I've had to adapt to so many software and industry changes over the years. Late in my career, I risked joining a start-up, and when the company went under, I was confident I'd be able to find something else.
Then, the economy took a dip. My new full-time job was applying for jobs, but nobody was getting back to me, and I'd have to make some major adjustments.
With such a bad job market, I talked to friends and former colleagues to commiserate. One told me a guy from my team had immediately found a new, higher-paying position.
I checked his LinkedIn, and it was true. I figured he was maybe already on the hunt for a new job or had some kind of in with the company.
Feeling a pang of jealousy, I congratulated him, but I asked him how he got the job. He said they weren't even hiring for his position, but he'd just gotten a resume upgrade from TopResume and was feeling bold, so he applied anyway. They created a position for him.
I didn't know that could still happen. He said the company would be looking for someone with certain credentials, and TopResume helped him with keywords, so they picked up on his skillset better.
We chatted for a bit, and then I took a look at my resume - I thought it was fine. It's just plain Times New Roman, but it gets the job done - and it has everything, all the way back to some of my earlier jobs (that don't even exist anymore!). I've been in this field my entire adult life, and I'm proud of that.
Still, no bites. I looked at TopResume, and read that most companies use an algorithm to sort resumes now - it's rare for an actual person to look through them all. I always thought my resume would pass that test, but now I had my doubts.
I wanted to find out more about this, maybe do some editing on my own, so I started the process with TopResume. I figured I could always back out and still do it myself.I was assigned a human being (Hannah) who would talk to me not just about my previous experience but also about where I wanted to go in my career, and then she would tailor my resume to the right positions using the right words. She'd do my LinkedIn, too.
I hadn't thought about where I wanted to land, so I decided to try it. With my years of experience, Hannah said she could not only get me a similar job to my previous job but if I wanted to lead a team, I had the skills to do it.
Then, I let Hannah do all the hard work.
She got back to me with an updated resume precisely when she said she would. I noticed it was way easier to read - she got rid of one of my old jobs and streamlined everything. It was the same information, but even I was impressed.
TopResume is a hub for job applications, so I spent time on their site, grabbing more tips - perhaps I wasn't focusing on the right things in the cover letter or in my interview.
With my brand new resume, I started applying to jobs again. Still, nada. I was ready to scream or, I hate to admit, write a terrible review.
Then, I had the idea to send my new resume to some of the jobs I'd already applied for. They were positions I was most excited about.
Immediately, one of the jobs I first applied to got back to me. I wrote off my failures to the job market - and it's tough out there! But people are absolutely still hiring - and TopResume gave me the edge I needed to become one of those new hires.
More Reasons I Love TopResume
- Saved me a lot of time and headaches. Even if I spent hours crafting my resume, I never would have been able to make it look as good as it does after using TopResume
- It thought me how to play up my strengths. After working with my TopResume writer, I learned which of my strengths to highlight, which has helped me so much in interviews
- Gave me more confidence in interviews. When you have a solid resume, interviews just feel more manageable. I feel confident speaking to my work experience now