Personalized Career Solutions for Everyday People

I help professionals clarify their career goals, strengthen their professional brand, and compete more effectively in today's job market. My services include resume development, LinkedIn optimization, interview coaching, career coaching, and job search strategy.

Most of my clients are mid-career and experienced professionals who want to advance, change careers, return to the workforce, or compete for leadership opportunities. I also work extensively with higher education professionals, including faculty, student affairs leaders, and administrators.

My process varies by service, but generally includes:

1. Learning about your goals.

    

2. Reviewing your existing materials.

    

3. Identifying strengths, gaps, and opportunities.

    

4. Developing recommendations and strategy.

    

5. Implementing improvements.

    

6. Preparing for next steps.

Timeframes vary depending on the service and the complexity of the project. Specific timelines are discussed before work begins.

For resume packages, the draft is delivered within 5-7 business days after the intake meeting. Then the client gives feedback and I make revisions. The average number of drafts is three. 

Once the resume is done, I write a cover letter, usually within 2 business days.

If you purchase a LinkedIn profile, development of your profile begins after the resume and cover letter are complete. 

The first step is scheduling a consultation so we can discuss your goals, challenges, and the services that may be most helpful for your situation.

Helpful materials may include:

• Current resume
• LinkedIn profile
• Target job descriptions
• Performance reviews
• Professional biographies
• Career goals or questions

Some Career Coaches focus only on writing documents. My process focuses on helping clients with their career strategy, positioning, and alignment. 

A resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and interview strategy should tell the same professional story. When these materials work together, candidates present a clearer and more compelling case for why they are the right person for a role.

No.

No ethical career coach or resume writer can guarantee a job offer. Hiring decisions depend on many factors outside anyone's control.

What I can do is help you present your qualifications more effectively, target opportunities more strategically, and communicate your value more confidently.

That is one of the most common reasons people seek coaching.

Many clients begin with uncertainty. The coaching process is designed to help clarify options, priorities, and realistic next steps.

There are many possible reasons:

• The resume may not clearly communicate your value.
• Important skills may not be emphasized.
• Achievements may be buried beneath job duties.
• The document may not align with target positions.
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) may not recognize relevant qualifications.

In many cases, the issue is not a lack of experience. It is how that experience is presented.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) help employers organize and search applications.

ATS optimization means presenting qualifications in a way that allows both software and human readers to quickly understand how your background aligns with the position.

The goal is not to "beat the ATS." The goal is to clearly demonstrate relevant qualifications.

Not necessarily.

I typically recommend creating a strong, strategically aligned foundation resume and then making targeted adjustments for specific opportunities when appropriate.

Some people will tell you not to bother. My view is that you should always include one unless specifically told not to do so.

LinkedIn functions as:

• A professional search engine
• A networking platform
• A personal branding tool

Recruiters frequently review LinkedIn profiles alongside resumes. Consistency between the two is important.

Between 87-95% of recruiters and hiring managers regularly use LinkedIn to find, evaluate, and vet candidates. (Next Gen Personal Finance)

Up to 77% of recruiters will not even consider a candidate who lacks an active LinkedIn presence. (Recruit Mint)

Nearly 73% of hiring managers use social media to evaluate applicants. While they verify your skills, they also scan for public red flags (like offensive comments or illegal activity). (Business News Daily)

There are two ways to view "resume alignment."

The first way: your resume content should align with the qualifications in the job description, to help the reader envision your success in doing the job. Using the employer's language helps the reader understand your potential match.

The second way: your resume must align with other materials, including your cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and your answers in the job interview. Everything should tell the same story.

When a qualified candidate is overlooked, reasons could include:

• Not aligning their resume content with the knowledge, skills, and experience required to do the job.
• Only addressing the "basic qualifications" and leaving out how they might match the employer's "wish list," the "ideal candidate" statement. 
• Applying for a wide variety of jobs, rather than a small, focused, and clearly defined role.
• The sheer number of applicants. Some vacancies receive hundreds of application. It's not uncommon 

The short answer is "as much as possible."

I use a tool that parses content from a resume, compares it to language in a job description, and assigns a potential "match score" (an estimate for the percentage of important terms in the job description that are found in the resume). My goal is to get a candidate's score in the 75-100 range, placing the candidate in the top 25% of candidates.

Obviously, the higher the score, the better. The ATS tool sometimes identifies terms and marks them as important, when they  likely aren't relevant. As the human "intermediary," I apply my knowledge of different jobs and common career terms to exclude irrelevant terms and then refresh the score.

I usually ask each client for 2-3 target jobs, so I can identify the most important common skills across all of the jobs. This makes it easier to clarify what terms found in one job but not the others might be excluded. If a term seems relevant to me, I include it.

While the technology helps,  my professional judgement determines content strategy.

Apply anyway and see what happens.

If you don't meet a qualification but have skills and experience that imply your ability and motivation to learn, that might be enough. List "parallel" skills (Similar experience: for example, not knowing Salesforce but have experience using other CRMs) or "precursor" skills" (For example, supervising a small team is good preparaton for supervising a department.)

Yes.

I use AI tools to help analyze information, identify themes, improve efficiency, and generate ideas.

Please refer to my statement on  AI Usage for information on the technology I use and how I use it.

Examples include:

• Organizing interview and coaching session notes
• Identifying recurring themes and priorities
• Suggesting alternate wording
• Improving clarity and structure
• Supporting research and brainstorming
  

To capture information in intake meetings, coaching sessions, and practice interviews, I use an applicaton called Fathom AI Notetaker within the Zoom Meeting. You can find more information about Fathom AI in my statement on AI Usage.

I take confidentiality seriously and use only trusted professional tools in my coaching process.

Clients should always avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive personal information through any digital platform.

Currently? No. That may change, but I believe that the human element still makes a difference.

AI is a useful tool, but it cannot fully replace experience, judgment, coaching, or strategic thinking.

Most clients benefit most when technology and human expertise are used together.