Sonja's Success: Old School Resume turned Job Magnet

This is Sonja. She was my friend before my client. And, I’ll never forget meeting her. She was serving in the preschool kids ministry at our church. When I tell you that I have never been welcomed through a doorway with SUCH joy! That’s who Sonja is…she’s everyone’s hype woman. A breast cancer survivor. She is a light.

So, it feels fitting to feature her story and how I got to be part of her journey. I jumped on Zoom a few weeks ago with Sonja so she could tell me the story again, because it’s been a few years since I worked on her resume. I wanted to know what events led her to me and why she is ALWAYS sending me clients. I don’t think anyone has referred quite so many people to me. I knew I had to get the full picture. I think you’re going to smile reading it. (Stick around to the end for the resume before & after)

Sonja had been with a company for 15 years. She never expected to need a resume. However, that company was acquired and she found herself about to be laid off. Sonja has multiple degrees and great experience. She was certain she would be able to find something when she was ready. What she didn’t realize was that resumes had changed a bit (a lot) in 15 years.

As she got closer to needing to find that next step, she went to a conference to make some connections. She met a woman who asked for her resume and Sonja was ready...with her old school resume on that fancy resume paper. Do you remember carrying around a folder with your fancy printed resumes? If not, don’t worry. It won’t be making a comeback! The lady was a little taken aback by her dated (and printed) resumé and asked if she could send it to her electronically. She gave Sonja feedback on the resumé itself because it really needed some work.

It’s not a good feeling when you know you have what it takes, but can’t seem to make the kind of impression you want. That's where she was stuck.

Not long after, Sonja saw me share my resumé business on Facebook and decided to trust me to bring her resumé up to date. I was so excited to make this amazing woman shine. Once all the final touches were made, she shared it on LinkedIn and got immediate feedback from so many people saying, “Wow! I am so impressed with your resume!” She was told how much it stood out and how well it was laid out and easy to read. Not only that, Sonja said it gave her so much confidence. She said to me, “I would hire myself!”

That’s all great, but the true results are in the response from employers, right? Sonja was able to confidently share it with a recruiter and has since had many impressive contract roles in her field. Each time she gets a new contract, she leverages her resumé to increase her roles and her pay. THAT is what I love to see, right there.

Here's what her resumé looked like when I received it initially (the first page):