rate. And that’s just using a single AutoText shortcut. If I use four such shortcuts regularly (I have over a dozen), I’d have the extra time to generate $1,280 in new revenue.

Is lack of know how slowing you down? Find out by thinking like your most demanding customers. Which services do you know they need? What knowledge and capabilities must they have? Can you provide all that value? If you can’t, you know where to focus your business development efforts…and money. 

Here’s an example. If you can help clients negotiate compensation, you can charge $500 as I do. It’s about an hour’s worth of work. Nevertheless, I must make certain my clients see the value of that service as a return on their investment.

All my clients earn at least $100,000 annually. If I can help them negotiate the equivalent of a fifty-cent-an-hour increase in starting salary, they’ll gain more than $1,000 in the first year alone. In other words, I’m offering them a 100 percent annual return on their investment.

Yes, it will take you time to find and master the needed knowledge, market the new service, and prepare the supporting handouts for your clients. However, it won’t take you long at all to amortize those expenditures and start adding to your profits.

In short, determine your needs, find great solutions, and make those solutions habits. Prefer action and you’ll be well on your way to meet your carefully considered goals. 

Wouldn’t it be grand to compare the knowledge you need against a catalog to fill some of those needs? You can do that right now. 

Consider the program for Thrive2023! (www.thrive.show). Do more than just match what you need against the program. Estimate how much money you’ll be able to make mastering new knowledge faster, in a setting that allows you to speak directly with experts, to share what you learned from your colleagues. (“How Much Money Will You Make by Attending Thrive!?” The Spotlight, February 2023, pp. 7 – 10) 

When you do, you’ll see the return on investment the Conference can offer you. Don’t be surprised if that number will allow you to cover more than the cost of the Conference. Miss this chance and you won’t get another for a year.

You know the great value your clients get when they invest in you. Since you are your own most important client, you should deliver no less to yourself.

Anti-virus programs don’t protect against it. Microsoft doesn’t have a “service pack” to keep you safe from it. And it infects many of your clients. The virus is CCK or Certified Career Killer.

However, I want to go beyond putting your mind at ease. I want you to use CCK to win and keep very satisfied clients. In this article I’ll describe what CCK is, give you examples of it “in the wild,” and suggest a robust method to leverage CCK to grow your bottom line.

When potential clients reach out to you, they often say they want “help” with their résumés. However, behind many of these requests is another message: they want you to help them apply what they think they absolutely know to be true about getting a job. 

But what clients “absolutely know” is often dangerous folklore. If you take nothing else away from this article, please remember this: if you inadvertently agree with the callers’ thinking, your practice and our industry will take a hit. 

Where does this folklore come from? From just about everywhere. Well-intentioned friends and relatives offer advice and sample résumés. Some “experts” tell our clients they must have a one-page résumé. A large job posting site warned thousands of visitors they should be ready to answer this interview question: “If you were given an elephant, what would you do with it? No wonder many people believe this garbage. 

Have you noticed none of this bad advice comes equipped with any logic? That’s where CCK is vulnerable. That’s where we shine. That’s how we make our money. Knowledge, better yet understanding, of how good jobs are found is power. Our job is to give that power to our clients, so we can help them build satisfying careers. 

Excellent books have been written on that complex subject. For now let me introduce you to some Certified Career Killers and suggest logic you can use to help your client compete very well.

“You must sell yourself.” All this does is induce stress in our clients. Why? Two reasons. First, the whole idea is demeaning. We haven’t sold people in this country since 1 January 1863. Our clients aren’t refrigerators—an interchangeable commodity that comes in a box. (“Career Professionals Must Never Be Commodity Sellers,” The Spotlight, April 2017, pp. 4 – 6) But there is a bedrock reason why this advice doesn’t work. Nobody wants to be sold to. 

They do, however, love to buy! When we develop our clients’ powerful, authentic brands, those promises of value speak for themselves. Employers see the ROI our clients bring. And you can be sure they’ll love taking credit for hiring our clients.

The one-page résumé assumes the triumph of format over function—even for people new to the workforce. This last month alone, three senior executives sent me one-page résumés. 

If you allow a client to sign up to this career killer, you are really asking them this question: If we can’t fit the track record you worked so hard to compile for years on one-page, which part of your excellence should we hide from your next employer? 

The antidote? Every multi-page résumé is a one-page résumé with an attachment. If we haven’t captured the decision makers’ attention on the first page, they won’t read the second page. 

When we show the exceptional return on investment your client offers, the reader will definitely turn the page. After all, they must defend their choice to their own bosses. To help hiring decision makers along, I put the following in the footer of the first page of nearly every multi-page résumé I write: “More indicators of ROI I offer [the target company’ name goes here]…”

A résumé not focused on a single career field keeps your options open. The only option that’s kept open here is how the decision maker will throw the general résumé away. Clients who believe this folklore probably aren’t sure which career field they want. They have forgotten that companies hire only those who can fill their specific needs. Companies don’t feel it’s their responsibility to help applicants find a job.

The fix? Help them match their excellence—in their career field—with corporate needs. If you’re a career coach, there is more revenue here for you. If you are not a career coach, consider gaining the certification to be one. Or refer such clients to a coach. (“The Fine Art of the Referral,” The Spotlight, January 2023, pp. 7 - 9) But reserve the résumé writing portion for yourself after the coaching is done. Everybody wins.

Lack of education is always a killer. This assassin is particularly dangerous when it comes from the mouth of an experienced professional. Let me illustrate. I was helping a company find a plant superintendent. Of all the résumés from which the leadership could choose one stood out. It was clearly written by another résumé writing professional. It showed the return on investment this applicant could offer. 

But one manager voiced an objection. “Boss,” he said, “this guy doesn’t have a degree or even a high school education.” The CEO responded: “Let me see if I have this right. This guy saved his plant $250K in the last quarter alone. Because he’s worked at so many levels, he has great credibility. And you want me to ‘redline’ him because he doesn’t have a piece of paper that’s 15 years out of date? Not only that, I don’t know of any ivy-covered institution that teaches what we need. Why those ivory tower professors, I don’t think they’d last 20 minutes on the floor. . .” You get the picture. So should the appropriate prospective clients with whom you speak.

The best way to get a job is respond to posted announcements. This approach may work well for those entering the work force for the first time and those applying to relatively low-level jobs. For the rest here’s what the company who wants applicants to upload their documents are actually promising:

1. We’re going to put you in the largest field of competitors. You don’t want that, but you don’t pay the people who build the database. The hiring manager wants choice.

2. We want you measure your résumé against our secret one, selected to judge so many résumés that it winds up as a one-size-fits-nobody format. And some of us don’t know what to do with cover letters. 

3. And please don’t expect even the common courtesy of an acknowledgement. A quick search can uncover more than a half-dozen reasons why applicants don’t hear back. Several are outside candidates’ control.

4. We’re going to access you worth as a human based on how well you can guess are our secret “key words.” 

5. HR plays a major role in the process, and they do many very valuable things. But they know as much about your client’s career field as you know about Section 432a of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as amended).

We must pity the poor job seeker. Every time they see an announcement, they struggle to find the key words. Then they tinker (that is just the right word) with their résumés, trying to find subtle ways of weaving in those words. All this slows them down. It also increases their chances of making deal breaking errors. And it’s almost impossible to remember which résumé they sent to which employer.

No wonder a recent article in Forbes said more than 75% of jobs are filled by building relationships.

The top 10 (or is it 25?) “hot” industries for 2023 is a great place to start. This killer typifies what many job seekers believe without thinking: someone else can tell them which career they should pursue. Yet we know professional career coaches won’t direct people to a career. We guide clients to develop clear and compelling proof that a given field is best for them — as they define “best.”

The fix: help clients control the part of their lives that will occupy 95,000 hours is naturally attractive. Does anybody think your average client has the aptitude, skills, and money to be a neurosurgeon (one of the top jobs on a recent list)? Real success doesn’t come from a blurb in the Sunday paper. It is self-defined, hence truly rewarding.

Applicants must memorize the answers to the top 10 (or was it 15?) interview questions is closely related to the previous CCK. There are certainly many “experts” who preach this intimidating message. As always, an “innoculation” of logic can take the stress away.

For this CCK to be true, we must believe the following. Someone talked to almost every employer in the country and got them all to agree to use these questions (to the exclusion of others) in every interview for any job in any industry in any part of the nation. Further, they all agreed what the answers mean. Finally our clients must memorize every question, recognize it in any form, in any order, and come up with the “right answer.” Clients who believe this think the interview is theather and they know they are not actors.

All we want our clients to do is find the specific needs the interviewer has. That way, the client can expand on how they solved similar problems. Once you explain the purpose of the interview is to explore good matches between excellence and corporate need, the stress level goes down. 

No longer must the client worry about reciting some memorized answer, or whether he should use a Zoom light or not. He has only one criteria: did he attempt to ask the right questions and did he offer useful suggestions? That’s something they’ve done every day of their professional lives. With this approach, they can feel useful because they are helping interviewers solve company problems.

The interviewer and the company know how to hire. CCK’s influence here is pernicious. The underlying assumption is every interview is an interrogation, designed to judge applicants and label most as second best. It ain’t true. You know that; your prospective client doesn’t.

Has your client seen someone who wasn’t very good at his job? Some interviewer chose that person as the best in a field of eligibles! Need more proof that employers don’t know how to hire? Have your clients read some of the announcements. So many just list traits alone. 

Consider this recent quote from Meta as they seek an Executive Communications Manager: “This individual must excel at working collaboratively, have operational excellence, understand the content and creator world, and consistently deliver high-quality work.” 

Do you think this Fortune 500 company would even consider a candidate who almost works collaboratively? Is operationally excellent 82% of the time? Understands only 74% of the content and creator world? Delivers nearly high-quality work 72 times out of a hundred?

Traits alone always set the minimum standards. Other announcements sell the company or just recite responsibilities. 

Traditional networking is a must. In countless magazines, websites, and self-help books, our clients are admonished to tell as many people as possible about their job search. Carefully examined the advice really suggests job seekers should impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger, pleading with each for something not one of them can give: a job. No wonder people dislike “networking.”

We know real networking is the natural preference for offering value, to those most likely to benefit, without any expecting immediate results, and without “giving away the store.” What a relief for our clients! We’re telling them they have something of value to offer others. Now networking supports their searches and builds their confidence. No more self-mortification.

You’ve just seen eight strains of CCK. There are others. But you don’t have to click here to download the patch that makes CCK go away. Rather, I hope you have a renewed opportunity to apply your professional skills and logic to win new clients and help your practice grow.

Wait a minute! Doesn’t it cost money to attend the Conference? 

Of course it does! And it’s more than the registration. It’s getting there, the cost of the hotel, and meals. 

All true. 

And all shortsighted.

Other things come with Thrive!Orlando. You’ll “recharge your battery,” hear new ideas, find ways to make your practice better. 

You know: things that will make you more money from now on!

This article tells you how to do that. I speak from more than 25 years of experience. I’ve practiced every one of the concepts you are about to read. Every conference generated more money than I spent to go, even though attending usually cost me somewhere around $3,000. 

It’s never a conference. It’s always an investment.

Now’s the perfect time to apply what you learn here to reap rewards in the 112 days before Thrive!Orlando Conference begins. I’ve laid out things you can do before, during, and after the Conference. 

Before you go:

Make time to plan. 

Start with promotional activities. They bring excellent returns for little money. Aim at your clients and your market. 

Of course, you’re going to fold in the new value you’ll be able to offer them on your website, in your blog, your podcast, your LI profile, and your social media channels. Beyond posting in general on LinkedIn, you’ll post in the groups where your clients “live.” 

Don’t forget to prepare press releases to all the media. Remember, a great press release sounds like a news story. If it is promotional, not only will you have damaged your brand, you’ll also miss the opportunity to serve as the careers expert when reporters strive to meet tight deadlines that touch on employment.

Reinforce your promotional efforts. Fold your message into your email autoresponder. That gives you uninterrupted time to devote to the sessions without feeling guilty about not responding to clients while you are away.

Please don’t neglect your voice mail. 

“…I can’t come to the phone right now. I am gathering even better ways to serve you by attending the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches’ Conference from April 23rd to 25th. After I return, I’ll be ready to give you the benefit of all I’ve learned to help you with your career. So, when you hear the tone….”

Up to now, my suggestions aim at helping others. You can also help yourself. What, specifically, do you want to get out of this Conference?

Take a moment to write explicit questions to which you need answers. I suggest writing because that sharpens your thoughts. Consider this example to see a typical train of thought from a general question to some specific ones:

General question: I spend a lot of time writing résumés. How can I save time and energy?

Specific questions that narrow your focus to particular goals:

If I write faster, won’t quality suffer?

How much time could I save if I were more efficient?

How do time-saving techniques apply to every kind of résumé? After all, an executive résumé always takes more time than one for a new college grad.

Once you have written your questions, think about who might have the answers. (Does this sound like the kind of advice you offer job seekers about networking?) 

Let’s start with the speakers and presenters. Heidi Giusto’s talk “Advanced Writing Techniques to Save Your Time and Energy” seems made for you.

Find a list of speakers here https://www.thrive.show/speakers. And watch for a list of the Mastermind tables. Those sessions are informal talks with leaders in every aspect of our industry. What a great way to get your questions answered and learn from your colleagues’ suggestions.

Don’t forget those who write for the Spotlight. Since you’ve saved every issue (you have done that, right?), a quick key word search will find appropriate articles. The content can help you focus on your learning objectives and may suggest more questions to help you get all you deserve from attending. Of course, all the authors are experts, even if they may not be speakers.

Contact those speakers who have the wisdom you need well before the Conference. That courtesy allows them plenty of time to think about your questions. You should engage with them before, during, and after the Conference. 

Go the next step. Leave your “comfort zone.” Consider sessions about which you know the least.

Now you know which speakers you want to hear, which sessions you should attend, which mentors you want to learn from. 

Once you’ve registered, email the presenters your questions and ask for a copy of their slides and handouts early. Don’t wait for this material to be distributed as part of the Conference. Chances are it will be on a thumb drive—not the most convenient way of reviewing material.

Be sure to mention you have registered in your covering email. The slides represent the latest information, but they’re necessarily condensed. Take your time. Convert them to Word documents so you can add notes to help you refine your objectives. 

With the sessions identified, there’s still more to do. (Now you understand why I suggested you block time to plan before you go). For each session, make a quick summary of what you already know about the subject. This trick will alert you to the information you need during the speaker’s talk. An example may help.

You are fascinated by the idea of serving veterans. But you’re afraid you’ll miss something important during the actual presentation. So, what do you already know about the veteran market?

“There are lots of veterans.”

“There seems to be many organizations set up to help them.”

“Since I’ve never been on active duty, I really don’t know how veterans think and how they prepare to transition into the civilian world.”

That’s all you know!

Now your questions come a little easier:

“Just how big is the veteran customer base?

“Have those organizations left me any room in the veteran market? What do all those organizations do? Do they offer the same services I do? Do they charge for that? Do they give those services away? How qualified are the people in those organizations?

“How is the military culture different from the civilian one? After all, active duty is the only ‘fulltime job’ the huge majority of veterans had before they look for civilian careers.”

“What special qualifications do they bring to the civilian work force?”

“Can veterans afford me?”

From time to time, review your list. Check it against the slides you obtained from the speakers. Have both the slides and your lists available during the presentations you attend. Use them as checklists to capture vital information on the spot. Finally, if the speaker didn’t touch on the information you want, use your list to ask during the Q & A sessions.

While you are attending:

Review your questions just before the day starts. That way, you’ll get the most from the limited Q&A time for each presentation and you’ll be able to follow up with people who can answer your vital questions. 

If you really want maximum impact, set aside a few minutes after each day to refine your notes in writing. Concentrate on the information that helps you most. Don’t be distracted by the details in the examples speakers use, unless they reinforce some action you should take.

Listen for new ideas, possible introductions to rising stars and established people in our industry. After all, conferences are valuable learning tools. 

If you are new to the industry, take advantage of the “Ambassador” program. Email Margaret Phares (mphares@parw.com). She will connect you with a very experienced PARW/CC member, your “Ambassador.” Introduce yourself to your Ambassador well before the Conference. Ask questions. That conversation helps the Ambassador introduce you to people you should know. You’ll find the Ambassadors easily. Watch for the special ribbon on their nametags.

After Thrive!Orlando:

Capitalize on your investment by polishing your notes one more time. Pay particular attention to methods for increasing your productivity, your profits, or both. And schedule time right then to put those methods into action.

Make it easy. Concentrate upon implementing just one new idea. If you try to work in all the new ideas you found, you’ll be swamped and confused.

The rest can be covered quickly for professionals like you. Of course, you’ll get a brief thank you note off to those who helped you. But you’ll go one step farther. You’ll offer to write a recommendation that speakers and Ambassadors can add to their LinkedIn profiles.

Keep the ball rolling. The next conference will probably take place around the same time. You have more than a year to cover the investment. 

Let’s assume the registration for the 2024 event is $1,000 and it will cost you about $1,000 more to travel and stay at the hotel. Seems like a lot, doesn’t it? 

But you can make it painless. Set aside just $170 each month and you’ll be covered. Put that number in perspective. Do you charge $300, on average, to write a résumé? To make up the amount you save, you must write just six more résumés over the next 365 days. That’s doable!

Want to make savings super easy? If you bank online, set up a new account just to cover the investment for the next conference. Then arrange an automatic transfer that takes $170 a month from your operating account and transfers it into your Conference savings account. You’ll be completely ready! Your savings plan is painless since you’re covering the cost a little at a time and automatically.

Make an investment in more than money. What you’ll learn at the Thrive!Orlando will be distilled, “underwritten” excellence. You will rise far above all the confused, contradictory, even demonstrably toxic “information” that’s on the net. You need that information you need to capture more clients and close more sales. So, how, precisely, do you want to use Thrive!Orlando to make more money from now on?

When you do, each Conference becomes easier to attend. Now you have a more enjoyable problem: What will you do all that extra money the Thrive!Orlando helped you earn?

You already know all about the concept of a “toxic client.” Toxic clients are to your practice as a virus is to your computer. In this article, I’ll help you recognize this threat and suggest three lines of defense against it. Then I’ll wrap it up with what you can do if you inadvertently engage with a toxic client.

Why do I call him or her a “toxic” client? Why not use the more colorful and common expression PIA? Most pains (in whatever part of your anatomy is affected) can be relieved. They go away leaving only a quickly fading memory. 

Toxic refers to effects caused by a poison, something that can “…seriously injure…or destroy…completely.” But there is another parallel. Most people don’t poison themselves intentionally. They find out they’ve been attacked after the venom has stricken them. Most career professionals don’t take on toxic clients intentionally. They find out only after they’ve had their time, money, brand, and patience wasted. 

The first step is knowing how to recognize a toxic client. You don’t need an article to tell you that the obnoxious, constantly demanding, rude person isn’t someone you want to work with. What sets a toxic client in a special category is his or her unrealistic expectations. Think about reading the previous sentence again. It means toxic clients can seem to be the nicest folks you’ll ever want to meet—anywhere except in your business. And so, your task becomes defining unrealistic expectations. 

Toxic clients may have unrealistic expectations of themselves and of you. But the key word is “unrealistic.” Someone who doesn’t know what field he or she wants to pursue is an ideal client for a career coach. An uninformed job seeker who starts by saying his résumé must be one page can be an ideal client for a résumé writer. In these cases, the goals aren’t unrealistic; they just come from uninformed people…in fact, those uneducated about career management are our best clients.

The trick is to find any expectation that is truly unworkable. Here’s a “red flag” a potential client sent to me recently after he saw my proposal: 

“Don Orlando to provide the following services:

• Comprehensive coaching to examine all skills, all preferences, and all of the possibilities.”

“…to examine…all of the possibilities?” If only I could. A quick conversation revealed that the client did, in fact, expect open-ended, limitless support. And, since I don’t charge by the hour and he wanted to pay a fixed investment, this potentially toxic person isn’t on my list of clients.

In the previous example, the caller had unrealistic expectations of me. However, sometimes, the caller has unrealistic expectations about himself. Have you ever had a caller who said he needed $150K, but just wouldn’t settle on a career field? He “wants to keep his options open.” And no amount of wisdom from you can persuade him that what he will really do is foreclose every option. This caller has unrealistic expectations about his power in the job search.

How, then, do we defend against these timewasters? The first line of defense can be in your marketing and advertising campaigns. Many practitioners put a minimum investment on their web site (“…packages start at $350.00…”).  

You can add power to that approach if your message is clear. Serving the senior market? Your advertising should reflect that level. No loud colors, “booming” fonts, or special price reductions here. Your image will be understated, refined, and very business like. In short, when your marketing aligns with your business plan, you have built the first line of defense.

Toxic people are nothing if not tenacious. Marry that to their unrealistic expectations and it’s no wonder some get through that first line. And when they do, it’s up to you to qualify them. I won’t go into great detail about qualifying potential clients here, but I will suggest that you listen. Do you sense anything that might conflict with the proven ways that delivered successes for nearly all of your clients? Gently, but firmly, suggest exceptions go elsewhere. Obviously, you would never refer such a time waster to another professional.

Can’t turn away the intruder? It’s time for the third line of defense: the contract. I’m not suggesting that you put unrealistic conditions into a contract sent to these specific callers: that would damage your professionalism and reputation. Rather, you can test the potential client’s commitment. 

For example, I often have people who appear with a great sense of urgency to have the work done fast. “Do you work on the weekends?” they ask. I used to. Until I decided my family was more important. That’s when Nina, my late wife (and the smarter of the two of us, by far) suggested I tell them I do work on the weekends—and then offer a very high level of investment.

Two things I found out. First, for the last five years, I haven’t worked with or for a client on weekends. Second, real clients somehow found time to accommodate a more reasonable schedule. 

Usually, the potential client tells you a hiring decision maker told the caller the company must have a résumé by Friday. That’s why they called you at 16:30 on Thursday afternoon. 

Rather than add stress by turning them down, offer an alternative. You might suggest they tell the hiring manager that they have a résumé which they can email in the next two minutes. But because of the late notice, that document won’t give them proof your client will make the company a lot more money than it takes to bring them on board. So, the potential client can suggest if the decision maker can trade a little time for a lot of value, he would like to email that more useful document to the employer in a few days. Since hiring decision makers know they would be in serious trouble if they hire the wrong person, most agree to this entirely reasonable suggestion. You can give them confidence by reminding them every deadline is arbitrary. (Y2K is the only exception.)

If you must still work late into the night or on the weekend, set the extra investment for such work high enough to keep the timewasters out. Right now, I usually quote a $2,000.00 surcharge for weekend work. And I am proud to tell you I have never closed a weekend contract at that investment, and I hope I never do.

But what do I do if I inadvertently sign up a toxic client? After all, they sometimes appear as awfully nice people. That’s where your contract comes in. I am not much one for long, detailed, highly restrictive contracts. But I will address the client’s concerns if I suspect they might be a problem later. 

For example, your contract might be for job search documents for a specific career field. You have foreclosed the obligation to provide endless “versions.” And, as soon as a toxic client steps over the line, remind them gently what the ground rules are. And document every action they and you take. (Saving the emails in question is often enough.)

That last element, unfailing courtesy and professionalism, is sometimes hard to stick with, I admit. But courtesy is a great defense against demanding people. And it will make you me feel good that you remain professional when they aren’t.

If everything fails, you must “fire” the client. And, when that happens, I suggest you rely upon the truth, just as you always do. Tell her that you find you are unable to meet her needs and refund all her money. 

But you’ve invested so much time and effort, shouldn’t you be paid? Of course, you should. However, if you try to keep a portion of the funds—no matter how well earned—you will just get endless arguments. By knowing, in advance, that you will always refund all the money to a toxic client, you get two great benefits. 

One, no toxic client can complain with any effect. Two, because you hate to give away money you’ve earned, you’ll be extra careful not to bring on a toxic client in the first place. 

Consider the alternative. Suppose you kept all the money because you earned it. By the time you add all the extra hours a toxic client loads on you, your earnings near the minimum wage…and you’re missing the fulfillment and fun and revenue from clients who really need and appreciate you.

Toxic clients can do one last thing to damage you if you let them. Please don’t blackball such a person. Yes, it would feel wonderful—and you might even think it a “public service”—to save your colleagues from that person. But it just isn’t worth it. Online forums and social media postings may appear ethereal, but they are permanent. An aggressive, toxic person can make your life miserable if they can prove that you limited their chances for career success. 

For all of us, the toxic client is a rare thing. Let’s celebrate the great clients we help but remain alert for the poison that can “…seriously injure…or destroy…completely.”

There are clients, and then there are true career conquerors. Conquerors know precisely which career field is theirs. They may also be focused on a particular industry or even a specific company.

They are different from other clients in many ways, but their need to get their documents, be those résumés, cover letters, leadership addenda, biographies, or profiles, in front of particular hiring officials is vital to their success. Most have no idea how to do that and many believe (wrongly) that it’s impossible. 

If you work with senior career conquerors, or would like to, may I offer a new approach? It goes far beyond format considerations.

Yes, you may want to have your client upload their documents to the HR department. After all, you don’t want that office to think your client is trying to do an end-run on them.

Consider my client, an SVP of Continuous Improvement. His is a very, very, specialized field grounded in advanced data management and statistics. It requires an exceptional talent to balance the scientific approach, manage difficult change, build coalitions, and leadership. He must also be fluent in every “language” used in business from logistics, to sales, to HR, to production. It is a skill acquired only after at least a decade of study and grueling experience.

While HR departments do many things wonderfully well, they aren’t qualified to judge the worth of my client, even though he is among the best in the world. That’s not a criticism. It’s an observation. 

It’s fair to assume even the Director of HR knows as much about Continuous Improvement as my client knows about Section 203 (b) of the US Code as reflected in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended. 

Job search documents are usually a careful blend of our clients’ brands and the needs of the employers they target. But let’s dig a little deeper: we must write to make our clients’ unique thought process visible.

For conquerors we go even further: we present their thoughts in the context of the culture of the organizations they target. The previous sentence is meant to be read again. 

After all, our executive clients are always hired as problem solvers, thought leaders, and experts who contribute greatly to their next companies. Their next bosses fit the same mold. Those true hiring decision makers put their reputations on the line each time they decide to interview our clients.

And while hiring managers may think they know how to hire, many lack the training to do so with confidence. 

Suppose you could build that confidence faster, more strongly. Suppose your job search documents looked like they came from within the company. Suppose you could subtly have readers think what you wrote for your clients are the hiring decision makers’ own good ideas. 

Getting to that level requires very specific targeting and very advanced writing. You won’t get the input you need from worksheets. Be prepared to spend several hours with these clients. Attune yourself to their word choices, their philosophies, and their ideas. Master their jargon.  

Now add to your client’s knowledge of the targeted company’s culture: get samples of the senior decision maker’s writing.

If the company is publicly traded, that’s easy. Go to the corporate website and look for the “Investor Relations” page. Once there, search for “Annual Report.” This document is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Near the front you will very likely find a statement signed by the CEO or President. If he or she didn’t write it personally, a trusted staff member did; the words, the style, the font, the layout were all approved at the very highest level. Those words tell you what senior decision makers think their organizations’ brand is or should be. Your clients must show they understand that in depth. Every success story you write must prove that assertion.

What if the company isn’t traded on an American stock exchange? Go to the corporate headquarters’ page and search for press releases. These were approved at high levels.  It’s worth a quick trip to www.americanrhetoric.com. Using the company’s name search for speeches their leadership has given or in which they are mentioned. The corporate leadership’s profiles on LinkedIn often may give you insight into personal writing styles.

Compile your samples into a single word processing file to analyze it. One easy, general benchmark is to run the grammar and spell checker to get readability statistics. These include average sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characters per word. You’ll also find measures of the passive voice and how easy the document is to read. Take a screen shot of those numbers so you can compare them to your work later. When you give the drafts to your clients include that comparison with an explanation of why and how you wrote what you did.

Now consider copying and pasting your text into a word cloud app. I’ve found www.tagcrowd.com simple and easy to use. Select the options to show a minimum word frequency of two. Choose the buttons that will show you how frequently each word appears and group similar words. You will instantly see how often common words appear in the sample of the senior decision maker’s writing you obtained. When you have drafted the résumé and cover letter, use tagcrowd again. The results should be similar.

Your goal is to stop the natural tendency for clients to see the words they favor. Their chances are very much higher if the words and style tend toward the hiring decision makers’ preferences. This approach avoids the sometimes endless “happy” to “glad” changes some clients suggest.

Now capture the style, the personality of the senior leader. Does she write formally or conversationally? Does she care about the finer points of writing, making certain she doesn’t use the same word twice in adjoining paragraphs and using punctuation with precision? Does she favor contractions? How is the material organized? Bullets? Well-written paragraphs? What font does she favor? What about the point size? Is the text left justified? Fully justified? How are numbers handled? Is the text in single space? In short, you are looking for all the decision maker’s preferred approach to the mechanics of writing. If the documents you write don’t align well with their choices, you might easily introduce their distracting pet peeves without knowing. 

Look beyond mechanics. Is the writer more concerned with people or systems? Does he understand what his corporate brand is? How abstract is his writing? 

I never suggest slavishly copying a style. Rather, I recommend you recast your clients’ brands in language comfortable for readers. When you’ve done that, compare the readability statistics of the job search documents you’ve written with the corporate  samples you obtained. Your writing should look like it came from within the culture of the target company.

Of course, this kind of targeting is so specific each set of documents has only one destination. When I wrote packages like this for a senior marketing executive, he was targeting two airlines: Southwest and Etihad. 

The first is the popular, no-frills carrier. They are often self-deprecating. Compare that with the second company: a national airline consistently recognized for luxury travel worldwide. You would never mistake the leadership addendum that went to an office in Dallas with the one that went to Abu Dhabi. Even the details had to be correct. The package to the Middle East was written to be printed on A4 paper; the one to Southwest would work on a printer set to handle 8 ½ by 11”.

It’s clear this service is not for every client. And it’s clear it will take your time and great skill. Therefore, consider marketing it as an exclusive service for very high-end executives.

In addition to the drafts, include an analysis of the targeted hiring decision maker’s style as a deliverable, with a description of how you found and used the information it contains. 

Career conquerors are most comfortable working with brand conquerors. 

I hope my suggestions helps land you and your practice firmly in that latter category.

Summary of Qualifications passed away slowly during the second decade of the twenty-first century. Summary was a leading element of résumés for many years but succumbed after a prolonged fight to ward off obsolescence. 

Although still used in many résumés, Summary won’t be missed by progressive career development professionals, people dedicated to moving their careers forward, and most hiring decision makers. 

Summary leaves behind a large family of applicant tracking software and associated hundreds of “key words.”

In lieu of flowers, job seekers are urged to engage career professionals.

I’m sorry to say no such obit has been published—at least not yet. But hope springs eternal as I believe the majority of these summaries work against the job seeker and the hiring decision maker.

Consider the plight of the hiring official. New positions originate with him or her, usually in the form of a much needed capability: “We need a new sales professional, an accountant, an EVP for Operations” …you get the idea.

The hiring official’s next step is to ask his boss, the person who writes his performance reviews, for permission to advertise and fill the position. We’re seeing the outcomes of those kinds of conversations every day.

Companies still must make money as they always have. They try to increase sales; they strive to reduce costs. Boosting sales is always tough, especially in the wildly overcrowded virtual markets. Saving costs is somewhat easier. And personnel-related costs are among the highest.

And so, our hiring decision maker must make his boss this promise: “I give you my personal bond, the next (sales professionals, accountant, EVP of Operations) I hire will make or save our company a lot more money than it costs to find, recruit, and retain that person.”

But there’s another element of doubt the hiring decision maker also faces. He sees other people, sometimes other people in his own company, who are not very good at what they do. He thinks someone, just like him, hired that slacker as the best in a field of eligibles. If someone else can make that mistake, he can to.

And if he does, some bad things will appear before his boss. First, our hapless hirer broke his return on investment promise not just to his boss, but to the entire company.

Second, morale is going down. He may have hired the wrong person, but the work remains. He must seek out his best person to take on some of the less capable worker’s duties. 

His savior will certainly help out…but only for a while. That top performer is already overworked. That why the new position was announced in the first place. Now this best employee is being asked to do part of the drone’s work, but she isn’t getting part of the drone’s pay. Soon, she will start looking for a new job. 

Her best bet is the competition. And she will take with her lots of proprietary information, her network, and perhaps even people who work for her. Finally, the cost of replacing an employee is roughly three times the annual salary.

Those are the clouds the hiring official is under as he picks up the first résumé. And what does he see?

Too often, it’s a Summary of Qualifications that looks like this one:

Dynamic and highly skilled strategic hr executive. Values-Based Initiatives, e-Human Resources, Organizational Change, Learning and Education, Strategic Planning, Leadership and Mentoring, HR Policy, Process, & Systems Design

I’ve used red to show how many harried hiring decision makers would read those very same words:

Dynamic (Nuts! I wanted a slow moving person—not!) and highly skilled (as opposed to what?) strategic hr executive (strategy is what executives are paid to do, as a minimum). Values-Based Initiatives (as opposed to what?), e-Human Resources (this is the minimum requirement for my entire HR staff), Organizational Change (wouldn’t hire a most junior person who could not do this well), Learning and Education (a job requirement in all of HR), Strategic Planning (didn’t I just read that?), Leadership and Mentoring (required of every executive), HR Policy, Process, & Systems Design (a required responsibility shown in the position description for every HR executive)

Remember what the hiring official promised his boss? It wasn’t a list of traits, responsibilities, or “concepts.” Those are kind words to describe the minimums standards. He promised money-making or money-saving capabilities.

That’s why companies want to know what the applicant will do for them. So why not tell them, in the very first line of the résumé? Perhaps it might look something like this:

What I offer TopLine as your newest Director of HR:

• A proven leader whose teams get cost-saving results that last,

• An expert at turning compliance requirements into way-of-life opportunities that build production and save money,

• A respected professional who designs and administers affirmative action and diversity programs that contribute to corporate and personal success, and

• A capable project manager who delivers results on time and on, or under, cost estimates.

We’ve now replaced the “summary of qualifications” with a pledge of value. Gone are the tiresome recitations of traits that form the minimum standard. Missing are the rehashed responsibilities lifted right from the announcement in an effort to “game” any one of hundreds of ever-changing applicant tracking software suites. In their places, our client is promising to perform the very actions for which the hiring decision maker is looking.

Where do we find accurate descriptions of such capabilities? They come from the very best in every industry. These are the people who give the keynote addresses at their professional conferences. These are the authors of influential books, blogs, and newsletters. These are the people sometimes called to testify as expert witnesses.

When our clients speak with these mentors, the insights can be remarkable. Consider a young person graduating with a degree in criminal justice. She’s gone to all the websites that show such openings. The requirements are all the same. She must help build community relations, enforce the law, deal with suspects, qualify on the weapon, and so on.

With your help, she speaks with the best in the public safety world. Her question is straight forward: “What does it take to be a really great cop?”

The mentor doesn’t hesitate. He says: “If you are willing to lay down your life for your partner, you’ll be a great cop. If you won’t, not only will I never ride with you, but I will also make it my personal crusade to have you busted off the force!”

You will never see that in any job announcement for a police professional. Yet, our client must transmit her willingness to take that risk.

If she is, she’s in the right career field. If she is, she’ll do very well in the interview. If she is, she will quickly become a well-respected member of “the thin blue line.”

If she’s not, now is the time to coach her to find a field better suited to her.

If you use this approach, your clients will see you as a powerful coach who takes them beyond the tough work of writing résumés to help build their careers.

Let the Summary of Qualifications go to its much-deserved eternal reward. That will free us to do what we do best: position our clients as applicants of choice.

To paraphrase this unlikely pair: your client’s job search isn’t over until they get it in writing. That “writing” is a letter of offer.

In this article, I’ll suggest the final step your clients can take to be sure their transition to that new job goes smoothly—and helps ensure all clients associate you with their successful campaign.

The letter of offer is much more than a pro-forma document. It gives your clients, and the companies for which they will work, permission to do the same thing: stop looking. In the paragraphs below I’ll cover the limitations surrounding the letter, what it should contain, when your clients should ask for one, and how they might respond.

I am not an attorney. Nevertheless, as far as I know, no law requires companies to provide a letter of offer. And while the final word rests with competent employment lawyers, clients shouldn’t rely on the letter as the basis for a suit if the company didn’t delivery on all of its promises…something taking on added interest as more and more companies rescind their promises to hire. Now that the “fine print” is out of the way, let’s look at this important document.

Companies like letters of offer because they signal relief from their staff shortage and an end to the expensive hiring process. At last, they can plan on a new team member to help with their mission. There are some important benefits to the new employee as well. So, let’s look at what a letter of offer typically contains.

It comes as no surprise the letter contains the actual offer of employment. Typically includes the status (full-time or independent contractor, for example), the organization where your client will work (the parts division, the Southwestern region…), the job title, and the name of the reporting official, and whether the position is remote, in the office, or a mixture of both.

Then follows the first part of the compensation: the money. It’s important the details be spelled out, particularly if commissions or bonuses are involved, so there is no confusion. The remaining portions of the compensation package, benefits, and severance are usually described in a separate attachment.

Your client may also find another attachment, usually drawn right from the company’s handbook, which lays out the “ground rules.” Here is where the company tells him or her about normal work hours, whether their facility is a smoke free environment, and the like. More and more, companies also use the letter as a handy way to tell people about other conditions of employment. For example, here’s where they tell your client that his or her employment is contingent upon passing a substance abuse screening, a background or police check, licensure, a credit review, or qualification for bonding.

Usually, toward the end of the letter, are instructions about when the work starts, where your client goes on the first day, and any paperwork he or she should bring (DD Form 214 {for veterans}, driver’s license, operating permits, proof of certification, and the like). Have your client gather any needed paperwork ahead of time. It won’t do to show up unprepared on the first day.

Remind your clients these letters are often “boiler plate” (i.e.: mail merge documents). If there is a discrepancy between what your client was promised in the interview and what appears on the letter, the cause is usually an administrative oversight. That’s why such letters usually have the name of a contact your client can call to resolve such problems. If the letter must be corrected, your client should ask for a new copy with a slightly later deadline for the reply to accommodate the time needed to prepare a new letter.

Most letters of offer have an expiration date, the day beyond which the offer is no longer valid if your client doesn’t accept. Don’t be surprised if this date is in the very near future. After all, the letter just codifies what’s been said in the interview and the company wants to have your client on board quickly. That fact leads us to a vital point.

The letter of offer comes after negotiation for compensation is complete. Therefore, asking for such a letter is the last step in the interview process. Once the details have all been ironed out, and the interviewer has made a verbal offer, your client might ask: “When may I expect a letter of offer?”

No reputable company should refuse this request which serves its interest as much as those of your clients. Some small companies, however, may not be familiar with the document. Your client can offer to draft such a letter—which you write and charge for.

Like all letters, the letter of offer is designed to elicit a response. That’s why there is a place for your client to sign, indicating he or she understands and agrees with its contents. If the letter is correct, your client should sign the original, make a copy, and return the original very promptly to the company…perhaps with a thank you letter which you write and charge for.

Throughout the job search, everyone speaks of trust as a valued part of the transaction. The letter of offer is a tangible form of that trust. By setting the ground rules, it frees the company, and your client, from distractions in those critical first few days on the job. Knowing about the letter of offer also gives you, as a career coach or résumé writer, a final opportunity to underscore the value of what you do.

Of all people, we, as résumé writers and career coaches, should pay special attention to the definitions and connotations of the words we use. Isn't that the standard you apply when you write job search documents for your clients?

Yet we violate that guideline often whenever we offer to write a “bio.” It's more than a minor choice in semantics. We may be misleading our clients. Because they are uninformed about the job search process, they may think of the actual definition of that word: an account of someone’s life written by someone else.

That's probably the reason why so many bios are self-centered. They are backward looking. That works against your clients, and your practice, if you write such documents.

Employers will not hire our clients for their previous jobs. And the work history has only limited value. Hiring decision makers may not see the context in which our clients succeeded. They neither know nor care about the companies our clients worked for earlier.

We can overcome those shortcomings if we think about the bio in its most powerful role: as a commanding statement of your client’s brand. Here our role as educators comes to the fore. Many clients, and sadly, even some who call themselves résumé writers and LinkedIn profile “experts,” think the brand is a jingle, a collection of nice sounding adjectives, admirable traits, and even responsibilities.

We must tell our clients their brand is a concise commitment to observable actions designed to produce great return on investment for organizations that hire them. That element sets bios apart from résumés. The differences in the power these documents bring to effective networking.

How often have clients asked you about the best way to distribute résumés? Sometimes they think the more résumés they pass out the better their chances. We must remind them when they give someone an unsolicited résumé our clients are imposing on that person. The unspoken idea is this: “Here's my résumé. I'm counting on you to help me get a job. I expect you to put your own brand and reputation on the line by endorsing me – someone you may not know very well.”

A bio never imposes; it's an integral part of effective networking. As our clients build relationships, their bio introduces them. Bios can help recruiters and even hiring decision makers prepare for interviews. The bio is also a great “leave behind.” It's a reminder of the value our clients offer, not a veiled demand that they hire the author. In short, a bio introduces your client as a person, not just an anonymous job seeker.

Bios don't rely on responsibilities. Informed hiring decision makers put little weight on responsibilities applicants had elsewhere. They have three good reasons for doing so.

First, responsibilities relate to an organization unknown to hiring official. Second, hiring officials certainly know the responsibilities of the position they are trying to fill. Last, responsibilities do not always equal performance. If you are in doubt, consider the former CEO of the Boeing Corporation. He ran a thriving century-old company nearly into bankruptcy and killed 346 people while he was doing it.

You will see a sample bio of an actual client below. Naturally, the personal information has been fictionalized. Let's look at how to write bios effectively.

First, consider the readers. You'll notice the plural. Some readers might be HR professionals who know very little about your client’s field. Some will be senior executives with only a general understanding of how your client contributed to the mission. Some may even be fellow experts in the client’s field. All of them must understand and see great value in the bio you write.

Because the bio is so centered on the brand, that element must be completely developed before you start writing. I suggest you start with the résumé. As you know, and our clients do not, their brand should appear at the very top of that document.

Begin with the success stories. Your experience is probably like mine. After you gather success stories, you often find clients have certain strengths or traits. When I wrote this, I was working with two chief operating officers. Both have excellent backgrounds. Both work in similar industries. Yet their strengths are very different.

One COO has a gift for finding costs of business others had missed three years. The other is a master at exploiting opportunities faster, better, and cheaper than his competitors. Finding those drivers of a client’s brand is harder to do with worksheets for three reasons.

First, when you ask clients about problems they've solved, they often give you the symptoms instead. Your client proudly tells you he helped turn around falling sales. But declining sales aren’t the problem. They are only a symptom. Sales could fall because a new competitor entered the market, undercutting our client’s company. Or the reduced sales may come from not having enough sales professionals. Or the lowered sales may come from a strike or natural disaster. Because your client focused on the symptoms, it becomes their employer’s story, not your client’s story.

Second, there’s a good chance you'll have to rewrite what the client gave you. If your clients wrote as well as you, they wouldn't need your services. Now you must spend extra (uncompensated) time translating the client’s words to get the most impact out of the imprecise words they used.

Finally, some clients’ stories you cannot use. There’s a difference between a task and a problem solved. A task is a set of actions to remove a mundane inconvenience. If you could see my office, you'd see a rack for files sitting on my desk. If I should knock into that holder, there would be paper everywhere. That’s not a problem. Every sheet of paper has a client’s name. Every folder has a client’s name. A smart 6 year old could put it all back together. A problem is always a shortage of resources: people, money, time, knowledge, and the like. Since it doesn’t illustrate problem solving ability, you can't really use tasks as success stories you include in clients’ bios.

You also can't use a story without a positive outcome. This is in no way “spin.” Here’s an example from my own practice. When the client first approached me, he was very proud of his suggestion that would save his company $250,000 a year. He passed it to his boss because only she could execute it. She thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! But before she could execute it, she was promoted. The next incumbent never took any action on the suggestion, perhaps because it wasn't his “pet rock.” But the client included it in his résumé.

Because every résumé is written to entice untrained interviewers to ask the questions they and your clients both want to talk about, you can see what's coming. Let's listen as the interviewer notices that story.  Interviewer: “Jim, I see you put a suggestion in that would have saved the company a quarter million dollars a year. Tell me that worked out.” No matter what Jim says, it will work against him. He can’t criticize his boss for not acting on the idea. And he can’t be seen as not having the initiative to move the effort forward.

Because the bio is a story of your client’s brand, let's borrow a trick from successful authors. They begin with words that capture attention. It might be an unexpected statement or what appears, at first sight, to be unsustainable. Here are some examples:

“My job titles in the field of institutional financial planning and strategy often included the word ‘Director.’ But I never forget my superiors, my organizations, our team members and, most important, every stakeholder and customer expect me to lead…not just ’direct.’ That word carries a top-down implication I work hard to avoid.”                                                                                                                                            — A very senior financial planning executive

“On paper, my job titles have so often included two key words: ‘operations’ and ‘manager.’ But I think of myself as a productivity excellence leader. The difference is more than semantic.”                                                                             — A VP of technology operations executive

“You’ve heard it too many times. People say they ‘strive to exceed customers’ expectations.’ To me, those are the minimum standards.”                                                        – A COO

You may want to add an illustrative success story but be sure it is transferrable to many different companies in many industries.

Sometimes, it might be useful to add a carefully written call for action at the end. Rather than seeming to impose, those words remind the readers your client is already successful. It hints that the author is looking to make even greater contributions. We hope that encourages readers to seek our clients’ advice about solving a corporate problem.

Finally, it's time to do more than proofing. Proofing catches errors. But it was never designed to enhance style and tone. I recommend you use Word’s “Read Aloud” function to hear what you have written.

Now ask your client to apply some tests. Does the bio sound like your client, like one person speaking to another? Have you used jargon appropriately? Have you inadvertently given the client too much (or not enough) credit for what they have done? You must both stand behind the honesty of what you've written.

Now it’s time to see a sample bio. The client was a senior transitioning naval officer. Because more than 95% of Americans have never served on active duty, we had to overcome some natural stereotypes that uninformed hiring decision makers often have. They may believe my client doesn’t understand the profit and loss. They may think he is rigid because of the unfounded assumption the military can only do things in one, very rigid way. Readers may assume my client always had unlimited resources. That comes from their idea that the Defense budget is huge.

I think you’ll find bios are very satisfying to produce. They call upon all your skills as an effective and persuasive writer. That means you may also use them for an additional purpose. Bios make excellent “About” sections for LinkedIn profiles.

Because bios strive to capture return on investment, it is not difficult to convince your client of their value. That translates into additional revenue for you.

We never forget that everything we do affects the lives of our clients and their families for years to come.

An exceptionally well written bio makes that idea come alive.

How much do incoming calls cost your business?

a. 4.3 cents a minute

b. 5.8 cents a minute

c. 7.1 cents a minute

d. Nothing, I have unlimited calls

e. A huge chunk of your future earnings—for years!

No, that’s not a trick question. Seven of my former competitors failed this test over the years.

Yes, they all did different things wrong, but feedback I got from clients was consistent: none of those former “professional” résumé writers used their phones well. Their inability to put their phones to work may have helped drive them out of business. I can't claim my best telephone practices steered all my success. However, mastering how to put the phone to work for me has made a big difference for the last 29 years.

It doesn’t matter if you are home based, office based, or virtually based, your potential clients probably come, overwhelmingly, from the net. But it’s rare to close a sale without speaking to an inquirer on the phone or Zoom.

Every client has strong opinions about the phones they, too, rely upon. This article outlines how you can meet and exceed client expectations using your phone or meeting app.

When you pick up the phone or sign on to Zoom, are you listening?Many callers say their names. If you’re not paying attention, you find yourself in the embarrassing position of having to ask them for info they just gave you. Moreover, it’s not just any information, it’s the sweetest words our callers hear: their own names.

How can you train yourself to listen? Try using a log. When the phone rings, or before your virtual meeting, open your log, only then are you ready to begin. If you’ll type the name when you hear it, you’ll be miles ahead. Here’s what my log looks like:

My log is a lot more than just a handy place to take down contact information. It helps me close the sale. Because I’m listening, I soon know what callers really need. That’s what the words in italics are all about.

I’m indebted to Susan Whitcomb, President of the Academies, for helping classify callers. The “explorer” isn’t sure which career is best. The “hunter” knows her career focus; she’s not certain where to apply her talents. The “conqueror” knows precisely where he wants to go. When I make a quick note about what clients need, I communicate best right from the start.

Put your log to work for you. Use the AutoText feature. Type a sentence you use often, then assign a “code” to it in the AutoText dialog box. (Find AutoText under the Quick Parts icon in the Insert menu in Word.) For example, I assigned the letters “clm” to this sentence: “Caller left message on our voice mail.” Whenever I must enter those words, I just type “clm,” press F3, and Word places the sentence right where I need it.

Underlying the tips you’ve just read is an important point. When you speak with a potential client, he or she deserves your undivided attention. The previous sentence is meant to be read twice; it will dramatically increase your sales.

If you follow the suggestions below rigorously, your concern for your caller will come across in “capital letters:”

Never put anyone on hold. Think of the negative impact of having a caller wait. You’ve answered the phone, ready with your most pleasant voice (more about that later) to engage the caller. You suspect many callers are pre-sold. They wouldn’t have contacted you if they didn’t want help. Just as they feel they have someone on their side, you use call waiting or put them on hold. How would you feel if the positions were reversed?

Let’s start with “call waiting.” At the risk of offending phone companies, there is no excuse for call waiting. Stopping a conversation to take another call is the equivalent of letting someone else “cut in line.”

If you interrupt one incoming call to take another, you are telling the first caller he or she isn’t important. How, then, do you manage the inevitable interruptions?

Start with your phone message or autoresponder. Let people know clients have your undivided attention. They’ll be impressed. Here’s an excerpt from one of my outgoing messages:

“Hello, you have reached Don Orlando, your personal, executive career coach, at the McLean Group. I return every message received promptly, even nights, weekends, and holidays. However, I can’t speak with you right now. When I am with my clients, they get my full attention and the peace of mind that comes with knowing I am their advocate—they will be successful, even in the tightest job market…”

The order of the ideas you’ve just read is important. Offer callers benefits right up front. The “benefit” is responding to their needs promptly. Telling callers you’re tied up doesn’t interest them in the least. But even then, you’re planting the seed about something they need and want—your full attention to help them be successful.

Your message is an ideal representation of your brand, a powerful statement of actions you promise to take to benefit the caller. Therefore, please resist the temptation to speak about “features.”

A feature is a product or service, not the value you offer. Here are two excerpts from outgoing messages to illustrate the point:

“You have reached Tim Smith at Smith’s WordMaster. We are your source for outstanding résumés and cover letters, interview preparation…”

“Hello, you’ve reached Sarah Weller at Career Coaching Services. I help people just like you translate their dreams into rewarding careers…”

Tim focuses on the “features:” job search documents, interview prep, and the like. Those are important. However, no one needs any of those things; they need a career. In short, a résumé is a feature; a career is the benefit.

Sarah has it all figured out. She is going to help every inquirer move from a cherished dream to a successful work life. Most want that value.

No matter what value you offer your clients, consider adding a much sought-after benefit: speak with a human as soon as possible. Promise you will return every message promptly. Commit to returning calls after normal business hours, on weekends, even holidays.

I did not just suggest you work during off-hours (unless you want to, and charge appropriately). I mean you will always find a few minutes to return every call. If your practice is like mine, you’ll make about three follow up contacts after hours a month. Each takes only a few minutes. The goal is to arrange for uninterrupted time to lay out a career plan for the potential clients (and to make the sale).

The same advice applies to your dealings with established clients. Always return their calls—even if it’s only to say you are helping others and will call back later. Yes, you may certainly use email when you need to, but nothing beats the personal attention that comes with a human voice.

There’s even a tip to capture “personal attention.” Smile when you speak to a potential client. (No, you won’t look silly—after all, there shouldn’t be any clients in your office.) When you smile, you put yourself in a good mood and it “shows” in your voice.

If I’ve been successful with this brief article, you’re already thinking about how you can use what you’ve read. If these ideas increase your sales, the question that opened this article will then look like this:

How much do calls cost my business?

a. 4.3 cents a minute

b. 5.8 cents a minute

c. 7.1 cents a minute

d. Nothing, I have unlimited calls

e. Calls don’t cost anything at all—they help me make money

Knowing the right answer will grow your practice and serve your clients well indeed.

If you attended Thrive22!, you had the rare opportunity to speak face to face with hiring decision makers. It will come as no surprise to learn many are reluctant to tell unsuccessful candidates the bad news. Some companies even have policies not to offer any feedback at all.

That presentation inspired me to write this article. I hope what follows will give you insights you may not get anywhere else. The information comes from my 25 years supporting rising, senior, and very senior executives. It’s not the result of a scientific survey, but I heard these ideas expressed so often, across so many industries, they seem very credible.

You and your clients should keep two important ideas in mind as you learn about these four reasons why top clients may not be hired. First, your client will never know which reason was in play. Second, even if they did know, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. The reasons are in no particular order.

Reason #1: There never was a job to begin with! The CEO’s son has just completed his MBA. His father thinks the best place for him to get a start is in his family’s own company. Nevertheless, the organization wants to avoid any EEOC complaint. Therefore, while it's never written down, the guidance is straightforward. Find and interview top notch clients. Take them to lunch if you want to. But you will not offer them a job. There is no job.

Reason #2: There was a candidate with knowledge and experience your client couldn’t have. The company chose this person because they worked for a major competitor for ten years, they are the president of the industry’s professional organization, or they were on the staff of an influential legislator.

Reason #3: An overqualified candidate agreed to take the job readily. As you probably know, the term “overqualified” doesn’t relate to skills or knowledge directly. The company knows they cannot pay that person enough money. Even if they do sign on, it will only be a matter of time before this new team member jumps ship…and that costs a lot. The cost of replacing a skilled team member hovers around three times the annual salary. In addition, productivity falls off temporarily and other employees must take on responsibilities of the unmanned position in addition to doing their own jobs.

But the résumé, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile you wrote were so compelling, the hiring manager felt they had to at least reach out.

Let’s listen in:

Hiring manager: “Hello, this is John Smith calling from the ABC Corporation. When I saw you résumé, I had to call.”

Candidate: “I’m honored. How may I help you?”

Hiring manager: “I’ll be completely frank with you. I think you are overqualified for the position, and we can’t use you anywhere else. To be clear, we don’t think we can pay you what you are worth. You probably knew that, but you applied anyway.”

Candidate: “You’re right and I so appreciate your candor. Yes, I suspected I would have to take a significant cut in compensation. But I applied for two reasons. First, my dad lives where your job is. I’ll always give you my best, but it’s important I live a lot closer to him than I do now. Also, in my current job, I travel about ten days a month. That’s hard on me and my family. But I understand your position doesn’t require nearly the same amount of travel.”

Hiring decision maker: “This could be a winning combination for us both. Do you know your schedule well enough to suggest a day and a time for an interview?”

Both parties gain. The newcomer is closer to his dad who is probably getting on in years and he’ll see more of his family. He knows there is more to life than money. The hiring decision maker wins. He’s getting top-notch talent at a bargain and the newcomer is likely to stay with the company for quite some time.

Reason number 4: Your client is too tall, too thin, the interviewer didn’t like his glasses. More likely the hiring decision maker felt the newcomer “wouldn’t fit in.” Just because the reasoning isn’t strictly logical, doesn’t mean it won’t come into play.

There is an enormous amount written about the interview. But as I listened in on conversations at the conference, I heard a trend away from basic interview strategy and more toward tactics. Sometimes the conversation veered toward preparing clients by having them consider certain questions and answers. That approach seems logical enough. But in practice, I found this method produces stress and unreliability.

After all, to be completely successful, your clients would have to master three nearly impossible elements. First, they would have to have confidence these key questions we're agreed upon by the overwhelming number of interviewers regardless of company size, industry, or even economic sector. In other words, they would think it very likely these questions would come up very often, regardless of the position for which they apply. That’s very unlikely.

Second, they would have to master these questions and the answers that go with each one. Even if there are only five or ten such key questions, the task of memorizing both inquiry and response would be intimidating.

Lastly, such clients would have to be able to recognize those key questions regardless of the words used to form them or the order in which they appeared.

Let's relieve some of that stress with two ideas your clients probably think of as the truth. First, an interview is a conversation between people designed to solve a problem together. And that leads to the second reassuring idea.

Your clients have been “interviewing” successfully every day they've been on the job. Regardless of their job title or company they were all hired to do the same thing: solve problems. These “interviews” have a very simple structure. The boss tells a team member about a problem the company faces. The employee may ask a few questions to ensure clarity. Often, boss and employee explore tentative solutions and then adjourn to work out the details.

That’s an interview.

The company has a problem it wants to solve by hiring a capable person. The candidate needs to learn a little about the problem and suggest some concepts that might work. If the ideas are good, there will be more conversations (interviews) as the candidate and the hiring decision maker gain confidence that bringing on the newcomer will help solve the problem.

Now we have the major test a candidate must “pass” if the interview is to be successful. Here it is: “Did they attempt to ask the hiring decision maker what their biggest problem was?” All the rest is tactics.

Notice how simple the standard is, how quickly it gives your clients confidence. All we ask of them is to attempt to find what the problem was. Actually, learning the problem depends as much upon the interviewer as it does the candidate.

I’ve found something I am vain enough to call Orlando’s First Law of Employment” is a great confidence builder. Here it is:

Orlando’s First Law of Employment

Everything you hear, everything you see, as you deal with a company has been approved or condoned by the leadership…without exception.

Let’s listen in to an interview between your sales professional client who knows how important it is to learn about the company’s main problem and two hiring officials.

Candidate: “My experience in sales is broad and deep. But just as every customer has different needs, so companies do as well. Could you please tell me what sales-related problem keeps you up at night?”

The first hiring manager is capable (and was rightly impressed your client is focusing on the company’s needs): “I’m glad you asked, and I know you’ll keep what you are about to hear completely confidential. We’ve dominated our market for years. We always sold on the basis of quality. Two years ago, a new competitor appeared. They sell strictly on price. When they cut their prices below what we ask for similar products, our market share dropped 10 percent in a year.”

Candidate: “That’s quite a challenge. I was called upon by the XYZ corporation to solve a similar problem. I’ll tell you what we did, how we did it, and what the results were…” (Doesn’t that sound just like the CCAR approach you use to gather your clients’ success stories?)

Our second hiring manager is not very good at what he does. Here’s that conversation:

Candidate: “My experience in sales is broad and deep. But just as every customer has different needs, so companies do as well. Could you please tell me what sales-related problem keeps you up at night?”

Hiring manager: “Well, we pride ourselves in being a world-class industry leader. We work hard and we play hard. We under promise and we over deliver. We stand for quality every time.”

That answer shows the hiring official has no idea what problem needs to be solved. Furthermore, his bosses have allowed him to operate that way. Your client now knows this isn’t the company for which they want to work.

If your client is disappointed the interview didn’t go well, remind them how lucky they were! They came that close to joining a substandard company.

Helping clients prepare for the interview is based on a confidence building assumption. Your client is qualified. That’s proven each time he’s called in for an interview. Why would a company waste their time interviewing people they didn’t think qualified?

I hope this article helps you build justifiable confidence in every client. Collections of detailed tactics, lists of the top ten (or is it 15?) questions are worse than useless. They rob your client of self-assurance when they need it most.

Your website may call you a résumé writer, a career coach, or both. But you are really a sounding board that helps your clients get full credit for the careers they deserve. You improve the lives of your clients and their families, often for years to come. Very few others can share that honor.

Every one of our clients look for the most capable career coach or résumé writer. My goal is to help you make that match over and over with confidence that your practice will be well respected—and therefore profitable.

Let me begin by laying out the main thrust: “qualifying” clients needs a new definition tailored to our industry. In other fields, owners or employees qualify the potential customer. In our industry, both you and your potential clients need to qualify every time. Let’s explore this new idea before I offer some specific suggestions to help you translate this concept into dollars.

The “old” definition of qualifying could be summed up in this simple question: “Can this prospective client afford my services?” The new definition includes that idea, but takes on a more powerful form: “Can you and a prospective client build a mutually profitable partnership?”

To bring clarity, what follows is a stepwise explanation. However, you’ll recognize the process is not a rigid progression of actions, but something that evolves. With that in mind, let’s look at the first step.

Begin by expanding the old definitive question, “Is this client qualified?” to recognize that we must educate the public about our value. Those who email, call you, or upload to your website  may think you are little more than a typesetter with the arcane knowledge to arrange magic key words into a “silver-bullet” format; you know better.

Judging qualification now begins with this new question: “Is this person ready to make a change in how they manage their career?” This is the best starting point because some people will never be ready to take that step. You cannot help those people—ever.

How do you recognize these timewasters? Some types come to mind. The perpetual whiner just wants someone to listen to his or her complaints, endlessly. The “utopian” wants a position that couldn’t possibly exist: high pay, entertaining duties, short hours, great flexibility, wonderful coworkers, an understanding and supportive boss, an office in walking distance, located in a beautifully restored old building, and on and on. You get the picture: each new requirement makes the desired outcome less obtainable and none are negotiable. Finally, there is the person who needs professional help you cannot give. While we’re not psychiatrists, we should try to spot some danger signs early. Once, I failed that test and took on an autistic client unknowingly. Because every résumé and every cover letter had to be exactly alike, because every approach to finding a potential position had to take the same steps (in the same order), there was no way I could help this person.

That said, we should not confuse the unsure with the intractable. For career coaches, the uncertain job seeker is our stock in trade. If you’re a résumé writer who doesn’t do coaching, there is still an opportunity for you. Because coaching takes time, many unsure job seekers need the income from an immediate job. A few deft questions and you’ll know which field you can position them for. In summary, to the unsure, you offer solutions. To the afraid (and they all are, to some extent), you offer reassurance by clarifying the process they must rely upon to get their next job. If you think they have the ability and desire to learn under your guidance, they will become excellent clients.

Up to this point, we’ve qualified the client’s ability to be helped. However, client qualification isn’t complete unless he or they can pay you what you are worth. The client must pay you at least as much as you would be paid doing anything else. The client influences his own investment. If they are very talkative and unfocused, they’re still a great client, but they invest  more because they need more of your time.

Because we must do more than qualify every client, I hope you won’t be offended when I suggest you qualify yourself. My question doesn’t reflect on your competency at all. It goes to your bank account. Let’s look at some questions to guide your decision.

Can you meet the client’s deadline? There is always a deadline, even it is only your estimate of how long this potential client can stay focused. If you have to make a special effort, your prices should reflect that. That’s how I shaped a part of my business.

In the beginning, I had to go the extra mile offering service at night and on the weekends. Now that I am established, I don’t want to work those hours. And so, I kept raising the fee for weekend service until nobody could afford it. And I am proud to say that I haven’t worked a “crash” package in more than six years.

Can you leverage the client’s style? Chances are you’ve taken at least one assessment instrument to help you judge your style and accommodate other’s preferences in how the work is to be done. If you haven’t taken this step, please investigate it.

If you don’t have all the skills or knowledge a specific client needs, can you acquire them in time to be useful? Too often, we in the helping professions aren’t comfortable unless we are an expert in every aspect of our field. That’s natural, given the time, effort, and money we invest in our careers.

Nevertheless, don’t be too quick to turn away business. Last year, a colleague called to ask me if I could help her experienced government potential client apply for a Senior Executive Service position in Washington, D.C.. It didn’t take long for us to see that, with a little digging on her own, she could handle this client. She did. The client was thrilled. My colleague put $3,100 in her bank account.

There may be times when you aren’t comfortable taking on a specific job seeker. In that case, refer the person to another professional. Be selective in whom you recommend; your brand depends on it. Refer to people whose work you know at first hand. If you’re unsure, consider our own membership directory. Here, you can narrow your search to only those who hold the right certification or to a specific state or city.

When you refer you have lost revenue in the short term. But you were well paid for the little work you did. The time you spent with the client and making the referral is somewhat offset by the 15% referral check you got for your efforts. However, in the much longer term, your honesty and professionalism will generate much more business than you referred away on any given day.

People—including us and our clients—love to work with those they trust. Apply a little thought to how you qualify yourself to serve your clients. And help them qualify themselves to benefit from what you give.

When you do, your practice, our industry, and your clients will all be even more successful. 

When you heard about our Thrive!22 Conference, did these words spring to mind:  “I can’t afford that!”

May I suggest this more profitable question? “How much will it cost me if I don’t go?”

Thrive!22 will be my 25^th conference. Every single one made me more than the $2,000 I invested. Yes, that includes the cost of travel, hotel, meals, the registration fee, and incidental expenses.

It’s not a conference. It’s an investment.

I encourage you to follow my lead. I’ll step you through the system that has served me so well for so long.

Want an example of just how well? Even though I had been in practice more than 15 years, it never occurred to me to charge for my consults. Wouldn’t that scare away potential clients?

Just one session at that conference gave me all the information I needed. I started asking $30 up front for each consult. Sure enough, the first advantage I learned came into play at once. I could qualify potential clients much faster. After all, anybody who couldn't afford $30 certainly couldn't afford me. That first year that minor revenue stream brought in more than $700!

Now I ask $150 for each consult. Yes, if they sign up, I apply that amount to their investment. But I’ve already adjusted that number to reflect that cost. The extra income now totals more than $10,000 a year – more than seven times what a typical conference costs! It is any wonder I always fly business class, eat at the very finest restaurants, and always upgrade my hotel room?

If I can do it, you can do it.

Now is the perfect time to apply what you learn here to reap rewards in the 55 days remaining before our Thrive!22 Conference begins. Here are things you can do before, during, and after the Conference.

Before you go:

Take time to plan.

Start with promotional activities. They bring excellent returns for little money. Aim at your clients.

Attending a conference is a great way to elevate your brand. It proves you are dedicated to professional development. You might suggest your competitors who don’t make that investment cannot offer the same value you do.

Of course, you’re going to fold in that new value you’ll be able to offer them on your website, in your blog, your LI profile, and your social media channels. Beyond posting in general on LinkedIn, you’ll post in the groups where your clients “live.”

Don’t forget to prepare press releases to all the media. Remember, a great press release sounds like a news story. If it is only promotional, not only will you have damaged your brand, you’ll also miss the opportunity to serve as the careers expert when reporters strive to meet tight deadlines touching on employment.

Reinforce your promotional efforts. Fold your message into your email and LinkedIn’s autoresponder. Please don’t neglect your voice mail.

“…I can’t come to the phone right now. I am gathering even better ways to serve you by attending the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches Conference, starting April 25. I’ll be ready to give you the benefit of all I’ve learned to help with your career. So, when you hear the tone….”

Up to now, my suggestions aim at helping others. You can also help yourself.

What, specifically, do you want to be able to do after the Conference you couldn’t do before you arrived?

Take a moment to write specific questions to which you need answers. I suggest writing because it sharpens your thoughts. Consider this example to see a typical train of thought from a general question to some specific ones:

General question: How can I make more money?

Specific questions that narrow your focus to specific goals:

Since I know my products are services are good, what business-related steps must I take to reach my revenue goal?

How do I take those steps?

How much time and money will I have to invest?

How long will it take for me to recoup those investments?

Once you have written your questions, think about who might have the answers. (Doesn’t this sound like the advice you offer your clients about networking?) Let’s start with the speakers and presenters https://www.thrive.show/speakers.

Angie Callen’s presentation, “The Converting Coach: Scale Your Business, Build Meaningful Revenue,” seems to fit the bill very well. “You'll walk away from this session with a clear picture of your niche along with practical and actionable steps to improve your sales and marketing strategy, increase your sales conversion rate, and grow your business to its full potential - and beyond!”

Don’t forget those who write for The Spotlight. Since you’ve saved every issue (you have done that, right?), a quick key word search will find appropriate articles. The content can help you focus on your learning objectives and may suggest more questions to help you get all you deserve from attending. Of course, all the authors are experts, even if they may not be speakers.

Now you know which speakers you want to hear, which sessions you should attend, and why. Go the next step. Leave your “comfort zone.” Consider sessions about which you know the least.

Once you’ve registered, ask presenters your questions and for a copy of their slides or handouts early. Don’t wait to get this material at the Conference. Reach out to the speakers. Be sure to tell them you will attend. (That reassures speakers their material won’t go to someone who hasn’t invested in their practices.) The slides represent the latest information, but it’s necessarily condensed. Take your time. Convert them to Word documents so you can add notes to help you refine your objectives.

With the sessions identified, there’s still more to do. (Now you understand why I suggested you block time to plan before you go.) For each session, make a quick summary of what you already know about the subject. This trick will alert you to the information you need during the speaker’s talk. Another example may help.

You are fascinated by the idea of achieving entrepreneurial success. But you’re afraid you’ll miss something important during the actual presentation. So, what do you know about entrepreneurial success?

Entrepreneurs are solely responsible for their own successes.

You’ve heard most entrepreneurial businesses fail. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more.)

That’s all you know!

Now your questions come a little easier:

“Of all the things for which an entrepreneur is responsible, which ones should I concentrate on first?”

“What should I do to close more sales?”

“Why isn’t my marketing doing as well as I want it to?”

From time to time, review your list. Check it against the slides you obtained from the speakers.

At Thrive!22:

Have both the slides and your lists available during the presentations you attend. Use them as checklists to capture vital information on the spot. Finally, if the speaker didn’t touch on the information you want, use your list to ask questions during the Q & A sessions.

If you really want maximum impact, set aside a few minutes after each day to refine your notes in writing. Concentrate on the information that helps you most. Disregard the examples speakers use, unless they reinforce some action you should take.

Listen for new ideas, possible introductions to rising stars and established people in your industry. After all, the learning tools conferences offer aren’t in any way limited to the sessions.

After the Conference:

Capitalize on your investment. Polish your notes one more time. Pay particular attention to methods for increasing your productivity, your profits, or both. And schedule time right then to put those methods into action.

Make it easy. Concentrate upon implementing just one new idea. If you try to work in all the new ideas you found, you’ll be swamped and confused.

The rest can be covered quickly for professionals like you. Of course, you’ll get a brief thank you note off to those who helped you. But you’ll go several steps farther. You’ll offer to write a recommendation speakers can add to their LinkedIn profiles. And you’ll send specific feedback to Margaret Phares, our Executive Director.

Keep the ball rolling. The next conference will probably take place around the same time next year. You have more than a year to cover the investment.

Even if you missed locking in the early bird rate of $795, you can still recoup the standard registration fee of $895. Want to make that super easy? If you bank online, set up a new account just to cover the investment for the next conference. Then arrange an automatic transfer of $40 a week from your operating account and into your Conference savings. You’ll be ready! And you won’t even notice the investment.

Make an investment in more than money. What you’ll learn at Thrive!22 will be distilled, “underwritten” excellence. You will rise far above all the confused, contradictory, even demonstrably toxic “information” that’s everywhere on the net. That’s what you need to capture clients and close sales.

Now it’s time to update that sentence you read about how much the Conference will cost: “How much will I make by attending Thrive!22?”

One last tip. May I suggest after the Conference you celebrate with a bottle of great champagne? I recommend Moet & Chandon Imperial. It’s $60.

Did you recoup your investment by attending Thrive!22? To be ready for next year I’m afraid you’ll have to work an extra 57 minutes in all of 2022 to cover the cost of the champagne.

But what a perfect accompaniment to help plan covering the cost of Thrive!23!

LinkedIn is almost the gold standard of networking. The operative word in the previous sentence is “almost.”

In this article, I hope to go beyond introducing you to the subtle traps hidden within LinkedIn. I want the information you read here to help you deliver better service to your clients, thus growing your market share.

LinkedIn’s major “shortfall?” Their business model is not optimized for your clients or your practice. LI’s major source of profit comes from recruiters and hiring officials, supplying them with tailored, sophisticated search tools. LI uses artificial intelligence (AI) to allow recruiters to tap into a huge database of job seekers efficiently, not necessarily effectively. In this case AI is more artificial than intelligent.

We should use LI to help clients increase career opportunities effectively and efficiently. When they use LI to fill hiring decision makers’ needs everybody wins.

Hiring managers want a commanding brand they can trust. So, your first step is to educate your clients as to what a brand is, how to use it, and why it works.

Since all our clients are uninformed (that’s why they seek us out), many of them think a brand is a collection of nice sounding words. Some come closer to the mark. They think a brand is a unique statement of value. That's a good start, but it's a little too vague to be useful.

A more effective definition? A set of observable capabilities, aimed at companies most likely to respond, proving your clients will those firms a lot more money than it takes to hire them. Those words impose responsibilities on our clients. They must prove their worth through actions.

Let me give you an example from my own practice. When I first started, I engaged a company to provide high speed internet access and phone service. The only time I had to talk to them was when a technical problem brought my practice to a halt. And the only way I could contact them at the time was by phone. When I did, I was subjected to eight automated gates I just couldn’t avoid. Between each was a 30-second message designed to remind me the company thought I was a valuable customer.

What did they think their brand was? Outstanding customer support!

They forgot the customer always defines the brand. As far as I was concerned, their brand was: “Your call is almost important to us.”

If I wanted to be responsive, I would have to prove it upfront. So, I make this pledge to every client: “If you have questions, email me any hour of any day or night, holidays and weekends included. I promise I’ll respond promptly.”

Notice I commit to action. It turns out very few clients actually contact me outside normal business hours. What matters to them is my dedication to do what I promise for their benefit. Making the pledge is what counts.

Clients must spell out precisely which actions they’ll take to keep their brands honest.

LinkedIn has forgotten networking is based on a brand. That leads most users into making serious mistakes. That's why many of my clients, all rising, senior, and very senior executives, describe most LinkedIn profiles as obituaries.

Consider how LI labeled the key elements of each profile. When users see a section entitled “About,” they naturally assume they should write about themselves. What results is a backward-looking, condensed prose version of their résumé.

But hiring officials will never bring someone on board to do their previous jobs. Also, when they read about a client’s past, they have no idea of the context. All they know is the person did things in the past for a company they neither know nor care about.

Imagine the advantage if LinkedIn titled this section: “My brand.”

The problem continues in the next section. When people see the word “Experience” it's natural for them to paste a condensed version of their résumé there.

LinkedIn missed the point, even though hiring officials haven’t. Most companies made the mistake of hiring someone who had 10 years of experience, at least on paper. Only after they brought that new person on board did they find that they had one year of experience, 10 times! Now they are stuck with an underperformer.

Experience is innovating under changing conditions. Imagine the power you’ll give your clients when you use this section to explain how they gathered and honed new capabilities. In other words, the “Experience” section should show you’re your clients’ brand developed.

Once you draft the “About” and “Experience” sections, it’s easier to condense your clients’ brands it into the limited number of characters for the headline. Said another way, the headline should introduce the brand well.

Perhaps these examples from an SVP of international business development illustrate the ideas:

The headline:

“Leveraging bullet proof trust to grow your international business”

About

“As an international business development executive, I learned long ago I am my toughest competitor. Raising the bar even higher, it’s all my customers—internal and external—who measure my success. If I have great products and my customers aren’t using them, I feel guilty.

It all starts with listening…really listening. I clear my mind. I resist temptations to respond until the customers stop talking. Then I pride myself on my ability to ask the right questions. Only then can I really understand more than their immediate needs.

That’s what makes my solutions scalable and therefore durable. I know I can’t do it alone. I and my customers rely on my exhaustive network of subject matter experts.

Making my customers happy gives me and my companies another advantage. I measure my solutions against what every competitor offers. Mine must be the best—as the customer defines ‘best.’

Solutions themselves are never good enough. I must also earn another deliverable: trust.

No wonder I think of every customer as a relationship. Great relationships grow profit and market share.

Now I invite you to tap into my years of experience. Let’s explore how you might transform your ‘customers’ into relationships that pay off in a lot more than dollars.

Email me any hour of any day or night. I promise a prompt reply.”

Here’s the first element in his “Experience” section:

“Head of USA Operations, ABC Corporation Co., Ltd.

Almost every customer I speak with comments that they need a partner to help guide them and their teams to optimal solutions for real problems they face.

They tell me they’re looking for a partner they can fully trust to provide solutions, not someone trying to optimize outcomes solely for their own benefit.

My team and I work hard to earn customers’ trust. We strive to provide them those optimal solutions, sometimes for problems they don’t even know they have.

If you share my philosophy, I’d love to explore how I can build your trust first, then grow your success. The first and only step is easy: contact me any hour of any day or night. I’ll respond as quickly as I can.”

A commanding LinkedIn profile is a powerful tool. But don’t be distracted by one of LinkedIn’s suggestions: that you populate it with “key words.”

As of June, 2021 LinkedIn had 756,000,000 members! If it was a country, LinkedIn would be number three right behind India. I know LinkedIn has a powerful search engine, but there are limits. Let's do some math.

Suppose one 100th of 1% of all LinkedIn members share your client’s career field. That means your client only has to strive against 756,000 potential competitors. I do not like those odds!

We overcome this shortcoming by reminding our clients precisely what networking really means. Most clients bring this definition of networking with them: “A mutually mortifying ritual whereby they are to impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger to ask all of them for something none can give them: a job.” No wonder they shy away from it.

They’ll appreciate it when you relieve some of their stress. Let them know networking is a natural preference for extending value to audiences most likely to respond positively, with no immediate expectation of a result and without giving away the store. It's also a great deal more fun. And it removes the possibility of rejection. When someone turns down your client’s offer of value, it’s almost certainly because they can't use it for reasons outside your client’s control.

Who should be in your clients’ network? LinkedIn sends a very confusing answer to this question. On one hand, they encourage people to join networks of those they know and trust. That's wonderful advice.

But then LinkedIn makes it incredibly easy for people to send “canned” invitations. Some of the worst of these have absolutely no text at all. LinkedIn has missed something obvious. Most people call those inmails spam and will avoid the sender from then on.

Guide your clients to find the right markets for their networking messages. Ask this key question: what kind of people, at which levels, in which organizations, can your client help most?

Based on the answer, guide your clients to find the right special group. LinkedIn has millions of such groups. But the search for the right one need not be as difficult as it first appears.

Your client can enter keywords in the LinkedIn search function under “Groups.” When they do, they are likely to see many, many returns. These guidelines will help them find the one or two groups that may help them most:

• Older is better. Groups survive only if they're valuable.
• Larger is better. The more people who see your clients’ networking messages, the better.
• Moderation is absolutely required. If there is no moderator many groups look more like Twitter than LinkedIn.

When your client selects the one or two best groups, they will be shown links to the moderator or owner. They should click on that link to see what the rules for the group are. There is usually a button mark “Join.” Encourage your clients to go beyond that.

Have them reach out to the owner and moderator. They should say they want to do more than just join. They want to be valuable members of the group. To do that, they can ask the moderator which issues are most important to the group right now.

That's very useful because your clients become visible through posting. When they post interesting ideas, they're most likely to get responses. The information that comes with those responses allows your clients to establish productive relationships.

LinkedIn recognizes the value of exchanging ideas as part of networking. And they offer at least two alternatives: posting and publishing.

Posting, sometimes called updates, are limited to about 1,200 characters. Remind your client that at the end of every post they should include hashtags. The character limitation includes hashtags. Help your clients select an interesting and attractive graphic. As a reminder, some graphics are copyrighted.

Publishing refers to producing an article. There are no effective character limits for articles. Should your client upload articles to LI?

The simple answer: never!

I didn't find that answer using Linkedin's “help” function. You might consider using it if your blood pressure is too low. The search function is more frustrating than useful. Also be aware that LinkedIn rolls out features selectively and may not tell members what those features are, who can use them, and when.

I learned the difference between articles and updates the hard way. I authored several articles. On average, each one got seven hits, in 60 days! My posts, on the other hand, often get over 900 hits a week. Each hit is a potential gateway to  new client. For your clients, each hit represents a possible opportunity to find a great job.

Help your clients respond powerfully to the hits they get. Draft appropriate templates for your clients to use in their responses. Has someone viewed your client’s profile? They might use this subject line in their replies: “Thanks for visiting my profile. May I give something back?”

The response goes directly to value of your client’s brand to the reader. In other words, write as if you were the reader.

Be sure you are compensated for your worth. Your clients don’t buy products. They invest in your wisdom. If you missed my three-part series on setting price points, please look over The Spotlight issues for November, December, and January.

I hope this article will help you see the value of your suggestions when it comes too what LI can provide.

Being Linked Out isn’t just an inconvenience. It adds to stress and delay in guiding clients to the careers they’ve always deserved.

My goal for this three-part series has been to answer a question we see so often: “How to I price my services?”

In part one, I explored the baseline: covering the costs of running your practice. Since some of those costs aren’t visible every day, like quarterly taxes, I hope you now have a very clear idea of what it costs to run your business—even when you are on your hard-earned vacation.

In part two, we looked at value as your clients must see it. It’s perfectly understandable potential clients think about cost when they see how much money you want to charge them. And we found we can guide that view to return on every dollar the client spends, in other words, value.

In this last part, I want to explore profit. Profit is the natural outcome of considering cost to us and value to the client. Without profit, we cannot pay ourselves; we cannot invest in our business. Without profit our practice is running us, not the other way around. Said another way, without profit we have no practice.

One of the few things I remember from my college days is this simple definition of profit: profit = revenue – cost. That formula would hold up well if we were selling a commodity. There, we add a mark-up to every item we sell, and our profit is the product of the markup times the number of units we sold.

But career coaching and résumé writing are not commodities. (“Career Professionals Must Never Be Commodity Sellers.” The Spotlight, April 2017, pp 4 – 6) Our profits are driven by considerations based on each client, their career field, the economic sector in which they want to work, and our expertise.

Considerations the clients generate:

Some clients really do need their documents on very short notice. If you help them you may have to shift other projects, work late into the night or through the weekend. That extra workload imposes a cost and thus should be factored in.

Some of us, myself included, eliminated that situation. I refuse to work over the weekend. I will not work through the night. But I won’t turn away a client without helping him or her. My first approach is to help the client judge if the deadline is real or arbitrary. Let’s listen in to such a conversation:

Client: “I have a company who wants a résumé by tomorrow! I want to be competitive so getting that document in their hands by tomorrow is a must. Of course, I want a great résumé.”

Coach: “We agree! That document must be excellent for many reasons. And you do want to be competitive.

Let’s see how we can work this to help the person who asked for your résumé. His credibility rests on what we give him. I’ve seen your old résumé. I know it wouldn’t take long just to add missing information. But we’ve also learned your earlier résumé doesn’t represent you well enough.

So, consider telling the company rep you can deliver a résumé in a matter of hours, but it may not represent your return on investment to the company well. If, however, the company can trade just a little time for much greater quality, then everybody wins.”

It’s rare a company won’t respond positively to this approach. But demanding a résumé in an unreasonable time is not a good enough reason to damage your brand.

I’m thinking of a small card I always had at the ready when I was assigned at the Pentagon as an Air Force colonel. When someone demanded something in an unreasonably short time, I gave him this card:

Check any two boxes:

q Good

q Cheap

q Fast

My message was simple. If you want it good and you want it cheap, it ain’t going to be fast. If you want it good and you want it fast, it ain’t going to be cheap. If you want it cheap and you want it fast, it ain’t going to be good.

I use the same idea today, but now, since my brand is driven by quality, the card looks like this:

Check any one remaining box:

q Good

q Cheap

q Fast

Since long experience tells me most deadlines are arbitrary, I discourage clients from paying an express service charge. You decide if such an express charge is right for your practice.

There is a second consideration the client can generate. A client’s style or intelligence can affect what you charge. Clearly, someone who needs a lot of “handholding,” or someone who constantly rambles, takes more of your time. You must charge them for that extra time.

Considerations tied to career fields:

Problems solved must drive every résumé. They must because every client is hired to solve problems. But some career fields have problems much more complex than others. It takes time to develop and write those kinds of success stories. Compare these examples:

Consider this basic information from a program manager responsible for all the intelligence-gathering assets for the U.S. Army:

––-Recouping Investments by Building Communities of Strong Support––-

The payoff: Changed a dead program into a better, faster, cheaper way to get our most demanding customers real-time, critical, complex information they could use almost intuitively. Turned a $32M program into a $100M success story. Delivered capability 67 percent faster than the schedule for very little additional money.

The challenge: Arrived to find a promising payload program killed a year ago. The original concept was harnessed to an expensive vehicle the leadership said it couldn’t afford. Result? Interested decision makers never got a first-hand look at its return on investment.

The actions: Found a “cheap” asset others had overlooked by “renting” a helicopter to prove the payload’s value under real conditions. The leadership was even more impressed when I found unused space on an existing vehicle for a permanent fix.

From a résumé for a sales manager:

Selected to train new employees. Went beyond “classroom” work to demonstrate effective sales techniques with customers. Payoffs: New employees said: “She’s the best…We learn more from her.” We got well-trained people fast; customers got top-notch service.

The more complex the career field, the higher the level of responsibility, the longer it takes to build the résumé, the more it must cost. More complex career fields pay more. Hence, the return on investment you offer your client will come faster.

Considerations economic sectors generate:

Our clients work in the private, non-profit, or public (government) sectors. While most career fields are present in all sectors, specific requirements drive time and cost.

If you’ve ever written a Federal application, you know exactly what I mean. Have you ever struggled with some Byzantine form designed by a government personnel bureaucrat? Just gathering the basic information can tie up hours. Some applications are even more demanding. A typical package for a client applying to join the Federal Senior Executive Service might run 14 pages or more.

Sometimes, such factors keep people from becoming your clients. Consider the poor, mid-level bookkeeper applying for a position with a small city. City hall has a three-page application requiring the applicant to provide 15 different bits of information. Worse yet, the form is only available as a PDF document that cannot be modified! Most of us are good enough to reproduce the document so we can add the required information. But how much time does that all take? Our bookkeeper can’t afford us, and we can’t afford the bookkeeper as a client if we can’t offer a reasonable ROI.

Considerations tied to our expertise:

The flagship of the Cunard Steamship Lines, the Queen Mary, was getting ready for her much publicized maiden voyage from England to the United States. The cream of society from both sides of the Atlantic paid huge prices to be on board. The press were there. Crowds of on-lookers kept glancing at their watches.

But the steam pressure in the Number 2 boiler wasn’t enough to move the ship! Cunard called in an expert, who nearly broke his neck getting to the pier. Time was running out as he dove into the engine room. He made his way deftly to one of hundreds of valves. He tapped a nearby pipe a few times. He tightened two screws. The pressure rose to normal levels. The pride of British ocean liners sailed regally away with just moments to spare.

Then Cunard got the bill.

It was for £7,000! (That’s £525,000 today.) They complained. “Your man was here just a few minutes. He tapped a pipe, he turned two screws, and you want us to pay £7,500 for that?”

The calm voice at the other end replied, “Yes, but he knew just which pipe to tap, which screws to turn. And you were saved a mighty embarrassment.”

That’s why a career coach with years’ of experience in IT charges a systems analyst more. That’s why a résumé whose professional development hands on experience as a senior educator must charge more.

Now I hope you have a complete tool kit you can use to cover your costs, build your value, and grow your profits. I recommend you review these three articles at least once a year.

All of us at PARW/CC want you to be paid what you are worth.

Your business runs on numbers, but it grows on value. In Part I of this series, I treated the former concept. In this article I’ll address the latter. To put the two in perspective: you will never get the numbers you want until your clients see the value they need.

That last idea is so important, I must expand on it before I offer an overview. Many years ago, Bernard Haldane, one of the early pioneers of résumé writing and career coaching, was highly respected. He inspired many of us to help people win the careers they deserve.

When he retired, he made the awful mistake of selling his name to people dedicated to a one-word business plan: greed. Their fees were outrageous, their advertising misleading, their products second rate—all in an effort to get the “best” numbers. What they got were criminal indictments in five states. More important to us, we had to  spend several years trying to win back prospective clients.

The best people in our industry have wonderful numbers, not just in their checking accounts, but in lists of devoted clients. I wrote this series to help you get the largest possible numbers in both categories.

I’ll start with the key idea behind every résumé writing and coaching practice. Then you’ll see suggested criteria to continuously improve the worth of what you do. I’ll conclude by discussing alternative ways to package and stand behind all you offer.

New clients supply the fulcrum we need to leverage their wants to our mutual success. To paraphrase an old saw, the customer is always right, but only after he or she is informed. Given the pernicious folklore that surrounds what we do, it’s understandable many customers think a “spruced up” résumé is the necessary starting point. They see that document as magical, governed by arcane rules and miraculous sets of “buzzwords” about which they know nothing.

But that very context means many potential clients can’t see value in what we do. How, they ask, does this person know which edicts are current, which buzzwords have moved up six spots on the top ten lists? It’s little wonder they think having a résumé is an unavoidable burden of finding a job.

The key idea you must sell before clients will buy

Before we sell any client a résumé or any coaching service, we must prove a return on their investment. We must never market what we do as a commodity. (“Career Professionals Must Never Be Commodity Sellers,” The Spotlight, August 2017, pp 4 – 6)

A commodity is a more or less standardized product, usually tangible. Cheese, cars, suitcases, refrigerators are commodities. To keep it simple, I’ll limit myself to ways you can show potential clients the value of a résumé before you even mention its price.

Have clients anticipate value

Potential clients see a very limited mission for their résumé: a form employers require them to “fill out” to grant interviews. Imagine the interest you’ll generate when you pledge yourself to deliver a résumé that fills these missions:

• q As a research document: What you write should exceed hiring decision makers’ expectations, proving your client understands their key problems and has a documented track record of success employers can see working for them. Organizations must believe your clients will make them more money than it costs to bring them on board.
• q As a template for an outstanding interview: Your documents do more than “sound” like your clients, more than use their field’s jargon correctly. Our clients must look as good on paper as they do in person. And we want to entice interviewers to ask questions we want them to ask. Specifically, your documents always pass these tests:
• q You take extra care not to, inadvertently, give clients too much or too little credit for what they’ve done. You and your client must stand behind the integrity of what you write.
• q You are driven to capture all the clients’ success stories to show not just results, but how they solved problems to get those results, even in difficult situations. Even more important, those successes must be transferable to the target company. Your clients should get credit for all they do.
• q You write so well, your clients’ philosophy and word choice become systemic. Your words never fail to position them for a powerful follow up.
• q As a powerful career development tool: Your clients’ worth is only as good as their currency and passion. Properly written, a résumé helps them decide where the next steps lie. It can reveal shortfalls that offer more opportunity for you to help them move their careers forward.
• q As a lever to negotiate top salary or commissions, perks, benefits, and severance: When we show how our clients made their companies lots of money, it’s easy for interviewers to justify the right compensation offer.

The investments you offer your clients must be driven by the value they see

A wag once said: “I’d give a thousand dollars just to be a millionaire!” Here’s an example to show the truth behind that old gag.

Your client’s career field typically pays $80K. The average job search was about 26 weeks …before COVID. Every week your client is unemployed costs him about $1,500. If the résumé you write cuts just a single week off that search, you have saved him that full amount. Even if you sell him that résumé for $500, he gets a great return on investment.

You have just seen a criterion (and a great marketing tool) for setting the investment for a résumé. It does more than offer the client excellent ROI. It’s fair to you, too. It takes more time to write a résumé for someone who commands $80K than it does for someone who makes half that amount.

That idea illustrates why we don’t price résumés as commodities. Just as there is no “average” client; there can be no preset investment. You can discourage “tire kickers” on your website by telling them about the starting points for the services and products you offer. You can add confidence when you suggest you want your clients to help set their level of investment. In a consultation, you can quickly decide how to offer just what the client needs, set a fair investment, and show clients how they can recoup that entire investment.

Sell solutions, not products

What you’ve read up to now can apply to individual products. But while a single product might fit the bill, clients don’t need products, they need careers. Therefore, consider pulling together complementary elements to sell an entire plan.

Consider the advantages of offering tailored packages. A client who buys a complete plan up front won’t feel a victim of “bait and switch” because necessary add-ons aren’t needed. Because packages are a larger investment, the client is more likely to commit to the entire process. Motivated, active clients don’t need constant reselling. Since packages offer more value, you earn more money per client. That means more than greater earnings. It gives you cash to invest in your practice.

Packages do have disadvantages. You’re justified in the immediate reaction that they are harder to sell. But “harder” only means you must spend more time qualifying and educating each client.

Some clients may see the value in parts of your package. You’ll meet most of the clients’ needs if you sell those parts now. As the clients’ confidence builds, they, not you, will suggest buying the portions they originally passed over.

Charge by the solution, not by the hour

Some people think they should charge by the hour because it is “fair.” After all, they reason, shouldn’t people pay only for what they need? The answer is: no…because it isn’t fair. Let me explain.

Not all tasks are created equal. For some of us, coaching is easier (takes less time) than writing. For others, it’s the opposite. But there is an even more powerful argument against charging by the hour: it motivates the client to invest in a failure he won’t see coming, but for which he will be quick to assign you the blame.

Consider the uneducated client who thinks a résumé is all he needs. As you talk with him, it’s clear he doesn’t know how to use it powerfully. He rejects your suggestions along those lines. You write a magnificent résumé (of course!). The client loves it, and he loves you for writing it.

He hurries off to post it on every site he can find. He submits it to potential employers online. Then he waits. And waits. And waits. Soon it’s buyer’s remorse. Quickly thereafter it’s buyer’s complaints. “Why, do you know what he charged me for that résumé? I sent out two thousand of those and I didn’t get a single bite. He (that’s you) doesn’t know what he’s doing! He’s a crook!”

You cannot offer value to those who can’t understand it

You can see how the writer in the last example got into trouble. How easy it is to think some money is better than no money, that you must close every sale. In this case, the writer did close that one sale. But how many did he lose when his unhappy client told his friends, or much worse, spelled out his unhappiness on social media, mentioning the writer by name…more than once…and now in cyberspace…permanently! No, the potential loss is much too great to risk this unbalanced trade off. That’s one reason I wanted you to run the numbers as Part I of this series suggested.

You cannot guarantee what you cannot guarantee

Guarantees are wonderful ways to build trust. It’s a shame they can’t apply more in our business.

Webster’s says a guarantee is “…a pledge given by the makers of an article that they will repair or replace it free if it is unsatisfactory or develops defects within a stated time from the date of purchase.” The key words are “unsatisfactory” and “defect.” That’s why guarantees work best with commodities.

I’ve never delivered a draft a client couldn’t help me improve. My draft wasn’t unsatisfactory. We just needed more of the client’s knowledge and preferences to make it right. If I used a word the client tells me doesn’t sound like her, we replace that unsatisfactory choice with a better one.

I didn’t deliver a defective résumé. If I misheard dates a client was employed at a company, I naturally correct that “defect” on the spot. In short, it’s the client who certifies my work satisfactory and free from defect.

There is another way to inadvertently get into trouble with guarantees. It easily confuses clients if I tell them I’ll rewrite their document if they don’t get an interview. They are forgiven if they think I didn’t put my best efforts into the original document, that they caught me “speeding,” and I am now shamed into delivering the quality they rightfully deserved in the first place. Finally, I cannot guarantee how a client will use what I write or how an interviewer might react or how that document might be scored by any of more than 200 applicant tracking systems.

The next steps to keeping your prices right

When you first saw that phrase—keeping your prices right—I’ll bet you first thought I meant keeping the prices right for you. I did. But, since our industry is the sum of individual practices, we must keep our prices—the value we offer—right for every client with whom we deal.

Next month, I’ll explore profit. Profit is the natural outcome of considering cost to us and value to the client. Without profit, we cannot pay ourselves; we cannot invest in our business. In short, without profit we have no practice.

“How much do you charge for a résumé?”

If you had a dollar every time a potential client asked that question, you wouldn’t need this article! But while the question is common, good answers aren’t. Bridget Weide Brooks, the editor of the Résumé Writers Digest, once wrote, “…I estimate that 80 percent of the (résumé) writers make only 20 percent of the money…” And while I have no research information to support it, I believe the same applies to career coaches. My goal for this series is for you to be at the top of the former group whether you only write résumés or offer career coaching.

I cannot give you a “turnkey” system that guarantees you charge precisely the right amount for every service and product you offer every time. It’s your practice, your brand, your special circumstances.

Pay particular attention to the assumption I’ve just made: You already have a fully developed brand—the value you offer your clients. Since brand development is the subject of many books, articles, blogs, and webinars, I won’t cover it here.

What follows is a suggested method to get you paid what you are worth. If you don’t get paid what you are worth, you can’t expand your practice. If you don’t expand your practice, you can’t help people. Therefore, the main thrust this series is this: price isn’t important; value is. That statement applies not just to you, but to your clients as well. I suggest you tape it to your monitor so it’s never out of sight.

Value has a practical side and a brand-related side. This article concentrates on the former; follow on articles will address the latter.

Practical monetary consideration 1: How much must you spend to “open your practice’s door?”

I’ve assumed you’ve met “sunk costs,” money already spent (usually only once every few years) to get into our business: computers, software, printers, a desk, telephone, and the like.

Please think about all the other recurring costs. These you must cover every month, even when you are on vacation:

• q Rent (if you are office based)
• q Lunch and breaks (if you are office based and buy lunch or coffee)
• q Telephone
• q Broadband services supporting web research, hosting, and email
• q Bank charges
• q Credit card processing fees
• q Virtual assistant support
• q Supplies (paper, printer cartridges, and the like)
• q Taxes, including business licenses

Impact of practical monetary consideration 1: If you find yourself paying only these costs, you are in the grip of the Titanic effect: your ship will slowly, but inevitably, sink. No rearranging the deck chairs will help. That sound you hear in the background is the band playing, slowly, “Nearer My God to Thee.” You must spend money for practical consideration two as well.

Practical monetary consideration 2: How much does it cost to grow your business?

There are two kinds of costs associated with such growth. Professional development (growing your capabilities) is the first; marketing, advertising, and promotion (growing your practice) comprise the second:

Here are typical costs associated with professional development:

• q Attending and presenting at professional conferences
• q Tuition for professional development seminars and webinars
• q Dues for professional organizations like PARW/CC
• q Costs to obtain or renew certifications
• q Books for professional reading

Here are typical costs associated with marketing, advertising, and promotion:

• q Membership or adverting costs of social media platforms (LinkedIn, for example)
• q Website and blog development, hosting, and optimization
• q Print advertising
• q Mail or email campaigns
• q Newsletter production and distribution
• q Referral fees
• q Promotional material (thank you and promotional gifts, for example)

Impact of practical monetary consideration 2: When you grow your practice, you are gaining much more than new information or software. You are building your network, becoming better known in our industry. That visibility pays off in referrals and new ideas from your colleagues.

We invest more than money. We invest our time as well. We must think about both. Time has considerations much like those relating to money.

Practical temporal consideration 1: How much time does it take to run your business?

Think beyond the number of hours you’d like to work each day. Consider how your office hours align with your clients’ needs. Do most of your client work? You must be available after, or before, their workdays as many job searches are confidential. Will you work on the weekends? Holidays? You may decide to be available after normal business hours several days each week since many clients may be employed. Sometimes differences between their time zones and yours work in your favor. Decide based on your brand.

Here are typical ways we spend our time running our business:

• q Paying bills and balancing the checkbook
• q Handling accounts receivable
• q Conducting reminders or follow ups with clients and potential clients
• q Selling, including initial consultations with potential clients
• q Traveling time (if you are office based)
• q Supporting software (installing updates)
• q Taking lunch and breaks
• q Writing supporting material such as forms, handouts, and office records
• q Producing job search documents (résumés, cover letters, bios, LinkedIn profiles, lists of references, web portfolios, etc.)
• q Backing up files and fixing software problems
• q Dealing with vendors

The impact of practical temporal consideration 1 is very similar to the impact of its monetary counterpart. If these are the only ways you spend your time, you can plan your going-out-of-business sale now.

Practical temporal consideration 2: How much time do you need to grow your business?

In addition to time you take to run your business, you must schedule time to grow your business with activities like these:

• q Attending and presenting seminars, podcasts, webinars, and conferences
• q Internet networking (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram) and increasing your digital visibility
• q Learning new software, improving your web presence
• q Doing research to support you and your clients
• q Preparing press releases
• q Writing for publication or supporting your organization’s list servers
• q Writing submissions for career development books
• q Improving your website

If you are unsure how long each these activities take, time them. Do this for at least a week. I know, for a short while it's a distraction and somewhat of a pain in the neck. However, it is your only source of data. The alternative is guessing. Guessing is not a business plan. Guessing should appear on epitaphs.

Practical temporal consideration 2: You are at least as important as your most important client. Cite earlier article Schedule uninterrupted time to allow yourself to grow. For example, just as you set aside time to attend a professional conference, so you should block a day or so after the conference so you can put into practice a few key ideas you learned there.

Watch for a more detailed article to help you do this well before the Thrive22! Conference.

Impact of the temporal considerations:

Notice I’ve not asked you how much time you will spend actually working with or for clients. You’ll get that answer when you subtract how much time you require to run and grow your business from the total number of hours you want to work. These remaining hours you must guard jealously because they are the source of your immediate income.

The “acid test” consideration: How much profit must you make to have a worthwhile practice?

Your practice must be profitable beyond what you earn to run and grow your business. It must yield the most reasonable return on your investment of time and money. Said plainly: for the same number of hours you must devote to your practice, if you can make more money in another career field, please consider that line of work. The enjoyment of running a practice fades quickly if you stay awake at night trying to figure out how you will cover your expenses and set aside money for investment and savings.

Once you’ve run the numbers, watch for the next articles in this series coming in future months. They will guide you through vital brand-related considerations to lead you, your practice, and your clients to great success.

“Wisdom: the ability to use yourknowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgements.”  — Cambridge Dictionary 

When recently asked to reflect on my 27 years in practice, frankly, I was at a loss. Yes, I had been in practice 6,949 business days.

But what could anybody learn from my experience? After all, every practice is different.

Then I thought of the word you see defined above. There is no course you can take to build wisdom.

You can, and you should, learn all about the latest methods and technologies. They are the keys to making you efficient.

But wisdom goes beyond helping you do things in an orderly manner. It’s what makes you effective. Wisdom equips us to make positive changes in the lives of our clients and their families for years to come.

Wisdom makes the difference between being a typist and a professional résumé writer. There is a name for those résumé businesses that never consider wisdom. They are called “résumé mills.” They are incredibly efficient. They have mastered all the techniques and technologies that lets them crank out documents that derail people's futures.

Wisdom makes the difference between spouting mere personal opinions and tailoring informed coaching that moves people's careers forward.

I started in precisely the wrong way. I fell into the subtle trap of thinking only about my skills. After all, I had spent many years teaching senior military officers how to write and speak well. I had written everything from a portion of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty to Congressional testimony. I regularly wrote important policy for generals.

What saved me was not my knowledge about writing. Remembering what makes for good leadership made all the difference. The words of a general I greatly admired came back to me. As a four star, he was seven ranks above me. I never forgot the wisdom he gave me that day:

“Never make your boss look good. Always help him to serve better.”

Finding time to speak to me made the word “respect” come alive. Not only was I far junior to him, I didn't work for him, not even indirectly. And yet, he made the opportunity to impart wisdom he knew would help me for years to come…and it did!

I dedicated myself to treat every client and every colleague in exactly the same way the general treated me. If I didn't help them become successful, as they defined success, I was not doing my job.

But I would need more than a creed if I were to succeed. I needed to know the latest knowledge, skills, abilities and trends that would help make my clients successful. You can see the proof in the picture below. Each name tag represents an opportunity to learn by attending a conference. And each conference started with self-imposed challenges.

As soon as I saw an upcoming conference, I asked myself this series of questions:

What would my practice look like if it were running better than I ever expected it to? I made that description as detailed as possible. How much money did I want to earn? How many hours a week would I like to work? What kind of clients would I like to deal with? How, specifically, would I help them in the long term? How would I measure my success?

The next questions help me focus. I compared what my practice looked like at the time with what I wanted it to look like. The difference were the knowledge deficits I had to fill.

I measured what I needed against what each conference offered. Then came the last question: what would be the best ways to fill those knowledge shortfalls?

I had to do more than just acquire facts. I had to be sure I had mastered them well. What better way than to speak on those key subjects? That would force me to become an expert. My effort would be validated in two ways. First, the conference organizers would validate it if they found my topic useful. Next, the questions and answers during the presentation would also tell me how well I had succeeded.

I built in tough personal accountability ahead of time. Even before I left for each conference, I set aside time in my schedule to apply what I would have learned after every convention. And at the end of every conference, I decided I would apply, in depth, at least two concepts I had learned.

I soon found a wonderful side benefit. Every conference made me more money than I spent to attend—a lot more money.

My newly acquired wisdom also built my confidence. It freed me to work with clients from every field I could imagine, and some I couldn’t. Each new venture not only increased my repertoire but served these new clients better. I had to make these clients’ value irresistible to hiring decision makers who also weren’t experts in the job seekers’ fields.

I also build in accountability in every job search document I produce. To be sure I'm delivering what I promised, as they review the drafts, I want clients to consider these questions:

“Did I inadvertently give you too much credit, or not enough credit, for what you have done? I could easily have misunderstood what you said. And we both have to stand behind the honesty of what I write.”

“Did you think of another success story? We must be sure you get credit for all you’ve done.”

“Do the words sound like you? Did I use your industry jargon correctly?”

I tried to write this article with the same focus I bring to all my work. My goal is to be able to help you attract better clients and serve them best. That may require you to do things differently. Some of those challenges will require courage.

Let me give you an example. What better way to have your client succeed than to give hiring decision makers, who are rarely in HR, clear and compelling proof your clients will make the target company more money than it takes to hire them?

If that is true, why clutter up any résumé with long lists of responsibilities? Responsibilities do not equal performance. Would you like some proof?

Perhaps you could recall the name of the Boeing Corporation's previous CEO. He managed to severely damage the hard-won brand of a century-old company. And he contributed to killing several hundred people in the process.

Hiring decision makers already know the responsibilities of those they are hiring. After all, they wrote the position descriptions and announcements. Finally, many hiring decision makers don't care about your clients’ responsibilities because those are related to work in organizations they neither know nor care about.

Yes, I suspect I know what you are thinking. You add responsibilities because they can include keywords used by applicant tracking systems. When your client responds to an announcement, you want to upload a résumé that's optimized to those algorithms.

But remember, software never (or should never) hire anybody. Great hiring managers will demand to see that résumé. If they get the same version of the résumé you uploaded, they’ll have to wade through a lot of extraneous information. Let me rephrase that. Your client is now seen as wasting his potential boss’ time!

The solution? Send a separate résumé directly to the hiring decision maker. Make absolutely certain every word, every phrase, every sentence, every paragraph, prove your clients worth…in dollars!

Focusing on your clients’ success requires accountability from you. Have you done everything you promised to support every client? Will you go the extra mile to do that? Will you take the time needed to get every single success story? Will you fold in the newest guidance as you coach your clients, even if it means redoing many handouts?

Did you gain anything useful from this article? Prove it.

Schedule some hours for yourself to think through and act upon what you have learned on these pages. After all, if you're not at least as important as your most important client, your practice isn’t all it should be.

I want each of you to benefit from what I’ve learned after 6,949 days. You have earned the right to have the very best job in the world!

That will remain so, as long as you do everything you can, every day, to help you serve your clients better.

“Admiration must be kept up by the novelty that at first produced it; . . . there must always be the impression that more remains.”

— Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

I’ll bet every client you have ever served was different from any other. I will also bet that, in one important sense, every client you have ever served is the same as every other. Finally, I will go out on a limb and say to the extent the second sentence is true, your practice will flourish.

Of course, every client we have is different in myriad ways. They are young or old. They are new in the work force or seasoned professionals. They are confident or terrified. They are sales representatives or physicians, production superintendents or college students…or in one of a thousand different kinds of jobs.

But I imagine their first contact with you was the same. They called, emailed, or filled out an inquiry form from your website. And, at some point, a conversation began. It’s the importance of that first consultation I want to examine because it is here that you—yes, you—decide if it will most likely convert into a sale.

In this article, I go beyond the conventional idea about maximizing those conversions. You see I firmly believe we must close the sale not just once, but again and again. I’ll discuss why we should do that, when we should do it, and how we should do it.

The first thing you see or hear from a potential client is a question about managing his or her career. But you will rarely be presented with the real question. Consider this: there isn’t one person who needs a résumé. They need a job or a career or a change in one or both, but they don’t need a résumé. That document is just a tool to help them make their pain go away. Jack Chapman put it best when he coached all of us to ask the caller “where does it hurt?” We should help the caller find the answer to that question; that’s how we make our money. We take away the pain of unemployment or misemployment.

As this point, I must make an important observation. People who are “in pain” want to speak with a human. Websites, emails, and voice mail systems are very good at several things. But they are terrible at taking away pain. In fact, they can often add to it. All those modern wonders can speak at or past your potential client. But, if you want to close more sales, you must speak with the potential client—by phone most likely given COVID.

It’s in that first contact you must get the caller to tell you where it hurts. Among the best ways to do that is to ask a question. Asking a question helps restore the caller’s confidence. You are enticing the soon-to-be-client to let you listen to her. People love to know they are being listened to. What kinds of questions might you ask? Consider these examples:

“There must be things about the work you do now that dissatisfy you. Could you please tell me what those things are?”

“Finding a new position can be frustrating if there is no one you can turn to when you have questions. What kinds of answers do you think might help you move your job search forward?”

If you listen to the answers carefully, you will know which next steps are best for this caller. The details of how you offer your benefits are much too lengthy to go into here. But I do want to call your attention to the critical word in the last sentence: “benefits.”

Too often, we are quick to recite a list of what we do. As important as they all are, these are still only features. When people ask me what I do, I could recite the following list:

I write résumés, cover letters, and lists of references,

I help people find opportunities,

I help them get paid what they are worth.

I guide clients to master the video interview.

…the list goes on and on.

I mention none of those features. And you will notice that the emphasis is on what I can do for them. I tell them this: “I can help you win the career you’ve deserve, get paid what you are worth, and relieve much of the stress and frustration of finding a great job.” It’s all clear benefit. Not a feature to be found. And the focus in on them, never on me.

As an interim summary, I hope I’ve made this important point: we must leave a willingness to help callers overcome the pain of being in the wrong job or having no job right away. Now you know why making that kind of first impression is an excellent way to close more sales.

We deliver benefits. And we must reinforce those benefits, even when we are knee deep in the features our clients see listed on their invoices.

Let me explain with an example. I’ve signed up a new client because he wants the benefit of a new job. Now we’re working hard on the résumé. If I never mention the benefit of a powerful résumé again during the process, if I never instruct him when, where, and how to use his résumé, the client will dutifully upload that document to every announcement he can find. He just knows employers will burn up the phone or his email trying to hire him. Right?

Not quite. What will really happen is this: he will wait…and wait…and wait. Again and again, research shows the top jobs aren’t filled by applying online. His initial confidence will plummet quickly into uncertainty and frustration. And guess whom he will blame?

Suppose as I gathered his success stories, I showed him precisely why I wrote them as I did to fill very specific goals. I must also show him how his résumé is tied to the interview and even the job search process. Once again, the résumé is splendid. But now he knows how to use it. The requests to come in for an interview appear. The interviews themselves go well. Our client’s confidence ascends from one high point to another. And guess who he helps credit with his success? That frame of mind means repeat business from him and more referrals for you.

Even if you can’t help someone referred to you, you can refer him to a colleague. (“The Fine Art of the Referral,” The Spotlight, November 2010, pp. 4 - 5) That colleague will return the favor.

Is there an end to all this growth? I’ve never found it.

What this article is really about is helping you build a habit. Like most habits, the behavior isn’t complicated. I hope you will dedicate yourself to help your clients relieve their pain and remind them of that benefit every step of the way. And then, just as we close one sale at a time, we will be positioning ourselves as an irresistible source of benefits for many potential clients from now on.

“Deliver to the client what was promised and be truthful in guiding, advising, and
counseling clients in all aspects of the résumé writing/employment industry.”

                                                                                                                 – PARW/CC Code of Ethics

“There are lies. There are ‘white lies.’ Then, there are résumés.”

I suspect you associate that cynical philosophy with uninformed job seekers, jaded hiring decision makers, or recruiters.

But I’ve seen the meaning of these words offered—and accepted—as “good” advice between professional résumé writers and career coaches, in many cases the same people who signed the PARW/CC Code of Ethics I’ve excerpted above.

This article will explain how that situation might occur, where you will find evidence of its existence, who’s responsible when it does happen, and how to guard your own practice from its toxic influences.

We can slide into this transgression for the very best of reasons: We’re doing all we can to “help” our clients. Paradoxically it’s our drive to produce the best possible résumé, cover letter, bio, or LinkedIn profile to give our clients the strongest possible advantage which might lead us astray. The greater the challenges our clients bring us, the more we want to help. Perhaps a real life example can illustrate.

A client seeks out a résumé writer. He says he had a continuous work history for a considerable time before a family illness forced him to withdraw from the workforce. But now it’s time to return. The writer knows, and his client may suspect, such a long break in employment may be a “red flag” to an employer.

At this critical point, the writer may get too close to the guard rail. He should be thinking about which skills the client demonstrated that could be useful in another career field or with another company. Instead, this question creeps to the fore: “How can I ‘spin’ this break in employment?” And, seeking to reach out to the client, he discusses this idea with him. The client is impressed, but in the wrong way.

He’s always been put off by the idea that he must “sell himself,” that résumés are documents that stretch the truth. Beyond that, such a résumé sets him up to continue the deception in interviews. No wonder he’s uncomfortable; the entire process is demeaning. And now the writer has just confirmed those repugnant thoughts. The relationship the writer wants to have with this client is undermined. So is the client’s view of the writer and our entire industry.

That view—that résumés and people who write them—are somehow dishonest goes back a long way. In the early days of our industry, the primary source of advertising, The Yellow Pages, placed résumé writers in the same category as “massage parlors” and “escort services.” Back then, they considered them “rackets” and wouldn’t accept ads for them, even if their “high standards” cost them profitable customers. Thanks to PARW (later PARW/CC)’s members, our industry is becoming accepted as fully professional. We want to do everything we can to finish what our colleagues started so well.

Keeping high standards starts with us. Specifically, it begins when we qualify potential clients. Each of us should be able to answer this question: “Which clients will we not accept because we know we cannot help them?”

Set aside the obvious answers for the moment. We might not be able to help a person with a very specialized background about which we know too little. We might not be able to meet a client’s very tight deadline. How do we proceed? We refer such clients to colleagues who have the background or resources we lack.

Let’s dig a bit deeper. Perhaps the following questions should guide us: Does this person have unrealistic expectations? Has this job seeker has been slacking off for years and so has no performance that would meet an employers’ needs? Does he or she lack the minimum qualifications for the job? You may want to offer some general advice (without charge) just so this applicant hasn’t left completely empty handed. But these are not— and can never be—our clients. Nor should we ever refer them to others. (See “In Case of a Toxic Client, Read These Instructions,” The Spotlight, January 2012, pp. 4 – 5.)

One category remains: the special circumstances client. Consider the example I wrote about above, someone with several years’ break in employment. Here, honesty (not “spin”) is the best policy.

There are opportunities here. Consider guiding your client through a rigorous self-development program. (For which you charge them.) Start by finding and helping your clients mine the significant information found on the websites of professional organizations. Think of such organizations as composed of, and serving the needs of, a specific career field. The Society for Human Resource Management, The Public Relations Society of America, and the Project Management Institute are all examples.

Working with your clients, explore such sites to see if they offer these services:

• Have they had a recent conference or are they planning one? The subjects covered in each session address the most important concerns. The presenters are potential mentors.
• Do they conduct webinars on the latest trends in your clients’ fields? Those sessions help your clients become current.
• Do they publish a “trade” magazine, a current and useful blog? The subjects are those most likely to interest interviewers.
• Is there a user list or forum where your clients can post questions or comments that will be read by a large membership? Consider these ready-built networks for your clients.
• Do they maintain a job board dedicated to the career field in question? How many jobs are listed there? Do the announcements give your clients knowledge of what most employers want?
• Do they offer compensation surveys? Those surveys are excellent foundations to help your client negotiate compensation. (Of course, they help you as you charge for that service.)
• Do they have a local chapter near your client? Here’s yet another ready-made network your client can use.

Because you are a careers professional, defuse problems in the cover letter. The appropriate paragraphs might read like this:

“My résumé shows some time away from the work-a-day world. That period required me to help an ill member of my family.

Ever since that situation was resolved I’ve built a rigorous self-development program. I joined and became active in (add the name of the professional organization here). As I completed their webinars, I gained the most current insights into the biggest challenges. I’m an active contributor to user lists and LinkedIn special groups. The mentors I sought out to help me regain my currency are among the best in the nation.

Now I am more than ready to put all my energy and talent at your disposal as your newest (add the name of the career field here).”

The underlying value of this approach is truth. Not only is that the best policy, it’s the only one that makes sense.

Any alternative requires you and your client to lie…and try to remember which story was told to which interviewer. Just because the past cannot be changed doesn’t limit the future for you or your clients.

I want to close by offering some concrete suggestions to keep us all on the straight, narrow (and profitable) path. Please consider these criteria for your clients to use as they judge the résumés, cover letters, bios, and LinkedIn profiles you write:

First, did you (inadvertently) give clients too little or too much credit for their accomplishments? It’s easy to misinterpret what the clients told you. Yet, you both must stand behind the integrity of what you write.

Second, did your client think of another example illustrating transferable skills appealing to employers? You want your clients to get credit for all they did.

Third, does your choice or words and how portray your clients’ philosophy, (particularly in the cover letter). Does it “sound” like them? You want your clients to look as good on paper as they do in person. You’ll find more details in “Writer or Typist?,” The Spotlight, October 2019, pp 4 – 7.

We offer our clients much more than job search documents and career coaching. We provide them the confidence they need to manage their careers very well. We do that by working very hard to build and maintain their trust, one client, one referral, at a time. So, let us rededicate ourselves to that mission and our Code of Ethics by instinctively knowing what really helps our clients, our practices, and our industry.

Honesty is more than the best policy. It guides our clients to success. And it builds, supports, and strengthens our brands and our bottom lines.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

You’d take on every client you could. To make your practice a hit, you’d charge less than your competitors. What a great recipe for success!

And it worked…for a while.

You got more and more clients. You were making money. You were a success!

Or were you?

It didn’t take long before your “success” took all your time. What you hoped would be a rewarding calling slowly turned into an endless, thankless grind. Because you had to produce more and more résumés, there was less time to devote to each one. Quality began to suffer. There was no time to market, no time develop your practice. Your earnings stagnated because you can reached the maximum number of résumés you could generate—even with subcontracting.

Yes, there were good résumé writers willing to be subcontractors. Most were relatively new. The pipeline of clients you provided worked for them…until they gained the confidence that comes with experience. That’s when they no longer need to be subtractors. Why should they settle for only a percentage of the dollars their résumés brought in?

It didn’t take long before you saw “competitors” undercutting your prices despite your best efforts. When you take on every client, you’re appealing to those who shop only for price. These job seekers either didn’t know or didn’t care that a résumé is not some commodity, a kind of form you needed to fill out to apply for a job.  (“Are You Stealing from Yourself?” Spotlight, January 2020, pp. 5 -7; “Are We Abdicating Our Marketing to the Uninformed?” Spotlight, November 2019, pp. 5 – 7) That’s the same market your competitors were targeting. You could guess how got away with charging $125 for a résumé. One company has this on their website: “Great PROFESSIONAL RESUMES just $49.95 to $79.95!” You know their approach: the job seeker be damned. They just churn out the documents. You cannot—would not—ever sink to that level.

You don’t have to be in that dead-end situation. Your practice should be, can be, the calling that rewards you not just monetarily, but professionally as well. If you’re ready to invest the time it takes to get there read on.

If you’re about to stop reading, just remember this number: $50K. According to the latest survey, that’s what the average practice grosses each year. Even if it costs them only $10K a year to operate, they are netting $40K—before taxes. That about $20 an hour. The McDonald’s down the street is hiring at $15 an hour.

Here’s the bottom line: if you don’t know your destination, any road will get you there. So, start by envisioning your practice running the very best it can—as you define “best.” Describe it in great detail.

Chose with care how you will measure and be accountable for your progress. Use just a few benchmarks but make certain they work for you. As a starting point, find the shortfalls between how your practice operates today and how you want it to operate when it’s running at its best. Those gaps tell you where you need to improve.

Of course, you’ll aim at a profit target. But that is only a secondary measure. Closing more sales, setting the right levels of investment (more on that below) …those drive profit.

Decide how much time you will work and when. Which products and services will you offer? To whom will you offer them? These will define your brand. Your brand can’t be a jingle, slogan, or collection of nice sounding words that inadvertently document the minimum standards.

Here’s an actual brand statement I saw at random on the net. This company “guaranteed” if their clients weren’t employed in 45 days, they would rewrite their résumé. Since you and I both know it’s impossible to guarantee employment given all the variables, here’s what that brand actually says: “We’re sorry. We didn’t do our best the first time and you caught us. So now, you forced us to give it our best shot—something we should have done in the first place.” That’s not a brand. That’s an indictment.

You’ll work hard to make your brand a specific value proposition aimed at a well-defined market. You have to. Your brand will drive every decision you make from now on. You no longer take on every client because many aren’t in your market. You no longer have contractors that don’t write résumés at least as well as you do. You no longer set “prices.” You offer clients investments.

That is not a word you take lightly. An investment implies buyers will earn more money than they pay you. Your value comes from helping shorten your clients’ job search. Consider a project manager. According to indeed.com in mid-June, they earned an average salary of $77,073. Every day they are unemployed costs them the $296 they weren’t earning.

When you ask for an investment of $750 for a résumé, you cannot guarantee a return on that investment. But that’s exactly what your client gets if you can cut their job search by just two and one half days. Because it takes companies 23 days to fill a position on average, the chances of you delivering on your investment promise are very good.

Now compare where you are now with where you want to be. What knowledge, technology, and skills are you missing? How will you obtain them?

That last question is very important. Make certain you get what you want when you invest in training or technology. Here’s the question you ask the provider: “What will I be able to do after I complete this training or buy this technology that I couldn’t do before?” Never accept generalized, glowing answers. You can’t judge the value unless you have precise answers.

Finally, you must measure how you perform. I decided not to work on weekends unless it was an extreme emergency. How do I hold myself accountable? If I work on a weekend for any reason at all, I immediately transfer $2K from my operating account to a savings account and keep it there for two years. That’s $2K I cannot use for 730 days! It draws no interest. And the bank is kind enough to remind me of my mistake four times a year for two years. I am proud to say that savings account has had nothing in it for five years.

You certainly don’t need such draconian measures. And you won’t beat yourself up if you miss a goal for a very short period. It’s overall progress that matters.

Now the best part. Decide how you will reward yourself! Since you worked so hard for so long be serious about this. Make the reward matter. Don’t worry about whether or not you can “afford it.” When you reached your profit goal you addressed that concern in advance.

When your practice is running the way you want, please consider this. Many people secretly wonder if they made a difference in this life. Capable career professionals never have that problem.

“You people should consider yourselves lucky that I'm granting you an audience."

“Just try and stay out of my way. Just try! I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too!”

“Orders are nobody can see the Great Oz! Not nobody, not nohow!”

—From the script for “The Wizard of Oz,” MGM Studios, 1939

Talk about art imitating life!

You remember the story of Dorothy. She was scooped up in a whirlwind, deposited in a very strange land, and forced to make an arduous journey that ended with a long sought, but very intimidating, interview with a powerful Wizard.

Does Dorothy remind you of your clients? Thanks to the pandemic, they, too, were scooped up from their normal lives, deposited in the scary world of the job seeker, made arduous “journeys,” and went through grueling interviews. Haven’t your clients reported HR people whose words paraphrase the quotes at the top of this article?

The Wizard of Oz is a wonderful book and a magical movie. It’s great fiction.

So is the idea the only way to apply for a job by uploading a résumé that eventually ends up in a human resources department. This article suggests other, more effective strategies. To paraphrase the Wizard’s own words: “Pay no attention to that HR person behind the curtain.”

If my words seem like an indictment of HR, let me apologize at once. HR is an important part of any organization. Their proper contributions help people and companies succeed.

Sometimes, however, management asks HR to do things for which they aren’t qualified. Screening every applicant based on his or her occupational skills falls squarely into that category.

If a company wants to know what it takes to judge a well-qualified applicant seeking a job as a trainer, an employee relations specialist, a workforce developer, or a compensation professional, their HR staff is the place to go.

However, suppose the applicant is seeking a position as a marketing manager, a sales representative, a CFO, or a plant supervisor. HR would be the last to claim they have the expertise to make such judgments. That’s the right call; hiring the wrong person is very expensive.

If the preceding paragraph is true, why do we advise our clients to upload carefully written résumés to hr@somecompany.com? The uninformed would claim that’s what the company asked for on the website.

Many clients—and many of us, if the truth be known—spend lots of (too much?) time hunting for “key words.” Yes, we all know there are more than 40 different applicant tracking software suites. Yes, we all know they can, and are, customized by the companies who use them.

What we don’t often know is how difficult it is to get hiring managers to provide the best key words to HR. Too often, those words fall into two categories.

The first are traits. You know, the minimum standards. Would a company hire someone who wasn’t a “change agent and evangelist for productivity and team building?”

Consider this actual ad I found on Indeed for a sales associate:

“This role is responsible for adding new customers in small towns across America. The Hometown Expert will sell products, services, and solutions to gain new customers through a variety of activities including, but not limited to, in-person prospecting, cold-calling, networking, and generating leads and referrals throughout the local community. The ideal candidate will be a part of the community they serve and develop personalized solutions to deliver on customer’s needs.”

As hard as I try, there isn’t a company I can think of that doesn’t require exactly the same responsibilities from all its sales agents. The worst salesperson you’ve ever encountered has the same responsibilities as the best in the business.

The other “key words” do a bit better. They describe minimum skills. CAD, PE, cost analysis, competitive intelligence…these are valuable skills. However, they do not tell a company how good the applicant is in those skills.

Yes, I also know ATS is a clumsy attempt to limit discrimination. However, just going along with deeply flawed process doesn’t serve the company well, disappoints our clients, and reflects poorly on us as career professionals.

I suggest we follow our calling. We seek to foster collaborative relationships that match the specific value our clients offer to what organizations need. More precisely, it’s what a specific supervisor needs.

Naturally, we don’t want to ignore posted opportunities. Have your clients apply online. However, have them also target the hiring decision maker directly. That will be their next boss.

When we ask our clients to email cover letters to decision makers, nearly all will say “I’ll never find those names!” That’s a great the opportunity to offer more help (and charge accordingly).

Yes, websites—be they job posting boards or corporate web sites—often don’t have the names we need. However, there are no “stealth” companies. Organizations have phone numbers. If the numbers aren’t on the site itself, they are on the promotional material or press releases so often part of the site, or on a page that helps people find phone numbers.

Have your client call the company and ask for the name of their next boss’ likely job title. While I’m not one for memorized scripts, I can imagine the conversation going something like this when the receptionist answers the phone.

Your client: “Hello, I do hope you can help me. I have put together a package I am trying to get to the VP for Sales, and it’s all set to go. But somehow, I’ve misplaced my notes about the proper spelling of that person’s name and the email address. Could you please help me with that?”

Suppose the receptionist won’t cooperate and insists on routing your client’s call to HR. Your client then apologizes, hangs up, and calls the next day.

You can hear his confident voice as he says: “Accounts receivable, please.” He’s very likely to be connected. After all, the receptionist things he owes the company money. When accounts receivable answers, our client says: “Accounts receivable? Oh, I am so sorry. I don’t know how I got this number. But maybe you can help me…”

The preceding examples suppose there is a job opening. While I would never suggest your clients ignore announcements, let’s put them in perspective. Every opening came about when an employee left the company, or the firm expanded. At the next staff meeting, the supervisor asked his team to recommend a candidate. No one would think of recommending someone who didn’t fit. Such a recommendation would reflect poorly on him or her. What the boss is hoping for is a short list of partially vetted people. Only when such a list isn’t forthcoming is the company dragged into posting an opening.

Bosses are understandably jealous of their right to choose who will work for them. That is why we target the hiring decision maker. We want to show that person respect and offer him or her undeniable value. That’s why we’re motivated to address our carefully written cover letters to our client’s potential boss. That person has the vote.

Use the cover letter to stop the unthinking reaction of having the company telling your client to apply online. Our approach also keeps the conversation going. Here’s how such a paragraph might look:

“I’ve already applied online. However, when it comes to something as important as growing sales fast, words on paper are no substitute for people speaking with people. Therefore, I’d like to hear about Tremron’s sales needs in your own words. May I call in a few days to arrange a brief time to do just that?”

If your client just blindly follows the procedure the company lays out for filling such openings, here’s what may happen. His résumé will be put in the largest possible field of competitors. His résumé may be “looked at” by an algorithm, ATS, that tries to count key words.

However, such software isn’t really capable of judging performance and passion—the two drivers behind successful hirings. In addition, some sites won’t allow a cover letter (thus keeping your client from using the document that portrays passions most powerfully). Finally, there may be no way to follow up since the next stop may be the HR desk. After all, the most an HR person might tell your client is that her résumé has arrived.

Therefore, consider targeting the best companies, especially those with no posted openings. The cover letter and résumé combination, tied to a polite, prompt follow up, gives the target company all the indicators of people they want to hire. The follow up, by the way, isn’t to verify the arrival of the résumé package. The résumé package always arrives. Email works.

Some will say, “Won’t targeting every company be expensive? And unproductive?” The answer would be “yes” if we were targeting every company. We want our clients to only target the best companies.

Companies fall into three categories. There are a few whose employees and customers compete to tell others how well they are served. Those are the companies we want to target. The second category consists of organizations whose workers and customers compete to tell other how badly they were served. The third, and largest, category is made of those in the middle. We don’t have time to sort out those with potential from the mediocre.

Great companies rarely advertise. They don’t have to because only the best seek them out. How, then, does one find the best companies?

You can start with those organizations whose business it is to rate quality. J.D. Power and Associates comes to mind, as does Consumers Union. At the local level, Chambers of Commerce often recognize the best companies.

However, the very best indicators come from the customers. It’s perfectly OK for our clients to call a potential target company’s customers and be completely straightforward about the information they want. What our clients are looking for is more than quality products, solid earning statements, and the like.

When they speak with customers, they are getting excellent insights into the corporate culture as well. They can use that contact to get an introduction to someone in the target company. That person, in turn, might recommend them, introduce them to the hiring manager, or both. After all, many companies pay a substantial bonus to a team member who recommends a qualified candidate.

The power of this research is immense, particularly when you refer to it in the cover letter or your client passes along the information in an interview. However, as you have learned from this article, one doesn’t just target a prospective company’s HR department (unless your client is an HR professional). Our clients need to speak with their next boss. He makes not just the hiring decisions, but the choices that will define the quality of our clients’ work life for years to come.

And so, our comparison to the Wizard of Oz comes full circle. Do you remember Glinda, the Good Witch, told Dorothy the silver shoes (ruby slippers in the movie) she had worn throughout her adventure would return her home at once? In other words, her own spirit and determination eventually carried her where she wanted to be—without the help of HR.

She knew “…to pay no attention to the HR person behind the curtain!”

Oops! Sorry, I meant The Wizard!

If career coaching has a bedrock paradox it concerns networking. On one hand, we educate our clients about the necessity to network. We explain not only how to network, we also trace the logic behind it and cite years of studies showing networking is key to employment. 

On the other hand, we often don’t follow through—even though our clients’ inaction adds frustration and cost to their job searches and makes it harder for us to help them.

We shouldn’t be surprised. Here’s how conventional “wisdom” describes networking: A mutually mortifying ritual whereby you impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger to ask them for something they cannot give you…a job! No wonder people recoil from the very word.

In this article I’ll offer a new definition, layout practical ways to implement it well, and describe benefits your clients get as they adopt it.

Because the old definition is so toxic and pervasive, I’ve tried come up with a fresh word that captures this new approach. The best I could do is “goodworking.” (I still want a better word; any suggestions more than welcome!)

Here’s my proposed definition. Goodworking: A natural preference for offering value to people and organizations who might return the favor. Goodworking is done without expecting immediate return (certainly not expecting a job employment right away) and without giving away the store.

That last sentence separates the self-serving from the professional.

My idea isn’t new. Here’s how John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, expressed it more than two centuries ago: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

As coaches, we translate that advice into practical requirements. Our clients should do as much as they can…as long as what they do is true to their brand and doesn’t “give away the store.” Let’s take those constraints one at a time.

[A subhead] Brands require clarity.

People with “general” résumés make no progress; their brand isn’t clear. Once you’ve helped a client establish her brand, guide her to deliver that brand only—even if she does other things well. A business development expert with a powerful background in computers might help potential hiring officials leverage IT architecture to speed a new product to market. However, she’d never offer to help them optimize their internal servers.

[A subhead] Using brands to help others has limits.

Our client could never offer comprehensive suggestions to decision makers in target companies; he just doesn’t know the company well enough. Even if he did, he should never offer enough information to allow someone else to execute his ideas without hiring him and thus steal his ideas.

Wesley says we should do all the good we can “…to all the people we can.” Career coaches might change those words slightly telling their clients “…to all the people who can help you help others.” We want our clients seen as irresistible choices to deliver excellent ROI to companies who hire them. Our clients should offer ideas only to those who understand the message and see the value in acting on it. In short, our clients should “goodwork” with people who can refer, recommend, or hire them.

Wesley enjoins people to do good “…in all the places you can, at all the times you can….” If he were alive today, he would understand social networking instantly as a way to act on his advice. Today informed digital visibility does the job; it’s the best way for clients to do the most good “…to the most people.”

[A subhead] Value counts more than numbers

How easy it is to be distracted by the number of people in a network, the number of followers, and the number who view posts.

Help your clients to post content that’s genuinely helpful to the right people. Political statements, pictures of cute dogs, and five ways to fold socks never belong on professional platforms. Save those for Facebook and Instagram.

We should guide our clients to get the most from social networks, LinkedIn special groups, influential blogs, and trade journals. They should never miss an opportunity to speak for professional organizations—especially when the cost to do so has been slashed by virtual conferences. They should consider writing book reviews on Amazon. There are more opportunities for online “goodworking” than most clients could ever use.

LinkedIn, Facebook, other platforms all link people. But we should help our clients built networks based on quality, not quantity. Shouldn’t most of our clients’ networks consist of potential internal and external customers? Only a part of it would be colleagues.

Consider your own network. It’s wonderful to invite others in our industry to join you. But you can already reach them faster through other portals like www.parw.com. How much better it would be if your network included independent recruiters, decision makers in many industries, contacts who set governmental policy that affects us, and people whose expertise might assist us (marketing gurus, IT wizards, financial planners, and the like). Why not invite your clients to be part of your network? Aren’t they experts in their fields, the very fields your future clients might share?

If your clients are new to social networking, ask them to start by Googling themselves. It has nothing to do with vanity. We want them looking for two important elements.

First, we want a baseline to see how well they are known now. To get the best matches, have them enter their name in quotes to keep first and last name together. Then have them add just a few descriptive words. For example, a VP for production might Google himself as ‘“John Smith” production operations.’ (He would enter the double quote marks). Have him look at the total number of hits and the quality of hits on the first two or three pages. Each hit should illustrate his brand. Repeat the Google search about once a month so you and the client can measure progress.

Also have your client look for other people with the same name he entered. The results are much like those the employer will see when she Googles applicants. Nearly all hiring officials Google everybody considered for an interview.

We don’t want the interviewer confused with hits that refer to someone else with the same name. Worse yet, we don’t want hits about undesirable namesakes. Consider a hapless client who happens to be named Jim Jones. When I Googled the name, here are the first hits:

Jim Jones: an American cult leader, responsible for a mass suicide

 Jim Jones: a rapper

If your client has a common name, ask him to rely upon just one: a distinctive version whenever he uses the net to extend his brand. In our example above, our client might have to try several versions to find one that works. Using a different form of the first name (“James” vs. “Jim”), using a middle initial (“James T. Jones” or “J. T. Jones”), or employing a middle name (“J. Thomas Jones”) may all help.

With the name decided, it’s time to build the profile. There are entire books written on this subject. Our goal is to transmit our clients’ brands as irresistible.

You have probably done much of the work when you wrote the résumé. But remember: a brand is not a glittering collection of adjectives, responsibilities, and skills. I know some of us include those items to influence applicant tracking software. But there is still a need for a brand statement to use in “goodworking” and the interview.

To see the difference, put yourself in the shoes of a harried decision maker as she reads words like these: “…Problem Solving …Leadership Role in Employee Engagement …Coaching Effective Work Teams…Managing and Leading Change/Managing Diversity….”

You can hear her thinking: “I wouldn’t hire the most junior professional who couldn’t do all those things!” This job seeker would be horrified to know those words describe her (very unfairly) as mediocre!

Compare that “brand” with this one:

“The passion to give team members’ proof of their own abilities and thus steer their organizations to expanding, undisputed excellence,

The skill and drive to capitalize on opportunities before their shelf life expires and faster than our competition,

The courage to show others how embracing change skillfully is a durable advantage we can earn,

The willingness to demonstrate knowledge has more power when it’s shared then when it’s hoarded,

The humility to learn how companies, employees, and customers can best work together, and

The integrity to give people the best answer—even if they don’t like it, at first.”

Since a brand (a profile) is a unique promise of value let’s lay it out in profit-building capabilities our clients pledge to demonstrate on the job from the very first day. Said another way, if we help clients demonstrate their brand by using it to help others, they’ll get the best jobs and get them sooner. That’s a great payoff for them and for us.

The brand is the credibility our clients need to “play in the game.” Here are examples of how it works. With my client’s LinkedIn profile done, I encourage him to join any of the special groups dedicated to his career field. He may wish to “lurk” for a while learn the newest threads in the conversation. He can then respond with a suggestion that moves the conversation along powerfully. Or he might respond offline to a participant, offering a new method to help him.

To ease my clients into powerful networking, I ask them to write out the one thing they would change about their career field. As we talk about their idea, I encourage them to expand on it, laying out the advantages of their approach.

Then I ask these critical questions: How many people know about your idea? Who else could benefit from your thoughts?

And then I give them the good news: they have just written an article worth publishing.

Notice the approach I didn’t use: telling them to “write for publication.” Rather, I engaged their passion, then guided them through the mechanics of drafting an article without ever using that word. The next step, finding the trade magazines and blogs, is easy. Soon my clients are published.

No matter how or where my clients’ words appear, those who like what my client writes will search for him on Google or on LinkedIn…and find the profile we worked so hard to craft. Soon my client is the “go-to-guy” in his field.

More and more, jobs will find people. It’s the “go-to-person” hiring officials think of first. She may begin by searching for the capabilities she needs in the person she’s trying to hire. As she searches with real key words (everybody can “solve problems;” few are Black Belt Certified in Six Sigma), we want our clients’ names to appear. All that happened because our client generously offered help, contributing ideas, positioning himself as a genuine expert.

Make no mistake: “goodworking” means working hard. Why do it? Because it gets jobs. It’s effective because it has our clients helping others, appealing to the best their human nature, and building their confidence.

No matter what the field, companies like to hire helpful people with documented backgrounds of excellence, and a willingness to share it. That positive outlook is key to winning over employers and getting hired in great jobs. When that happens, the only casualty is toxicity.

Please place these two callouts in the appropriate places

What most clients think networking is

A mutually mortifying ritual whereby you impose on every friend, relative, and total stranger to ask them for something they cannot give you…a job!

Why goodworking is better

A natural preference for offering value to people and organizations who might return the favor, without expecting any immediate benefits and without giving away the store.

Think of each new client as your report card. Did he or she love what you did? That’s good. But there is more value if you look for it.

Analyze every tenth client, the last one of the month…the choice isn’t important. The process is. Consider these questions:

Did you capture each client’s unique style?

We never want a hiring decision maker to say to our client: “Wow! What a great résumé! Who wrote it?”

Yes, it can be a balancing act if the client isn’t very articulate. However, what you write should prove your client has the “good communications skills” hiring officials want but can’t really define.

You must make your client’s thought visible. That goes a long, if subtle, way toward building the hiring decision maker’s confidence your client can think through problems she’ll be asked to solve.

Did you write in the appropriate tone?

Career fields and organizations have their own personalities. A cover letter seeking an interview with the principal of a leading law firm reads very differently than a cover letter from an Episcopal priest seeking a rector’s position with a 200-year-old established church.

That was brought home to me vividly when I worked with a chief of staff for a senator’s office on the Hill in Washington.

She meant business all the time. The Senator came across exactly the same way. That’s why I remember that letter almost verbatim even today:

“Dear Senator X:

Your search for a Chief of Staff is over. Tell you secretary to expect my call at 11:00 EDT on Tuesday, 05 August.

I need 12 minutes of your undivided attention. If, during that time, I cannot convince you I can get your bills out of committee, I shall leave under my own power.

But if I can, I intend to start work the following Monday.

Sincerely,”

She loved it! He loved it!

She got the job…in under 12 minutes.

Did you write for every audience?

It is so natural to think of the audience as a single person. That isn’t true at two levels.

First, surprisingly, a key “audience” is the client! Remember one of the roles and missions for every résumé is to entice interviewers to ask questions both your client and the interviewers must explore.

Most interviewers aren’t well trained for the task. If we leave it in their hands, our client experiences an interrogation. What’s wanted is a collaboration.

You make that happen smoothly when the words you write are jumping off points for those discussions. Clients must be able to do more than just parrot the CCAR stories you wrote. They must enliven them, expand upon them, tailor them to the situation.

The second audience are, of course, the hiring decision makers. Unless your client’s career field is in HR, an HR professional doesn’t fit that category.

Please don’t misunderstand. HR professionals do many wonderful things. But if your client is a senior defense program manager, an HR person, even a highly experienced one, isn’t qualified.

The HR professional knows as much about what it takes to be excellent in that field as your client knows about Section 432 (b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937 (as amended)!

Remember, there are “hiring decision makers” who will pass judgement on what you write. The potential supervisor, their bosses, and perhaps several members of the C-suite. Each comes with their own agenda. If what you write is too narrowly focused, they may well believe your client can’t perform well on a team.

Now you see how foolish that “folklore” says the average résumé is read for 48 seconds (or is it 43 seconds? I can never remember!).

I agree.

If it is an average résumé, that’s all it deserves.

However, if it is written with exceptional power and precision, hiring decision makers will read every, single word and more than once. They must!

The immediate hiring decision maker must champion your client. That means he must use the résumé you wrote to convince the leadership team from finance to operations to sales to marketing that your client is the best choice.

Did you reflect the client’s philosophy?

Particularly in the cover letter, but also in the résumé, you must show what the client believes and how she thinks. Hiring decision makers want reassurance they aren’t hiring a toxic person.

There are “managers” who consistently get powerful results. They have a proven approach. They drive their people into the ground. They never miss an opportunity to threaten and micromanage. They do get results. But no company wants them.

On the other hand, there are leaders who get more than results. They deliver great returns on investment. They do that by engaging with their teams so well, everyone strives to outdo others in excellence. Team members’ personal goals align perfectly with corporate goals. No wonder groups like that are unstoppable.

Do your words offer value?

Networking is the natural preference for extending value. That’s not lost on hiring decision makers.

Consider this too typical closing to a cover letter:

“Many thanks for your consideration and hoping to hear from you soon.”

The reader will be forgiven for wondering why he has to call the applicant. Will that person follow up on his own stuff? He certainly won’t follow up on the tasks his boss gives him. That’s not networking with people; that is imposing on them.

Now read this closing:

“When it comes to something as important as GE’s public relations programs, words on paper can’t replace people speaking with people. I would like to hear about your unique PR needs in your own words. May I get on your calendar briefly and soon for that purpose?”

Notice how the client offers value. He’s performing like a team member even before the first interview!

Did you use jargon correctly?

Does the reader expect jargon because it makes communication efficient?

My client is a COO in the airline world. You can be sure the cover letter and résumé that went to the CEO mention the ETOPS standard. The CEO expects any applicant to know what that term means and why it is important.

I once made the mistake of not considering jargon in my package for a warden at a maximum-security prison. I used “inmate” and “convict” interchangeably.

My client was quick to point out the difference. An inmate wants to serve his time and get out. A convict will kill you any chance he gets.

The intended audience knows that difference very well. If they suspected my client doesn’t share that distinction, he won’t even be offered an interview, let alone the job.

Is your work coherent?

Does your material follow a pattern that makes it easy for every reader? At a deeper level, do the CCAR stories reinforce one another?

A good example is a Senior Executive Service application. Each applicant must address, in some detail, five specific Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). These must be CCAR stories on steroids. One ECQ focuses on building coalitions. Another on leading change. Nevertheless, the reader must see your client consistently meeting all those standards in each story, no matter which ECQ is highlighted in the document she reads.

That’s the approach you use when you decide in which order your CCAR stories appear. That pattern (which reflects your client’s brand) should also be visible in the cover letter. In fact, that order even helps decide whose names will be on the list of references.

If we regularly take time to find out just how good we were, we’ll have the tools we need to know how good we should be.

Do you think you are only as good as your last client?

You can do better.

Make it your business to always be as good as your next client.

Reward Yourself for Qualifying Clients Well

By Don Orlando, MBA, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC, CJSS, MCD

The McLean Group - Montgomery, AL

email: dorlando@yourexecutivecareercoach.com

July 7, 1757

“To my Friend A. B.

As you have desired it of me, I write the following hints, which have been of service to me, and may, if observed, be so to you …Remember that time is money…”

                                                                                                                                                              Benjamin Franklin

He’s right you know! And I can prove it to the tune of $7,200 a year.

I cannot guarantee that same figure for you, but I will stake my reputation on this indisputable fact: if you follow the suggestions in this article you will make money where you once lost it.

Behind Ben Franklin’s concise summary is this important idea: we must make time to impart valuable information to our clients. And because we strive to make that time helpful, our clients should pay for our wisdom as much as for the wide range of services we offer.

So why do so many of us give away information we normally charge for as we qualify clients? Even during our first, brief—sometimes extended! —first conversations, we share precious insights. Those are worth money.

Start by streamlining how you qualify those who seek you out. It doesn’t matter if the first contact is a tweet, a text, an email, an inmail, or a phone call. Keep that first contact short but enticing.

Let prospective clients know you understand how important their careers are. They are too important for just a brief email or phone call. Suggest you set aside time, just for them, for an initial strategy session.

Promise them this session is not a critique of their résumé. (See “Are We Abdicating Our Marketing to the Uninformed?,” Spotlight, July 19, pp. 10 – 13 to learn how that approach damages your brand).

It takes genuine collaboration to determine their true career needs. Encourage them to jot down any questions they have about managing their careers before you spend more time with them. Promise you, too, will ask questions. (More about that later.)

Your goal is to gather enough information to write a comprehensive proposal. Toward that end encourage them to send you their résumés—even if they are out of date or they don’t like them—before you meet. That’s best done in person (Zoom) or over the phone.

If Ben were alive today, he’d coin a new saying:

“One conversation is worth a thousand emails…or two thousand tweets!”

Promise you will also email the proposal promptly and encourage them to jot down any questions. Many of my clients like to use Word’s “Comment” feature for this. Dissuade them from using “Track Changes.” That will drive you both nuts!

Then you speak with them again to clear up any concerns. All through the process clients will learn valuable information that serves them well, even if they don’t engage you. And because it is valuable, tell them there is an investment for the first session, the proposal, and the follow up session.

I know. I, too, was skeptical.

Yes, I know I was promising more than writing a proposal. There would be uninterrupted time to answer their questions as well. Still, would people pay me for that?

So, I started charging $35. Since I got so little resistance, I gradually increased that number. I now charge between $150 and $250. Since 2011, proposals have generated about an additional $7,200 every year since I started or about $54,000 to date.

How many résumés or career coaching sessions would you have to write to generate that much revenue? How long would that take you?

But there is even more value for you: if someone won’t or can’t invest a modest amount to explore something as important as his career, he could never afford the services you would have offered after you spent an unreimbursed hour with him.

I do “lose” money on the proposals and strategy sessions. By the time I conduct the session, take notes, write the proposal, and answer the questions, I’m nowhere near my billable rate. But I realize I would have lost even more if I charged nothing.

I also grasped the need to streamline the process. We are not taking about a “canned” meeting or a “one-size-fits-nobody” proposal. However, we can build some powerful tools to help us.

You probably already have a client worksheet. Use or adapt it to remind you to ask fund a client’s needs. Here are some that come to mind at once:

• r What do you know of their backgrounds?
• r Does this client need help in identifying a specific career field?
• r Is there a time constraint? A geographic preference?
• r What’s most important to this client when it comes to her career?
• r Which portions of career management does this client need? Active job searching? Building digital visibility? Mastering the interview? Negotiating for compensation? Federal applications?

  You can probably complete the strategy session in under an hour. Listen carefully and take very rough notes. Once the session ends, take a few minutes right away to capture what you’ve learned about the client’s needs.

  Use what you find to write the proposal. You’ll soon rely upon the same explanations for each product or service. But don’t just cobble them together. Rather, address the client’s specific needs throughout.

  A good way to start is to make the first paragraph your understanding of the client’s situation. It’s important you and the client are on the same page. Here’s an example:

  “You’ve worked hard and have been successful in leveraging your Air Force experience in the private sector. You’re well paid. You work with people you like. Your company is in a field you think important.

  But your boss is a loose cannon. He keeps you off balance; he lacks management and business skills. He might, despite his best intentions and passion, derail your company, tarnish your record, and limit your career. Since the situation isn’t likely to change, you’re wise to think about leaving…”

  Tailor the proposal to your practice. You might consider the following headings:

• r Where the client is now (illustrated above).
• r Which products and services you recommend – any what ROI each one brings the client.
• r What the client should expect from you.
• r What the client should expect from herself.
• r Any limitations (for example: you can’t guarantee anybody a job, an interview, or how a résumé might score on any ATS).
• r The level of investment.
• r The next steps (a reminder about the next meeting)
• r And additional products or services that aren’t part of the investment, but things which the client might find valuable later.
• r Overall return on investment.

That last element—the return on investment—is what closes sales. Consider a client targeting a career field that typically pays $50K. Now adjust that number based on where the client wants to live. Every week she is unemployed at that level costs her the $960 she didn’t earn. And that doesn’t include the value of benefits, perks, bonuses, and severance.

You ask for an investment of $750. If you can reduce her job search by just six days, she will have made up her investment before her first day on the job!

You can make that claim very comfortably. According to indeed.com, the average job search is nine weeks.

Qualifying clients well means more value for them, more time and money for you.

But I think it best to let Ben have final word:

“Drive thy business or it shall drive thee.”

Get the Toll Back Before You Cross The Bridge To Success
 

When you heard about the Conference, which thought came to your mind first? Were you looking forward to getting your “batteries recharged” and hearing new ideas, finding ways to make your practice better?

Or did you dread the inevitable expense and temporary loss of productivity and revenue?

Said another way, when you are on a journey across an important bridge, do you concentrate on the toll or the destination?

In this article, my goal is to enhance the latter and offset the former. For years, I practiced every one of the concepts you are about to read. In every case, the convention generated more revenue than I spent to attend, even though going to a conference in person usually costs me somewhere around $3,000.

In other words, I take steps to make up the toll even before I see the bridge. I want you to get the same benefit.

Now is the perfect time to apply what you learn here to reap rewards in the 78 days remaining before our Thrive! Conference begins. I’ve laid out things you can do before, during, and after the Conference.

Before you go:

Leave time to plan.

Start with promotional activities. They bring excellent returns for little money. Aim at your clients.

Of course, you’re going to fold in the new value you’ll be able to offer them on your website, in your blog, your LI profile, and your social media channels. Beyond posting in general on LinkedIn, you’ll post in the groups where your clients “live.”

Don’t forget to prepare press releases to all the media. Remember, a great press release sounds like a news story. If it is promotional, not only will you have damaged your brand, but you’ll also miss the opportunity to serve as the careers expert when reporters strive to meet tight deadlines that touch on employment.

Fold your message into your email autoresponder. That gives you uninterrupted time to devote to the sessions without feeling guilty about not responding to clients.

Please don’t neglect your voice mail.

“…I can’t come to the phone right now. I am gathering even better ways to serve you by attending the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches Conference on April 20 and 21. I’ll be ready to give you the benefit of all I’ve learned to help move your career forward. So, when you hear the tone….”

Up to now, my suggestions aim at helping others. You can also help yourself. What, specifically, do you want to get out of this Conference?

Take a moment to write specific questions to which you need answers. I suggest writing because that sharpens your thoughts. Consider this example to see a typical train of thought from a general question to some specific ones:

General question: I’ve been working hard and enjoying it. But I’m just not making the money I think I can. How can I increase my revenue?

Specific questions that narrow your focus to specific goals:

Since I know my products are services are good, what business-related steps must I take to reach my revenue goal?

How do I take those steps?

How much time and money will I have to invest?

How long will it take for me to recoup those investments?

Once you have written your questions, think about who might have the answers. (Does this sound like the kind of advice you offer job seekers about networking?) Let’s start with the speakers and presenters. Wendy Weiner’s upcoming talk on how to build a six-figure practice seems made for you.

Later, as the Conference agenda takes shape, there will more experts in subjects that interest you. A quick trip to the PARW/CC Forums https://tinyurl.com/y22aqzwa later will provide a list of all the subjects, what they offer you, and the names of the presenters.

Don’t forget those who write for the Spotlight. Since you’ve saved every issue (you have done that, right?), a quick key word search will find appropriate articles. The content can help you focus on your learning objectives and may suggest more questions to help you get all you deserve from attending. Of course, all the authors are experts, even if they may not be speakers.

About a month before the event, PARW/CC will post a list of attendees. Use it to contact perspective “mentors” well before the Conference. That courtesy will allow them plenty of time to think about your questions. You should engage with them before and after the conference. Those discussions will focus your thoughts.

Now you know which speakers you want to hear, which sessions you should attend, and why. Go the next step. Leave your “comfort zone.” Consider sessions about which you know the least.

Once you’ve registered, send presenters your questions and ask for a copy of their slides or handouts early. Don’t wait for this material to be distributed as part of the Conference. Be sure to mention that you have registered in. The slides represent the latest information, but it’s necessarily condensed. Take your time. Convert them to Word documents so you can add notes to help you refine your objectives.

With the sessions identified, there’s still more to do. (Now you understand why I suggested you block time to plan before you go). For each session, make a quick summary of what you already know about the subject. This trick will alert you to the information you need during the speaker’s talk. Another example may help.

You are fascinated by the idea of achieving entrepreneurial success. But you’re afraid you’ll miss something important during the actual presentation. So, what do you know about entrepreneurial success?

Entrepreneurs are solely responsible for their own businesses.

You’ve heard most entrepreneurial businesses fail. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more.)

That’s all you know!

Now your questions come a little easier:

Of all the things for which an entrepreneur is responsible, which ones should I concentrate on first?

Why do most entrepreneurs fail?

What are danger signs I should look for and how to I counter those trends?

What kinds of tools do I need to see how I am doing?

Suppose being an entrepreneur isn’t working out. What do I do then?

From time to time, review your list. Check it against the slides you obtained from the speakers. Have both the slides and your lists available during the presentations you attend. Use them as checklists to capture vital information on the spot. Finally, if the speaker didn’t touch on the information you want, use your list to ask questions during the Q & A sessions or even after the session.

While you are attending:

Review your questions just before you sign on. That way, you’ll get the most from the limited Q&A time for each presentation and you’ll be able to follow up with people who can answer your vital questions.

If you really want maximum impact, set aside a few minutes after each day to refine your notes in writing. Concentrate on the information that helps you most. Disregard the examples speakers use, unless they reinforce some action you should take.

Listen for new ideas, possible introductions to rising stars and established people in your industry. After all, conferences are valuable learning tools.

After the Conference:

Capitalize on your investment by polishing your notes one more time. Pay particular attention to methods for increasing your productivity, your profits, or both. And schedule time right then to put those methods into action.

Make it easy. Concentrate upon implementing just one new idea. If you try to work in all the new ideas you found, you’ll be swamped and confused.

The rest can be covered quickly for professionals like you. Of course, you’ll get a brief thank note off to those who helped you. But you’ll go one step farther. You’ll offer to write a recommendation the speakers can add to their LinkedIn profiles.

Keep the ball rolling. The next conference will probably take place around the same time. You have more than a year to cover the investment.

Let’s assume the “early bird” registration for the 2023 event is $345. Set aside $30 each week and you’ll be covered.

Want to make that super easy? If you bank online, set up a new account just to cover the investment for the next conference. Then arrange an automatic transfer that takes $30 a week from your operating account and transfers it into your Conference savings account. You’ll be completely ready! And you won’t even notice the difference.

Make an investment in more than money. What you’ll learn at the Thrive! Conference will be distilled, “underwritten” excellence. You will rise far above all the confused, contradictory, even demonstrably toxic “information” that’s available on the net. That’s the information you need to capture clients and close sales.

Bridges lead to ultimate success. Each carried you over problems and delivered you to positions of greater influence and ability. Each had a toll in money, time, or both.

Now the Thrive! Conference bridge lies just ahead. The destination is rewarding. The toll is worth it.

Acronyms and jargon are much more than kinds of “abbreviations.” They are almost languages all by themselves.

We should use those “languages” as best we can. After all, clients pay us to employ language very powerfully to make their value visible and irresistible.

Want to do that very well? Let’s start with acronyms. Go far beyond just thinking of them as collections of letters. Use them to evoke emotion and make strong cultural connections fast.

We must be articulate when we speak “acronym,” if we are to use that “language” to communicate with our clients, and on their behalves, very well.

We must know the culture the acronyms represent, what deeper meanings they have for decision makers.

That was as true two thousand years ago as it is today. You may see one of the oldest acronyms when you look at a crucifix.

Above Jesus’ head are these letters INRI. That acronym stood, in Latin, for I: IESVS = Jesus, N: NAZARENVS = Nazarene, R: REX = King, I = IVDÆORVM : of the Jews.

The connotation was just the opposite of the literal meaning, the denotation.

Even then, there was another, older, powerful acronym: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus. Translated literally is means “The Senate and People of Rome.”

But the connotations were far more powerful. Even the illiterate knew what those letters stood for. If you were a Roman citizen, they represented rights, power, and influence. If you were a Jew living in Judea, they meant oppression, tyranny, cruelty.

Because the acronyms are much more valuable than just some kind of shorthand, understanding them and using them well offers great payoffs for you, your practice, and your clients.

Jargon, too, can be a two-edged sword. It does more than make conversation in a culture more efficient. It establishes affiliation and credibility. It implies wisdom. But that only happens when we use it on our clients’ behalf properly to connect with potential hiring officials and mentors.

However, use jargon, even “correctly,” with people outside the group and the effect is just the opposite. Listeners become confused and embarrassed. Communication is derailed.

Two examples spring to mind: doctors and lawyers. That’s not pejorative. It’s a fact of life. Attorneys are so used to, so bound by, court-tested language, they lapse it without thinking. Doctors fall into the same trap.

Avoid that snare even before you start to write. Ask these questions: Who will read your words? What do you want them to do as a result? Will unfamiliar jargon and acronyms torpedo your client’s success? Could your words immediately redline the résumé, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile you worked so hard to write and for which you client paid considerable money?

Cover letters addressed to the true hiring decision maker are more effective when you fold in acronyms and jargon naturally. A covering email using that approach, addressed to an HR professional, could stop the conversation before it began if your client wasn’t an HR professional herself.

Use acronyms and jargon as marketing tools. Our clients make their first impressions in minutes. That’s also true when we communicate with potential clients. Use their acronyms and jargon appropriately and you’ll form an instant bond.

An example may help. A Navy Captain reached out to ask me how I might help him transition to a civilian career that would be as successful as his time on active duty. After I visited his LI profile, I wrote back to him: “I agree: you really have been successful! Were you promoted BTZ?”

Here’s what those words meant to him: instantly, almost subconsciously. “This guy knows my culture. He knows when every officer who signed up in a given year would usually have been promoted. When he saw my rank and dates, he knew at once I moved up faster than others. That’s why he asked me if I had been promoted BTZ (“Below the Zone).”

I’ll spare you the details but being below the zone means the Navy put him in the top few percent. So, when he said he was promoted BTZ, I responded: ”BZ!” (Spoken as “Bravo Zulu”). That’s Navy lingo for “well done!”

Acronyms, used in the right context, help me build trust right away. You can do the same. Learn how people in your target markets speak and think.

Professional organizations—those composed of, and serving the needs of, a given career field—can help. Visit their websites. Scan their trade journals. You’ll find both sprinkled with jargon and acronyms. The context will guide you to use both in the right ways.

Come across an acronym you don’t understand? Here’s a great starting point: https://www.acronymfinder.com/

Don’t just read the “definition.” Enter it in your browser to find examples of it in use. Then make that acronym a search term to learn even more. Soon you’ll be speaking your clients’ languages almost like a native. See how it appears in news stories and commentaries.

Acronyms are growing very fast in our industry as the C-suite expands. Our clients come to us using those acronyms without thinking twice.

Please don’t be embarrassed by asking them for a definition. Granted, these meanings are not set in stone. Worse yet, some acronyms that appear identical are very different. My CIO is a Chief Innovation Officer. That’s something quite different from a CIO who is a Chief Information Officer. Looking through my records last year, I found myself serving a CDO (Chief Data Officer), a CXO (Chief Experience Officer), and a CCO (Chief Culture Officer).

When your clients slip into jargon and acronyms, ask what they mean, not just in denotation but in connotation as well.

Sometimes the subtly will amaze you. Here in the South, we use this phrase often: “Bless his heart!”

Sounds like a compliment doesn’t it? Here’s what it really means: “That person isn’t too bright!”

Acronyms are the ultimate “key words;” they truly connect. They are far more powerful than the usual collection of traits and adjectives that apply to every career field under the sun. Acronyms build credibility. They built trust.

The effect can be dramatic when your documents go directly to the hiring decision makers, as you know they should.

Therefore, make your clients part of your QA (you know: Quality Assurance) system. Ask them to be sure you’re using their jargon and acronyms correctly.

A senior prison warden reminded of that recently after I drafted his package. I had used the words “convict” and “inmate” interchangeably in his résumé and cover letter. My client was quick to correct me.

In his world, “inmate” means snitch. To many, it’s a derogatory term. “Convicts,” on the other hand, feel they rule the roost. They live by the “Convict Code,” a set of social conventions where the slightest misstep can be deadly. An inmate just wants to serve his time; a convict will kill you if he ever gets the chance.

If the warden hadn’t caught my error, the style of his documents wouldn’t line up with his background. I would have sowed doubt when I was supposed to be helping him build credibility. He would never have made it to the interview. (And yes, he did get the job.)

Did I violate my own rule when I introduced an undefined acronym in the title? If I did, it was to reinforce how to use acronyms well.

If you use acronyms and jargon well, you’ll have great Key Performance Indicators.

You know: KPIs.

The thank you letter is the most neglected tool we have to help move our clients’ careers forward. Almost always the thank you letter is little more than a proforma document with a “standard issue” expression of gratitude bolted on. It includes attempts by the author to “sell themselves”…again. One “expert” even suggested including small talk! It would surprise me if such a note was glanced at for more than two seconds. It doesn’t have to be that way for your clients.

Let me introduce the interview-generating letter. It has never failed to provide just such opportunities for my clients in the 25 years I’ve used it. But first, a critical foundation.

The main purpose of the interview is for our clients to learn what the target organization’s biggest problems are. Regardless of the career field, regardless of the organization, regardless of the level of job responsibility, our clients will be hired as problem solvers. Jobs that don’t involve solving problems have two characteristics: they require the employee to ask if the customer wants fries with that and they don’t require résumé to apply.

Asking the interviewer what the company’s greatest problems are is an excellent way to evaluate the organization. Our clients expect an appropriate answer. If they don’t get one, Orlando’s First Law of Employment applies: “Everything you hear, everything you see, as you deal with a prospective employer is condoned or encouraged by the leadership—without exception.”

It’s very common for interviewers to confuse problems with symptoms. For example, falling sales is not a problem. It is a symptom. Your client should ask the interviewer what caused the symptom. For example, falling sales could reflect a new competitor entering the market, a fall in demand, an understaffed sales force…you get the idea.

It’s also possible for the interviewer to confuse tasks with problems. Problems require thought. Tasks, while important, usually don’t. If you were in my office, you’d notice two holders containing a fair number of files. If those files fell to the floor, there would be paper everywhere. Not having the files in order would slow me down. But it is not a problem.

Every piece of paper has a client’s name on it. Every folder has a client’s name on it. A smart five year old could put them back in order. No thought is required.

Problem always arise from a lack of resources. The ones that spring to mind are money, people, technology, and facilities. But problems can also be a lack of knowledge, access to the appropriate people and files, and decision making authority.

Make sure your clients understand the information you’ve just read. Without that, they could easily misconstrue the answers interviewers give to their question.

I am not a big fan of “scripts,” but here are two ways your clients might ask the critical question:

“If there was only one thing I could do to help you the most now, what would that be?”

“Assume I’ve been on your team for a while and I have exceeded your expectations. What would I have to do for that to happen?”

As soon as the interview is over, suggest your client find a quiet place immediately. They should write down the company’s problem as best they can. Then they should assume they have been hired. What will they do to help the company fix their key problems right from the start?

Remind your clients no detailed solutions are possible. They haven’t met the people with whom they will work. They don’t know the culture. But they can certainly draw on their knowledge of their career field to outline some applicable concepts. They should write those down as well. Then they should email you the following: what problems does the company face that touch on your client’s career field and how they would help solve those problems. Clients should also include the interviewer’s name and title. If it was a panel interview, target the primary interviewer and copy the rest in their letter.

You now have enough information to draft the interview generating letter. Start by thanking the interviewer, outline what your client thinks the company’s problems are, suggest some concepts, and tell the interview your client will call to see if those ideas meet the company’s needs.

Here’s a genuine, fictionalized, example:

Arthur T. Collins, Ph.D.

224 Richards Way Cordova, Tennessee 38000  jtCollins@comcast.net –  901.555.5555

Monday, 07 September 2020

Dr. Paul Crenshaw

Director

Office of Scientific Collaboration

National Center for Toxicological Research/FDA

3900 NCTR Road

Jefferson, Arkansas 72079

Dear Dr. Crenshaw,

I wanted to do more than just thank you, Dr. Wang, and Dr. Chatterjee for being so generous with your time last week. The more I learn about this opportunity, the more it appeals to me.

In fact, as soon as we finished our conversation, I began thinking about ways I might be most productive, right from the first day. And so, I’ve outlined an action plan in the next paragraph. I know I’ll revise my ideas once I learn more about the Center and the people I want to support. Nevertheless, I’d be interested in your reactions to what you are about to read.

I’ve already indicated my first priority: I want to meet and really listen to all our internal and external customers. Their concerns will guide my priorities. Perhaps my perspective as a newcomer could point toward new solutions.

For example, I’ve been thinking about the relationship between our ultramicrotome and the options available to acquire cryo-microtome capability. I’m already updating my knowledge of Reichert CFS equipment and how it compares to the Leica Ultracut UCT. My goal would be to refine return on investment numbers such a major expense would have to provide. That might be useful in any supplemental budget request for the upcoming FY.

Thinking about Dr. Chatterjee’s question, I’ve arranged training on the Veeco 3100 Atomic Force Microscope at the University of Memphis under the direction of Dr. Lewis Coons. I’ll start training tomorrow.

Because I want to be sure I serve you well, may I call in a few days to explore how my ideas might work for the Office of Scientific Exploration?

Sincerely,

Arthur T. Collins, Ph.D.

Cc:

C. J. Wang

M.T. Chatterjee

There is no rush to get the letter to the interviewer. In fact, it would be best to wait a few days. After all, your client said he took time to think the problem through.

Once your client emails the letter you wrote to the interviewer, he should call and ask to speak with the interviewer’s secretary. Your client doesn’t want to surprise the interviewer with his call. With a time and date planned for the conversation, the interviewer will be much better prepared.

When the two talk, your client asks the key question: “Will my ideas work for you and your company?”

The next words from the interviewer’s mouth are—by definition—a second interview!

Charge for this product and service. How large an investment is a function of a typical salary for the job. Because I work exclusively with rising, senior, and very senior executives, I usually collect $250 for such a letter. I often write two such letters every month. For me, that’s $6,000 in revenue.

Remind your clients of the exceptional value you’re providing: a second interview. You should mention how unlikely it is for any other job seeker to respond with the same persuasive power and precision and directly to the hiring decision maker.

Of course, your brand will become stronger. You’re offering something extra most résumé writers don’t even think of, let alone provide.

The letter you write does more than lock in a second interview. If often generates a job for your client and more revenue for you.

"Eagle two-four, this is Foxtrot. Flaps set for takeoff, access panels secure, no leaks visible, last chance check complete."

Very few people will ever hear those words, yet they are of life and death importance to certain listeners all over the world, many times a day.

.

What you’ve just read is a typical radio transmission from a supervisor of flying to an Air Force pilot just before her jet streaks down the runway. It’s called a “last chance” check…but it is so much more than a checklist. The pilot must “buy into”—own—the competency of another person.

When you launch your clients with job  search  documents  you’ve  just  written, isn’t it vital they, too, “own” what you have done? After all, your work will affect their lives, and the lives of their families, for years to come.

Yet how many of us miss that indescribable reward of having clients eagerly adopt our work and gain great confidence in their careers? I wrote this article to help you earn that satisfaction each time you write.

Of course, we do our best to proof documents we deliver. We know “spelling and grammar” checkers are wistfully named at best. We guard against embarrassing typos and errors. However, is that enough?

We write to make our clients’ thought visible and convincing. We know hiring decision makers get their first impression of all candidates based on how well we communicate our clients’ thoughts. That’s why I suggest the first part of our “last chance” check comes from these questions: Did I choose a pattern my readers’ will understand? Did I get the context right?

A pattern is the key difference between just transmitting data and offering convincing information. The mind is attuned to absorbing things in orderly ways, in patterns. Context adds meaning. Consider  how  these  elements  make  for  a very effective résumé.

The pattern looks like this: capabilities the reader needs, the context  from which our clients have drawn experience, proof of performance, and reassuring credentials. Let’s look at them one at a time.

Hiring decision makers rely on what we write to help them deliver on a promise they made own their bosses. They guaranteed any new hire would make or save the company more money than it costs to add a new person. Interviewers know they’ve found the right person when they see capabilities that will make the company money…lots of money.

Consider sales. Most salespeople must make cold calls; only the very best gather competitive intelligence at the same time. That context, gathering competitive intelligence while making a cold call, might well set the successful applicant apart.

Over the years, managers have put a lot of weight on the context in which our clients gain their experience. That’s why so many bosses scan job titles. They are seeking reassurance that the applicant has progressed in his or her career.

Without knowing anything else about these individuals, which of these two employment histories make a stronger impression on you?

Hired away by a vice president to serve as Assistant Marketing Director, in just six months, promoted over four tough competitors, some with years’ more experience, to be Marketing  Director,  promoted to Vice President for Marketing, promoted to Executive  Vice  President,  Astor  Hamilton,  Inc., New York, New York Feb 16 to Present

— or —

Executive Vice President, Astor Hamilton, Inc., New York, NY        Oct 19 to Present

Vice President for Marketing, Astor Hamilton, Inc., New York NY    Jun 18 to Oct 19

Marketing Director, Astor Hamilton, Inc.,

New York, NY                                  Aug 17 to Jun 18

Assistant Marketing Director, Astor Hamilton, Inc., New York, NY      Feb 16 to Aug 17

They are exactly the same person.

But notice that powerful context. The first example makes clear this person was working at another firm when a vice president from Astor Hamilton “stole” him away. In short order, this applicant was promoted, sometimes over others with more experience. A reader has only skimmed the résumé, yet he is already predisposed to put this document on top of the “must interview” pile.

Context is also important in the examples we choose. Consider this from a résumé written for a senior transportation manager:

Payoffs: Sold product for $1,250 more than the customer would have usually paid. Saved $15K in labor costs. The problem solved in only five hours. When a rig dropped 25K board feet of lumber, convinced a lumberyard owner to pay a premium price for the load, and haul it to his yard at his expense.

Context puts the bottom line on the top.

Everycompany wants someone who can transform potential losses into profits. Context adds weight when we quantify.

Even if she’s never nailed two boards together, the reader can “see” 25,000 board feet of lumber scattered all over the road. She values someone who saves $15K in labor costs. Finally, the reader must  be  impressed that my client solved this problem in just hours.

Our last chance check should give our client full credit for his credentials.

Compare these two education entries:

Bachelor of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, Conrad Hilton College, University of Houston

Paid my own way working 2 jobs, 40 hours a week at night while carrying a full academic load by day. Cum laude. Classwork in Sales Management and Marketing Leadership.

Bachelor of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, Conrad Hilton College, University of Houston

It’s more than the bold face and italics that deliver impact. “Paid my own way working 2 jobs, 40 hours a week…” sets a standard other applicants may have a hard time meeting.

Next in our last chance check is the style and tone of our writing. I should correct the previous sentence to read “…the style and tone our clients would apply to what they write.”

Nowhere is this more important than in the cover letter. After all, one purpose of the cover is to show how your clients think and speak. Consider this excerpt:

“My job title has frequently been ‘rector.’ But my real calling is always to guide diverse communities toward erasing inequality and prejudice, even under hostile conditions.

I was given an extraordinary chance to hone those skills early in my career. For nearly two years, I was the diplomatic representative for a people mistrusted on all sides. I had to search for opportunties to reduce prejudice under the worst circumstances: right in the center of the volatile Middle East. One ill-advised word or action could quickly ignite an international incident. No experience could have guided my lifelong passion for fighting injustice better.”

That’s what you’d expect to read over the signature of a senior Episcopal priest applying to be a rector.

Now consider this example:

“Dear Senator:

Your search for a senior staffer is over. Please tell your secretary to expect my call at 8:15 a.m., Thursday, 14 March to set time for a 15-minute interview. If I can’t give you confidence I can get your bills out of committee in that time, I’ll leave. But if I can, I start Monday morning.”

That’s what a hard-charging senator expects to read from a no-nonsense, take-charge senior person pushing to join his staff.

By the way, both clients were successful.

How can our style reflect our client’s “voice?” We listen for the words and phrases she chooses, what she says…and what she doesn’t say. If you use work sheets to gather information, your task will be harder, but it can still be done by carefully reading what your client submitted.

I grouped some important   elements—pattern, context, style and tone—into a last chance checklist. However, as I reflect on those ideas, perhaps I should change the name to “every chance” checklist.

I want to give you every chance to delight your clients and your clients every chance to win the great careers they deserve.

When that happens, you are both cleared for takeoff!

Halfway There: An Historical View of Résumé Writing
at the Start of the XXIst Century
by
Harmon J. Mentors, M.A., Ph.D. Professor of the Career Development History
Department of Ancient Archeology New Metropolis University
Submitted July 1,  2075

(Uncovered by Don Orlando, MBA, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CJSS, CCMC, MCD)

Researchers have expanded our knowledge of the rapid growth of professional résumé writing starting from circa 1950 CE primarily by focusing on its early development during the mid- twentieth century. However, recent investigations have given us greater insights into the links between the evolving résumés of distant past and the powerful documents employers  demand, and receive, today.

A rich field for the researcher still remains. However, in this paper, I shall limit myself to exploring how résumé writers of more than a half century ago struggled to overcome obstacles on the behalf of their clients. Given the benefit of hindsight, it would be unfair to wonder why writers of the time didn’t move to embrace the more effective strategies we use today.

Today everyone understands people don’t apply for jobs; they devote their efforts to being found. Said another way,  the  best  jobs  find  people.  And  so, we are naturally sympathetic to those early writers who actually inverted the process! Imagine all the difficulties of writing a résumé the job seeker would   then upload, thereby severely limiting how much hiring decision makers would know about, not to mention appreciate, the applicant’s brand.

Before we look down on these early writers, we must remember today’s highly efficient social networking tools were in  their  infancy.  Our  ancient  data  files are often incomplete. However, we do know about tools such as the legendary LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo, and FaceBook which attempted to fill the gaps.

Further, very few ever considered who should best be in their  networks. Some early writers misunderstood the concept, spending considerable time linking (as it was called) to colleagues and friends—the very people they could more quickly reach through the crude text aps, emails, and so-called “smart” phones of the time. Those “linkings” took the form of a “canned” invitation that undermined the entire purpose of networking. There were rarely any explanations of how such links might benefit both parties.
It rarely occurred to some writers, and nearly all their clients, to consider who should be in their networks. Perhaps they were intimidated, distracted by the idea that the only way to build a network was to reach out  to people they already knew.

Today, of course, we think in terms of which professionals in other career fields might be able to help us and us to help them in return. We consider the level of responsibilities and wisdom we want those in our network to have. Only then do we extend an invitation based on mutual benefit and only after we have posted where those we with whom we wish to engage are found.

Consider an unknown writer who sought to add domestic law attorneys to his network. He knew lawyers that handled divorce cases sometimes recommended career development services as part of alimony arrangements. He used a guide of the time, Martindale Hubble, to track down the best of them. Then he offered value. Wouldn’t those attorneys be seen as more caring if they went the next step and referred their clients to him? Everybody would win. The  attorneys’  brand  would  be  strengthened.  Their clients could move forward in their lives again. The writer would win new clients. And the attorneys would win again when the writer sent them a referral check.

However, we should not be too quick to misjudge these pioneers. Most of them were so-called “solopreneurs,” oddly isolated from their brethren even though the proto-Internet of the day was reasonably practical, accessible, and affordable. If it weren’t for their professional organizations, they might well be at a loss. Even so, early fragmentary records show, surprisingly, relatively few paid members used all, or even any, of the services and advantages to which their membership entitled them.

Beyond that, it may well have been the proto-Internet that led some of the earliest and best writers astray. Even as late as 2020 CE, some writers never placed the job their client was seeking in a prominent position near the top of the résumé. They supposed hiring officials would know which job interested each candidate.

There is some evidence many writers, and most of their clients, believed the hiring decision always rested with someone referred to as “the HR Director.” We think
“HR” may have stood for “Human Resources.” Today, we always offer value to the actual hiring decision maker. He or she is the one with the greatest stake in the outcome.

We think, at the time, such “HR Directors” had only limited knowledge of fields other than their own. Even today, when we support a Chief Learning Officer, we suspect HR professionals know about the same amount  of  detail  about  our  client’s  field  as  our  CLO knows about Section 432(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937, as amended.

Interested readers who live in the vicinity of our national capitol may apply to the Director of the Conservator’s   Library   at   the   National   Archives   for an appointment to view a fragment of that Law. It      is also interesting because archivists believe this artifact was part of a “fax.” There is still research to be done to determine just what a “fax” really was. Some lexicographers think it may come from the Roman “faxituria” which meant to send or to copy. In any case, it is printed on unusual waxy paper in violet ink. But I digress.

It would take nearly a decade before almost all writers would start their documents with a clear announcement of how the applicant planned to “…put more money in the corporate coffers than it cost to bring the new team member on board.”

Even so, many writers added a “Summary of Qualifications.” That might bring a knowing smile to today’s employers and career professionals, but some early writers never appreciated its real lack of substantive value.

The “Summary” seemed to take on a pro forma life of its own in early résumés; there was rarely any strong, cohesive connection to the rest of the document. In short, too often the “Summary” did not deliver on the promises it held out to entice the hiring decision maker to speak with the job seeker. In fact, some “Summaries” were mostly just lists of traits, characteristics, and job titles. Researchers believe the Summary might have been an attempt to defeat applicant tracking software.

At the time, many people used “key words” that supposedly helped their résumés be found in the large (at  the  time)  data  bases.  So-called  Applicant Tracking
Software (ATS) searched hundreds of résumés in an attempt to match the employers’ secret cache of those “key words” to those in the résumés they received.

“Key words” often consisted of traits. Described in isolation, they were not completely understood for what we know  them  to  be  today:  a  description  of the minimum  standards,  characteristics  that   apply   to virtually any job the mind might conceive. That an employer would never entertain the idea of hiring someone who had almost strong “communications skills” never occurred to many who wrote their own résumés and, indeed, even to some professional writers. In fact, many résumé writers cluttered their documents taking up valuable “real estate” with the  very same traits illustrated elsewhere in the résumé.

Most knew such an “automated” system was broken. There   were   hundreds   of   ATS’.   Each   one   could   be endlessly “tweaked” by employers, often frequently. Each company might use a different set of key words. Writers also struggled, endlessly, trying to crack the metrics each system might (or might not) use. Would tables be allowed? Which format might get a résumé eliminated from consideration? Should, or could, they use bullets? And if so, was there a particular kind? Some inquired about the mysterious “text box” of which we know so little today. Were there preferred headings for each section of the résumé?

Despite all this, writers hoped their clients’ documents would be found somewhere in the largest possible field of competitors. They never saw the practice as leading to its own defeat as more and more people called on limited sets of words to vie for attention. When every résumé had such words, it was as if no résumé had them.

Our ancestor writers fared better when dealing with results. They understood the value of performance, but sometimes limited themselves to listing just the results by themselves in isolated sentences and phrases. It was, supposedly, up to the reader to divine which skills the applicant used to produce those results and if  those  skills  might  be  transferable  to  a new company. The best writers of the day went beyond the acronym CAR (challenge, action, response) or some other mnemonic device, to keep them focused on showing the value of their client to the next employer. These elite writers added another “C” to the reminder,
thus including the context of the performance in each example they wrote.

Today, we understand why the once famous LinkedIn slowly deteriorated into something historians compare to the cryptic “Myspace.” LI, as it was called, was supposed to be a networking tool. Yet, as hard to believe as it may be, the company actually misled many members, even career professionals.

One visibly placed element was called “Summary,” later labelled “About.” How natural it was for members to place a version of their résumé in that space. Today, we’d know instinctively, that space is where the expanded brand statement belongs.

The same was true for the “Experience” section. It, too, led people to duplicate their résumé there, thus repeating much of the same information the reader had already seen. Philologists know the true definition of experience: the acquisition and application of wisdom in changing circumstances to achieve success.

If résumé writers of the time had only recognized that same definition, think of how powerful this part of their clients’ profiles would be. Here, readers would see how the brand described in earlier section came to be. In other  words,  they  could  trace  a  candidate’s  ability  to grow and adapt.

And so, a sense that the LI profile must be coherent never made the impression it should. To us, it seems so natural to see the brand in the “headline,” the limited characters  right  below  the  person’s  name.  Then  to read an expansion of that brand in the About section and to trace its development in the Experience section would have seemed a given.

Some misguided job seekers confused LinkedIn with more social media. How they imagined posting pictures of  performing  dogs,  glowing  sunsets, or people rescuing turtles from city streets was somehow related to their ability to contribute to a company’s profits remains a mystery.

Some of the old LI profiles remain, preserved in libraries and museums. From these fragments, it seems even some career professionals didn’t grasp the potential power of LI in their own profiles—all the while claiming to be skilled at writing those for others. In his paper,


Johnson described many LI profiles of the time as “obituaries.” (“Buying Plots in LinkedIn Memorial Gardens,” Haverford Johnson, The Journal of Career Professionalism, Vol. XIII, June 2031, pp 35 – 41)

Oddly enough, the much-vaunted role of software designers and the proto-Internet in introducing the public to a “graphic environment” did not find a welcome reception among early résumé writers. A simple graphic is now an accepted, powerful way to show contributions to market share, reductions in cost, gains in production, or sharp rises in quality in today’s cover letters and résumés. Yet such graphics rarely appeared in these early documents. We owe our thanks to a certain John Suarez, who first tried, with limited success, to introduce the concept in the last decade of the 20th century.

Today,wearesometimespuzzledthatearlyrésuméwritersdidn’tusesomeuniversalfeaturesoftheword processing programs of the day. Granted, many of these tools were difficult to master and not completely reliable. Some said a leading software provider always referred to faults as “features.” Nevertheless, the scanty evidence that writers rarely used mail merge is hard to understand.

Surely, writers of the day knew the bodies of the cover letters and résumés they wrote consisted of a large core of unchanging information, complemented by a small amount of information that made the document individual to the company. At the time, hiring decision makers were impressed when they saw résumés with their corporate name and the position title of the job they were trying to fill prominently displayed. Those writers who did use mail merge were very happy for readers to assume the documents had been prepared were done expressly for a given company.

One paradox of the time is of special interest. Evidently, early writers knew a decision maker’s time was valuable and so strove for conciseness. Yet, for a reason we don’t completely understand, some of their documents gave over significant amounts of space to information that carried little weight. Responsibilities were often included in the mistaken belief that they indicated a measure of ability or skill. That a set of responsibilities would hardly vary within a given career field wasn’t much appreciated. That both the worst and the best employees, even in the so called Seasuite (often misspelled as “C-Suite”), shared identical responsibilities never arose as an argument to leave out those disembodied lists of responsibilities altogether.

Even small details can be illustrative. Why did some writers add the line “References available upon request”? Did they really expect any serious applicant to arrive at the interview with no references as all? Other researchers have proposed the custom was left over from much earlier times when formality and format were more important than meaningful content. Then, sadly, people wrote to impress rather than express.

Today, we guide our clients to being the visible experts employers seek before we even consider sending a résumé. When we get to that stage, we place unwavering emphasis on writing our documents to help the reader as well as our client. Every word, every phrase, every sentence, even every heading we use goes toward one goal: matching our client’s excellence in a given career field with corporate needs in that same field. Over the last 50 years, we’ve stripped away words that “sounded” good, but were essentially meaningless.

However, we must never forget the hard work and the dedication to try new things writers of more than a half-century ago laid down as our legacy. Perhaps, investigators from the year 2100 CE will visit our work. Let’s do what we can
to make their “stay” with us as rewarding to them as it might be flattering to us.

Festina Lente

“He thought nothing less becoming... than haste and rashness...accordingly a favorite saying of his was: ‘Festina Lente [Hasten Slowly].’”

“The Lives of the Caesars,” Suetonius, 119 AD

The “hasten” portion of this quote seems the only part alive today. In fact, all technology, particularly social media, seems to value getting everything done with great speed.

Yet there’s a paradox. Anything you post can be taken out of context. Some troll can attack what you write. The drive to network quickly can cause embarrassment and more, for you and your clients. Such damage to your brand never goes away; everything on line is eternal.

How to avoid those traps? Consider the two words engraved above, as they probably should be, in stone. Festina: make haste; lente: slowly.

Substitute “diligence” for “haste” and a better meaning emerges. Deliver excellence diligently. Do so ardently, assiduously, and carefully. Only then should we strip away anything that causes delay.

In this article I’ll try to apply that maxim to help you use LinkedIn to boost revenue.

Fortunately, LI’s format helps you stay on track. Posts are limited to about 1,300 characters (including the vital hashtags) and so make conciseness a virtue. That allows you to suggest what job seekers can do to move their careers forward, but not how to execute your advice. After all, the how is what your clients pay you for.

Here’s a sample post:

“How your job title works against you."

"The best jobs search for people, not the other way around."

When employers search for key words, they see your picture, what level connection you are to them, your “headline,” and your location.

Let’s concentrate on your headline, the 120 characters below your name. Here’s where you can beat the competition.

Many people put their job titles there. Most employers don’t care about that info. Just because you have a job doesn’t mean you’ll make their company more money than it costs to hire you. Your job title says little about your responsibility and nothing about performance.

What will you do for them?

Having helped thousands of rising, senior, and very senior executives win the careers they’ve always deserved, I know how difficult writing that concise brand statement is. But there are very effective ways to do it. The payoff is enormous.

Space won’t permit details here. But if you’re interested, if you want your value to truly stand out, I’d be happy to speak with you.

Call 334.264.2020 or email me any hour at dorlando@yourexecutivecareercoach.com.

Together, let’s beat the competition soundly, before they even know it is happening.”

Notice how this post follows these guidelines:

Making haste slowly means you must add value.

Everything you’ve just read works. For me, it has to. I’ve relied on it to run my practice for 27 years. I’m the only senior careers professional I know who doesn’t have, and never will have, a website.

I am no Luddite. My clients, all rising, senior, and very senior executives, won’t tolerate being relegated to a website, or as they call it, an “automated brochure.”

CLIENTS WANT ANSWERS not autoresponders

They never think of themselves as interchangeable with anybody else. They reject any notion they are a bronze, silver, gold, or even a platinum “package.”

They have neither time nor patience to upload or email their requests for information. They want answers that work for them, not for some amorphous group of other job seekers. They want answers directly from the “guy in charge,” not an autoresponder, not an assistant, not a subcontractor. And they want answers now! (There’s that haste again.)

But it’s more than that. When I was on active duty, I promised those who worked for me I would never ask them to do anything I hadn’t or wouldn’t do. So it is with my clients.

I cannot ask them to use LinkedIn powerfully and actively if I don’t do that every single day. Since networking drives my business, and LI is one of my most powerful networking tools, I learn new and better ways to use it every day.

September 2020 | PAGE 6

Want proof?

Consider 295. That’s a typical number of people who re􏰋d 􏰊􏰅 􏰆􏰇􏰂t􏰂 e􏰌er􏰅 d􏰋􏰅 􏰏􏰇r t􏰃e fir􏰂t t􏰃ree d􏰋􏰅􏰂􏰔 􏰘􏰃􏰋t􏰁􏰂 885 hits. Of that number, just over one percent are potential clients. Does that seem very small? It isn’t. It represents a about eight solid leads.

All I have to do is close one in four to make thousands.

Just over 40% of my revenue comes from that source. The rest is from referrals and returning clients...most of whom came originally from LinkedIn interactions.

Keep your website if its working for you. Nothing would make me happier than for you to beat my numbers. When that happens, you’re using LinkedIn as it was meant to be used. Clients will reward your skill and effort.

They will also reward you if you teach them the skills I’ve described above. When you do, everybody wins. Since you charge for that service, that’s even more revenue for you. [“Where’s Your Brand’s ‘On’ Switch?” The Spotlight, November 2016, pp 4 – 6] Since your clients’ brand becomes more visible, they get better jobs, faster.

Make haste to apply the ideas you’ve just read. But do so slowly. And don’t be surprised if clients make haste to sign up with you.

Exceeding Your Clients’ Ethical Expectations:
A Reward Like no Other

I was a bit startled when I heard the door to my office fly open. Very few clients live close enough to visit me and I had planned to spend another day on line. I was more startled when my visitor rushed into my office and plopped down on a chair. He was dressed like a bum. He looked like a bum. He even, forgive me, smelled like a bum. And he wanted a résumé!

I never did find out from which mental disorder he suffered; I was just relieved to get him out the door. I tell you this story because I want you to feel the way I did: I just didn’t trust him and I bet you wouldn’t either.

When you “meet” potential clients the same conditions are present, though not as dramatically I hope.

When interested people phone, in mail, or email, you can soon tell what they think they need. (“Are We Abdicating Our Marketing to the Uninformed?,” The Spotlight, November 2019, pp 5 – 7)

Ethical expectations must be part of your brand

In this article, I won’t cover the business of giving them what they want or need. Providing goods and services is what we do. However,

that can be such an all-consuming activity we sometimes lose sense of our clients’ other need: to trust you with a major part of their lives. That necessity comes under the heading of ethical expectations. Meeting those expectations will be part of your brand. The rewards of exceeding them, however, are beyond anything else that keeps us loyal to this industry.

Building trust starts with a clear understanding, in writing, of the limits of what you provide. There are some aspects you may not have thought of. Before I introduce them, please let me list the obvious items briefly: a complete description of the products and services you will provide, how and when you will deliver them, method of payment, and billing arrangements.

Guarantees: Some writers guarantee their work using a promise like this: “If you don’t get XX interviews in 30 days, I will rewrite your documents.” I have no doubt such statements come from the heart. After all, we want to help our clients succeed, not be just a typing service whose commitment ends with final proofing. However, every commitment is part of our brand: the things we want to be known for in the marketplace. What meanings might such a “guarantee” carry?

August 2020 | PAGE 5

Expectations: When we think of expectations as methods and goals, we get the best of both worlds. Our customers and ourselves get peace of mind knowing what to expect. We’re also free from the stress that comes with rigid, constraining processes. In short, when we tell our clients what they should expect from us, what they should expect from themselves, and what we expect from them, we lay a strong foundation of confidence.

Did you think of another “success story” since we spoke last? I want you to get credit for all you do.

Do the documents “sound” like you? Is that your word choice? Your philosophy? Are we using your industry’s or career field’s jargon correctly?

I pledge to use my expertise to help my clients every way I can. That requires me to educate them. Again, let’s look at a hypothetical situation: A prospective client asks you prepare a “general” résumé. She isn’t sure what field she wants to pursue and “wants to keep all her options open.” Could you agree to such a request? I thought not. Of course, you could produce an accurate, attractive document. But you should tell her a “general” résumé is dead on departure. What I am doing is protecting myself and my client from her unrealistic expectations. (“In Case of a Toxic Client, Read These Instructions,” The Spotlight,” January 2012, pp 4 – 5).

Finally, I promise to be honest. I must tell my clients I cannot guarantee them an interview or a job, nor can I guarantee how others might react to the products we prepare, nor who they might score in any application tracking system. Those are not cop outs because we asked our clients to become fully engaged in a partnership with us.

What our clients should expect from themselves

reminds them we help them manage their career; we do not manage it for them. Clients should be full partners in the process. Whether it’s filling out worksheets, being prepared for information gathering sessions, verifying the facts in a résumé, or even be fully prepared for our meetings.

We help our clients manage their career; we don't manage it for them

What our clients expect from us is rooted in the investment they made in our services. Let’s look at an example. My client has invested in a résumé, a cover letter, and a set of references. But

I plan to exceed his expectations right from the start by delivering more than he expects. I promise to give him my undivided attention during our times together. I promise to deliver those products precisely on time. I promise to answer all his questions as quickly and as completely as I can. I promise to give him the tools to evaluate my work: tests he can apply to be sure my work meets his needs.

Consider how that last promise might benefit you. Your client expects accuracy and completeness before he sees you. But suppose you invited him to test your products in ways that build his confidence and open the door to selling follow on services. Here are three tests I suggest my clients use to judge my work:

Did I, unintentionally, give you too much credit, or not enough credit, for what you have done? We both must stand behind the honesty of these products.

What we expect from our clients overlaps what they expect from themselves. In short, we require them to work hard.

Let me illustrate. We know three factors that add power to the CCAC stories. We quantify whenever we can. We place their stories in context whenever we can. We compare their performance to others whenever we can. My client tells me he was on the dean’s list. I want the employer to know just what that means. So I expect my client to call the college’s registrar and ask this question:

“What percentage of my class was on the dean’s list as often as I was?” He does the work. He gets the benefit. Rather than seeing just the words “Dean’s List” on the résumé, I want the employer to see this: “One of only 4, from a class of 150, to be on the Dean’s List every semester.”

August 2020 | PAGE 7

How do you handle unmet expectations?

If we haven’t met our clients’ expectations, we must make it as right for them and for us as soon as we can. How you make it right for the client is up to you. Sometimes, I offer additional services without charge. In rare cases, I refund all the client’s money after I have tried, and failed, to please him.

When it comes to making it right for me, I use every opportunity to strengthen my brand and grow my business. The incident serves as a painful reminder: I could have avoided the situation entirely if only I had qualified that client better.

What if the client hasn’t met expectations?

I try never to lose sight of the goal: helping her win the career she wants. So my first step is to be sure she understands what’s needed. Think about the client who seems to have a fine background. You are looking for proofs of performance to power her résumé. Yet no matter how hard you try, all you get are generalized statements of responsibilities in the cold, distant voice of a bureaucrat. That should signal the need to reeducate her about the how examples of performance prove her a good ROI for the target company. This approach usually fixes the problem.

If it doesn’t, I sometimes use the “shock” treatment. The words sound like this: “I think you have a great background. You know you have a great background. The only person who doesn’t know your worth is a person you probably have never met: your next boss, the interviewer. He needs as many proofs of performance to champion your selection as he can get. As it’s going right now, we have nothing to offer him. Therefore, he will have nothing to offer you. Without proof of performance, you don’t look like the person I know you are. Now, tell me about a specific problem you solved, how you did it, and what the results were.”

Perhaps the client fails to show up. I solved that problem by telling them, when they engage me, if they don’t show and don’t tell me their plans, I will charge an extra $75.00. I am proud to say I have collected precisely two of those fees in the last 7 years.

What if your client drops from sight? Let’s motivate them to avoid it. Here are the sentences that are in every proposal I write: “I need your help keeping our conversations going. If I don’t hear from you for 30 days, there will be a $150.00 reengagement fee. That’s needed since we would both have to spend additional time catching up.”

What if the client is slow in paying? Solve that problem as well: get all the money up front. I didn’t use that approach for many years. However, when I shifted to an all-up-front-payment, I closed the same number of sales as I did before.

The rewards of exceeding your clients’ expectations can be summed up simply: everybody sleeps well every night. You and your clients know what to expect, why to expect it, and about when to expect it. Long after they are hired, long after they have forgotten what the résumé said, they will remember you as a very ethical, honest, caring professional. That’s a reward nothing can match. And while we are sleeping soundly each night, our clients are helping us build our brand with their friends and colleagues. That, too, is a reward nothing can match.