The order confirmation for this job outlined a comprehensive set of documentation that needed to be created. Moving interstate, a university lecturer required an updated resume after eight years at the same university and two separate applications addressing diverse sets of criteria. An expert in her field, this client had extensive knowledge across a broad range of subjects and solid research capabilities which I would need to highlight on her resume.
Starting by asking the client what it was that she considered to be missing from her current resume, she stated she wasn’t sure, but she knew it needed to be added to in order to stand out in a highly competitive environment. Having reviewed her resume prior to calling, I gave the client my opinion. I wanted to start by strengthening her professional profile to showcase the breadth of her knowledge and experience and follow this up by adding a Key Skills and Knowledge section as this was missing. With a copy of the document open in front of me, I confirmed that the education and employment were up-to-date and asked the client to start by telling me about her job to gather the information necessary to update her resume.
After telling me about the duties she performed daily for at least ten minutes, the client stopped and laughed. She said she had no idea that she did so much and was concerned that she was wasting my time by going into so much detail. Reassuring her that this was all good information for me to have and I would use it in multiple areas of her resume and selection criteria, I encouraged her to finish telling me about her job and her research degree. After gaining a clear picture of her skills, role, and achievements, I was confident I had the information needed to create a stellar resume for her and moved on to gathering information for selection criteria.
As the client had been so thorough in telling me about her role, I already had all the background information needed to address much of the criteria. However, I needed to ensure each criterion had at least one STAR example to demonstrate her extensive knowledge base and skillset. The first role required us to address 14 points over six pages and the second to address eight points over four pages with limited crossover due to the separate focus and disciplines of the roles.
Before winding up the consult, I asked the client if there was any other information she had not given me that she would like included in her documents. The only other thing the client wanted was to know if there was any way to make her resume look suitable for APS applications as well. Asking her questions to clarify the APS roles she was interested in applying for; I was able to understand the skills she would need to apply for these and confirm those she already had. Eventually, we had put together all the information necessary to create the client’s documents, and she thanked me for taking the time to listen to her and be so thorough in gathering information.
During the writing process, I referred to the position description of each role, ensuring the skills required and duties expected were reflected in the resume. Where we had not discussed a specific point, and I needed confirmation, I sent the client an email with the few questions I had collated for clarification. To address the issue of possible APS applications, I broke her Key Skills and Knowledge section into three sub-headings. Academic, Interpersonal, and Administration. This way, she could put the administration skills at the top of the list when applying for APS roles or leave the academic skills at the top for university lecturing roles.
Many hours and several Google searches later, the client had two solid applications incorporating outstanding student feedback and the awards she had been given for her considerable teaching skills, and a resume that now properly reflected her expertise.