Case Study
How Taylor* got recruited for a perfect-fit SVP role within 48 hours!
“My new resume and LinkedIn profile went up on a Monday or Tuesday, and within 48 hours, I had a phone call with this recruiting agency for my dream role (at the company I now work for). It surprised me so much that I almost thought it was a joke. Like, ‘Did Great Resumes Fast hire a search firm to reach out to me?’ Because the position was so awesome.”
*This name has been changed to protect the privacy of our client.
The Client
Taylor, currently the Senior Vice President of Learning and Organizational Development in the construction industry
Taylor had spent 16+ years in his previous organization, being promoted to leadership roles in various departments, including in sales, marketing, HR, and more. Through this experience, there was one aspect of all these roles that he enjoyed the most: Developing leaders.
So he decided that he wanted to pursue a role that was 100% focused on his passion for learning and development.
The Challenge
How to position his varied leadership experience as relevant for a strictly L&OD role
Despite having ample experience in learning and development, Taylor’s previous resume mostly showcased his leadership experience in the sales realm. He wasn’t sure how to rework his resume to highlight the relevant experience he had for the role he desired.
“It was a much more sales leadership-focused resume versus one that also included all of the talent development and learning and development projects that I had worked on. I took a few stabs at it on my own to try to create that, but I realized pretty quickly that I needed a sparring partner to help me figure that out.”
Taylor was also concerned that, on paper, his diverse experience wouldn’t come across because it had been within one organization.
“You've been in this one organization for so long, and yes, you have progression, but it's progression within one complex system that is that organization. Does that translate to a new company?”
The Solution
A collaborative resume-writing process that would showcase Taylor’s L&OD skills with integrity
After speaking with other resume-writing companies, one of Taylor’s concerns was that the resume writer would be so focused on getting him the role he wanted that they would compromise his integrity by stretching the truth.
Fortunately, in Great Resumes Fast, Taylor found a resume writing partner who would honor his genuine L&OD experiences and skills while still presenting them in the best way for potential employers.
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A resume writer who “got” him and could translate his skills into a straightforward, honest narrative
“I was looking for a resume writer who could represent me in a way that's with integrity, that doesn't over-exaggerate what I’ve done. Also, it was important to me that my resume doesn't use so many complex words that no one other than a consultant would understand. So, there's an art to that, and that's a skill set that's honed over time through lots of practice.”
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A patient resume-writing process that welcomed his input and collaboration, so his final resume matched his vision
“I was surprised with how patient my writer was. There was a lot of back and forth, and she really went above and beyond to make changes. I had no idea how much communication and intensity of focus it requires to get it right, and then how many iterations and drafts back and forth it takes to get to a point where you feel like you've got a good document that both of you agree on is a good representation of your experience.”
Taylor didn’t realize just how quickly this resume update would transform his job search…
Results
Taylor was recruited for exactly the position he was looking for… within one week of launching his new resume & LinkedIn profile!
Like most executives on his level, Taylor was accustomed to receiving interest from recruiters. But this inquiry was different. Immediately, he recognized this agency’s pitch as quality.
From Taylor’s LinkedIn presence, the agency had pinpointed him as a good fit for a learning and development role where he would contribute to building a fast-growing company. This was exactly the challenge he’d been looking for!
“Like everyone, we all get recruited. But usually, it feels like a fishing expedition, where they’re pitching generic positions like, ‘Hey, are you interested in this… or is anyone in your network interested in this?" and I would always try to respond respectfully.
But this time, the search firm was hired by the company I'm at today to find a chief learning officer who sits in the executive suite and builds the function from the ground up. It’s for a fast-growing startup company that in five years went from a 40 million company to almost a billion. Incredible growth. That was a super exciting and energizing prospect.”
Taylor received an offer and was able to take the time to exit his previous company gracefully
The company found in Taylor such a perfect match that they were willing to wait an additional three months for him to wrap up his projects at his previous organization. This gave Taylor time to maintain his strong relationship with his previous company and leave in good faith, rather than rushing out of fear he’d lose out.
He credits his new resume for setting him up for being able to negotiate.
“It moved really quick. They were ready to hire me and bring me in within three weeks. I was like, ‘How about three months?’ And they agreed. I don't know that that would have happened had I not updated my CV. When I got there face-to-face, I earned the job, but my updated profile on LinkedIn and my new resume were critical on the front end to even get that discussion going.”
Taylor recommends Great Resumes Fast because of the trust built into the process
It was important that Taylor felt confident his new resume and LinkedIn profile reflected his experience and vision, and to do that, he needed to trust his writer from the beginning.
“When you connect with somebody, you can tell in the first five or 10 minutes if it's going to work or if it's not going to work. With Great Resume Fast, it was a good partnership right from the get-go. It was very comfortable.”
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