The more accurately you can tell your story, the more confident you feel and the more that this is a partnership in which you’re going back and forth and you’re really coming together as a team to create something beautiful, something that’s going to lift your job, search up and get you those results you deserve. I and welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast. This is what to do if you’re considering working with a professional resume writer. My name is Chris Villanueva, I’m the founder and CEO of Let’s Eat, Grandma Resume service. We’ve helped over 11,000 professionals with our packages and hundreds of thousands more through our free content.

Chris Villanueva 00:42
I’m so happy to do this episode because I have never gone into the process of deciding whether or not a resume writer is a good fit for you or how to work with a resume writer to make the most out of your experience. I was thinking about some of the past successes of our clients, folks who have landed their dream job, folks who have been like, oh my gosh, I landed so many more interviews with you and paired that to some of the, and this is the minority, some of the folks who may have not had that sort of success. So this was a deep dive in some of our data and looking at the best practices of successful clients and the ones that set their expectations the right way in contrasting that with folks who may not have had as much success here. So I do want to emphasize here that this comes from my own personal experience as a resume writing service.

Chris Villanueva 01:32
We are a mid-sized resume service, so we have a medium-sized team. We’re not a massive mill. We’re also not a mom and pop. So we have, I think, what I would call the best of both worlds to collect this data and give it to you today. But this episode should help you decide if you should work with a resume writer. And if you do work with a resume writer, how can you really maximize your time to get the most success from it? Alright, let’s dive into the fun stuff here. First of all, if you’re considering working with a resume writer, you should absolutely get your expectations done right now. There are services out there that will tout and promise that you will for sure get interviews or your money back, or if you don’t get interviews then something is wrong. And we absolutely guarantee you that you are going to land a dream job.

Chris Villanueva 02:27
This and coming from years of experience and knowing how it works and doing the market research, this is a trap because folks are going to be dangling a carrot in front of you as they should. I mean, this is marketing. People aren’t going to be boring, but it goes too far when you guarantee a specific result off of something that is such a complex situation and a complex landscape. Think about right now, the year 2025 in which it is pretty tough out there. It is. Very few people that I saw the stat, it was like 2% of resumes will get interviews. This was before 2020. Imagine what that is now, and for certain companies to really put front and center that their resumes equal your dream job. Watch out for that. I’ve read far too many one-star reviews on Trustpilot from people who were pissed off that they didn’t get their money back for whatever reason, even though the company had a guarantee.

Chris Villanueva 03:28 
So this is not, again, I’m trying not to push put my company on a pedestal because I’m trying to be as unbiased as possible here to help you make a decision. The one thing I encourage you to do is to make sure that you set your expectations for what a resume service can do for you. Resume service should improve the curb appeal of your documents. It should increase your confidence. It should make your resume have a clean design phrasing and content that matches and aligns with the positions you’re applying for. It should include the appropriate types of keywords that are going to be aligned with the positions you’re applying for as well. And this should indirectly result in you getting more opportunities out there. So there’s a fine line here. Again, not guaranteeing no resume service should guarantee your dream job, but it should indirectly lead to that position out there.

Chris Villanueva 04:27
It should increase your results if you were doing the right things. So this is the expectation I want to set because far too many clients out there will just put together a half mediocre effort with a rider and they won’t get too involved because they see it as too much of a quick magic bullet solution. So the next four tips I’m going to give you here in maximizing your time with your resume writer, this should really aid in that and allow you to get those results and to boost your confidence to get that success that you want here. So let’s talk about what to do. If you’ve said, okay, I have the money for this and I’m going to take the leap here and work with a professional, a coach in a way to really develop my resume and get me to where I need to be.

Chris Villanueva 05:14
The first thing that you should do is see your relationship with your resume writer as a partnership. Really, your resume writer is going to be an expert in writing and strategy and knowing that types of design and content and phrasing that really align with the job market, but you are the expert on your own career, in particular your own industry and the types of positions you’re applying for, that’s not going to mean that your resume writer is going to be clueless when it comes to your industry. In fact, we have a good amount of writers and they’ve worked with all sorts of different industries, and all of these writers have diverse backgrounds in whatever industry that they’ve been in. But you are going to have the most knowledge and insight and vocabulary, whatever it may be on the types of positions that you’ve been in.

Chris Villanueva 06:06
So when you team up with a resume writer, it’s really a powerful combination in which you have somebody who brings the technical writing expertise and combines it with you knowing what you’ve done and what you can effectively do moving forward in your next job. So my encouragement to you is take advantage of the process. There’s often a phone call, there’s often emails back and forth. We want you as clients to actively engage during that time and not to treat this as like a transaction. Like if you went to McDonald’s, you pay them the money, they give you the burger. This is more of creative process here, so engage in it. That’s when true magic happens. The second tip I will give you to really maximize your time and your results that you’re going to see from your resume if you work with a writer is to do your prep work before the consultation.

Chris Villanueva 07:00 
The consultation I’ve heard over and over again has been where magic I’m. Try not to say magic next time because I’m overusing that word, but where absolute beauty gets created in the resume and the LinkedIn profile, and not only that, but in your own confidence as a job seeker. I’ve heard from people that were like, oh my gosh, I just talked to Lola or Katie and all of a sudden I felt like I understood the value I had to bring to the job market and what I was going to be as a professional in the future. I’m going to be a CFO, I’m going to be a director of marketing, whatever it may be, and the consultation really has that power to unlock that sort of clarity. So what I’d recommend for you before the consultation, do some reflection on your past and your future.

Chris Villanueva 07:44 
Where do you want to be in the next three to five years? Do you have some metrics that you’re proud of? What are you really most proud of when you look back at the last five years that you could just brag about at a cocktail party? Not like, actually, I wouldn’t go to a cocktail party and really brag about my achievements, but if somebody asked you what that was and you’d feel good about that, what would it be? Where do you feel like you’ve made the most impact in your previous roles? Were there any relationships that you felt like blossomed and bloomed into creating some beautiful project? So think about these things and just take even 15 to 30 minutes of time the day before your consultation just to jot these things down. I think that can go a long way. The third tip I will give you if you’re going to work with a writer, professional resume writer that is, is to keep an open mind about the process.

Chris Villanueva 08:35
So job seeking and transitioning in life. This can be a very emotional process. Imposter syndrome is real. Sometimes we feel like I’m not going to be qualified for these positions. This is going to be awkward, this is going to be tough. I have not even talked to my own spouse about the type of jobs that I want or what I feel like my gifts and my strengths are. I haven’t talked about that to anyone lately. And how am I going to talk to a random stranger who I just met about that? Be open. Because the more open you are with your resume writer, the more they will want to help you, the more they will be able to help you to craft some documents that are really special things might come up that you never thought were a part of your career repertoire or your own skills or strengths.

Chris Villanueva 09:25
And so I would say be open to letting those things come through because if you close off your mind and say, okay, this is what I’ve only done in the past, so how could I include something like this on my resume? You really limit yourself. And with this period of transition, we want to prime and read you for that next position. So be willing to see yourself in a new light. It’s probably more impressive than you think. The fourth tip I’m going to give you is be honest with your writer.

Chris Villanueva 09:55
So I’ve seen a lot of emails between writers and clients. I’ve been a writer myself, I’ve interacted with plenty of clients, I’ve read the surveys. And the thing that truly differentiates an unhappy client from a happy client, at least those with a little bit more of a sticky situation is the honesty and kind of transparency that the client will have with the rider.

Chris Villanueva 10:21
Let me explain what that means because if you have something that the rider puts on your resume that it just doesn’t feel like it feels off or you feel like the very top of your resume just doesn’t give you that shine or confidence, then how can you expect to go out in the market and shoot off this resume or give this to your potential next boss? Do it with a confidence that is going to really carry your job search forward here. So you want to feel confident, you want to be, I think in a good place here as you are submitting your document. And the fear that I think a lot of clients have is, okay, I’m going to step on my writer’s toes. I’m going to hurt their feelings. Of course, if you have feedback, be specific and constructive about it. Again, I mentioned earlier that you are the expert and you should feel really good about this document as you present it.

Chris Villanueva 11:18
But if you have something that you are afraid of and you feel like you writer didn’t communicate it well, let them know they are here to help you. I want to emphasize that again, your resume writer is here to help you and they are rooting for you and your success as much as possible here. So the more accurately you can tell your story, the more confident you feel, and the more that this is a partnership in which you’re going back and forth and you’re really coming together as a team to create something beautiful, something that’s going to lift your job, search up and get you those results you deserve. That is really going to be your next step forward here. So be honest with your rider. They’re there to help you, and this is going to be something that really improves your confidence and your career over time here.

Chris Villanueva 12:08
Okay, a little bit of a bonus tip. What if you can’t afford to work with a resume writer right now? Maybe you like all the things that I’m saying. Maybe you feel like, oh gosh, I wish I had the money for a writer, but it’s just not feasible right now. Well, preparation, first of all, that’s the second tip I gave here. Really reflecting upon your accomplishments and the things you’ve done that is all free. It’s a little bit harder to do if you are in your own echo chamber. So maybe you could come together with someone who’s maybe not an expert in resume writing, but somebody who is a colleague in your space, somebody who is your work best friend and you have a secret resume that you’d like to float by them. Make sure to send it to their personal email, not their work email.

Chris Villanueva 12:51
But you want that person to look over and get the insight. Maybe you have to buy them a drink or something after work, or maybe you have to do the same thing for them in return in the future. But don’t go at your job search alone. Use your network to propel it forward and again, reflect on those things that truly make you an asset and a weapon for the next position you’re going to be applying for. Okay, so concluding this episode, if you are looking to work with a professional resume writer, I would encourage you to of course explore your options. But as a biased owner, I will put on my bias hat here. I will tell you that we are the darn best in the industry, especially for mid to senior level professionals. So head on over to letseatgrandma.com and submit your resume for a free critique.

Chris Villanueva 13:40
If you are looking to speak with somebody today, you can schedule a free consultation and we don’t do weekends, but if you are listening to this right now, you can probably get in a slot today and we would love to hear about your job search and what we can do for you as a service. We’ll explain to you exactly how we will help with your specific job search. Thank you so much and I will speak with you next time.

Chris Villanueva 14:05
Career Warrior Podcast. And before you go, remember if you’re not seeing the results you want in your job search, our highly trained team of professional resume writers here at, Let’s Eat, Grandma can help head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ to get a free resume critique and $70 off any one of our resume writing packages. We talk all the time on the show about the importance of being targeted in your job search and with our unique writing process and focus on individual attention, you’ll get a resume cover letter and LinkedIn profile that are highly customized and tailored to your goals to help you get hired faster. Again, head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ Thanks, and I’ll see you next time.