What are the best ways for Life Coaches to help clients with resume writing?

Life coaches can play a valuable role in helping clients with resume writing by offering guidance and support in various ways. First of all, encourage clients to reflect on their strengths, skills, and achievements. Help them recognize their unique contributions and the value they bring to potential employers. Moreover, you have to stay informed about current trends and expectations in resume writing. Provide clients with insights into what recruiters and employers are looking for in resumes within their specific industry.

Certainly, before crafting a resume, it's crucial to grasp your client's needs, goals, and preferences. Understanding the desired job, strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points is key. Additionally, insight into the requirements and expectations of the target industry and employers is vital. Utilizing tools like questionnaires, interviews, personality tests, career assessments, and feedback from previous employers or mentors aids in assessing your client's needs comprehensively. This thorough understanding enables the tailoring of the resume to align precisely with your client's specific situation and objectives.

Many clients I have worked with do not have clarity on the job role they want next. There is confusion regarding the profile and uncertainty about the industry. They give generic reasons to move out. Asking questions about their strengths, achievements, interests, and motivation to work brings clarity. They get aware of their strengths, skills as well as skill gaps.

Your resume serves as the initial opportunity to make a favorable impression on the hiring manager and stands as your primary chance to stand out among all applicants. Therefore, it's crucial to highlight your most relevant attributes and qualifications that align with the job profile. Authenticity is key; embellishing or falsifying details can be counterproductive in the long run. This is where a professional coach can be invaluable. Having collaborated with you, they possess insights into your strengths, skills, interests, passions, and current life stage. Their expertise can guide you in accurately portraying these aspects on your resume.

As a life coach, I would recommend the Myers Briggs (I'm an ENTJ). One of my favorite tests is the Enneagram (I'm an 8_. If you haven't taken these. I strongly recommend them. In addition, I would take them through a Vision exercise so they are clear on what they want for their life. I have taken several teams through core values exercises and they are powerful. Recently, I started taking clients through core values exercises. They are like your guiding principles. Other than that, I would refer them and connect them with an awesome coach in my network who can support them on their resume-writing journey.

Absolutely, the resume format plays a crucial role in creating a positive impression and emphasizing relevant information. Depending on your client's needs, choosing from formats like chronological, functional, hybrid, or targeted is essential. A chronological resume highlights work history in reverse order, showcasing career progression. A functional resume emphasizes skills and achievements rather than dates and titles. A hybrid resume combines both aspects, showcasing skills and work history. A targeted resume is customized for a specific job or employer, incorporating keywords from the job description. Guiding your client to choose the right format involves considering their experience level, career history, skills, and goals.

In advising clients on resume formats, it's crucial for life coaches to stress the storytelling aspect of the resume. Different formats – chronological, functional, hybrid, or targeted – each tell a unique story of the client's career. For example, a chronological resume can narrate the progression of a long career, while a functional or hybrid resume might better showcase skills and potential for those making a career change or with gaps in employment. It's about choosing the format that best tells the individual's professional story in a compelling way. Adding elements of personal branding, like a standout value proposition, can also give their resume an extra edge, making it more memorable to potential employers.

Based on the client's experience and the industry they're targeting, suggest a suitable resume format. For instance, a chronological, functional, or combination format might work best. Align this choice with the client's strengths and the requirements of their desired roles.

Certainly, crafting compelling content is crucial for convincing employers of your client's suitability for the job. Advising your client to write clear and concise content is key. Utilize action verbs and quantify results to detail accomplishments and responsibilities in each role. Include relevant keywords and phrases specific to the job and industry. Present information in bullet points and short sentences for easy readability. Maintain a consistent and professional language, tone, and style throughout the resume, steering clear of jargon, slang, abbreviations, and errors. Minimize long paragraphs and unnecessary details to keep the reader engaged and focused on the most impactful information.

Clear and concise content is key in a resume. It effectively highlights a candidate's strengths and achievements, using action verbs and quantifiable results for impact. Including relevant keywords ensures alignment with industry standards, while bullet points and short sentences enhance readability. Consistency in language and style is crucial, and avoiding unnecessary details keeps the focus on the most important qualifications. A well-structured resume not only showcases experience but also demonstrates the candidate's communication skills.

Hiring managers have limited time. Aim for clear communication that quickly grabs the reader's attention. Keep your resume concise and easy to read. Articulate achievements and responsibilities succinctly. Use strong action verbs to describe accomplishments, quantifiable results whenever possible, and avoid jargon or overly technical language. Don't include everything that you wish to share with the recruiter in the resume- Ignite interest and leave the details for the interview.

Certainly, the skills and qualifications section is a key area for showcasing your client's abilities relevant to the job. To assist your client in identifying and emphasizing these skills, consider using an inventory or matrix to list and rate their skills against the job requirements. Creating a summary of qualifications at the top of the resume offers a brief overview, capturing the employer's attention and demonstrating alignment with job criteria. Utilize a dedicated skills or core competencies section to highlight specific skills, employing formats like bullet points, tables, or charts for organized display. This strategic presentation enhances the visibility of your client's key strengths and qualifications.

Integrating skills and qualifications in a resume is indeed vital, but I believe there's also merit in interweaving these elements throughout the experience section. Instead of isolating skills in one section, demonstrating how these skills were applied in real-world scenarios within each job role can be more impactful. For instance, under each job description, specific skills can be highlighted in the context of achievements or challenges faced. This approach provides a narrative that showcases the skill itself, but its effectiveness and relevance in practical situations. It offers a more dynamic presentation of the client's abilities, painting a complete picture of their competency and adaptability in various professional environments.

Don't write a resume simply based on your skills. Figure out how your skills fit the position you seek. This may take a little bit more time and effort, but tailoring your resume for each job position you apply for will increase your chances of getting hired.

I primarily coach faculty women. Faculty women may decide to transition out of higher education into industry or other setting. The challenge that as faculty we are taught to write CVs rather than resumes. CVs are long detailed recitations of an academic career, often can be 30 or more pages. When one transitions out of academy, resumes are needed. Resumes should be 1) tailored to the role you are seeking- integrate key words from the job ad, 2) reflective of professional experiences that are relevant to the job and your impact i.e. quantifiable metrics, 3) concise--not more than a 2-page average, 4) standardized, ex. use common fonts, & 5) clear & accurate--enlist the help of a proofreader.

Absolutely, optimizing a resume for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is crucial to ensure it passes through initial screening processes. Advising your client to use a simple and standard format without graphics, images, columns, tables, or elaborate fonts helps prevent confusion for the ATS. Including relevant keywords and phrases from the job description and industry is essential, avoiding synonyms, acronyms, or variations that may not be recognized. Maintaining a clear and consistent heading structure such as "Work Experience," "Education," or "Skills," enhances readability. Finally, recommending a compatible file format ensures the resume is easily parsed by the ATS, increasing the chances of reaching human recruiters or hiring managers

For now, it's important to consider the ATS factor in resumes. To optimize your resume for ATS try to make it simple and understandable for HRs as well.

Assist clients in understanding and incorporating keywords relevant to their industry and desired positions. Help them format the resume properly to ensure compatibility with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) commonly used by employers for initial screenings.

I delve into the comprehensive story of their career, asking probing questions to extract the necessary information. Having experienced both roles as an employee and employer, I'm adept at guiding my clients on what to emphasize and what to exclude from their resumes, with the understanding that certain details can be elaborated upon during interviews. Clients often approach me with lengthy 5-6 page resumes, and my expertise lies in distilling the most pertinent and impactful information into a concise 1-2 page format. A testament to this effectiveness is that virtually all of them receive interview invitations after our collaboration on their resumes.

In addition to standard review practices like checklists and proofreading tools, involving clients in the resume editing process can be highly beneficial. A collaborative approach allows for the integration of personal insights and achievements that enhance the resume's authenticity and impact. This method ensures the resume is not just technically sound, but also a true reflection of the client's unique professional journey, making it more compelling to employers.

Offer constructive feedback and editing support to refine the resume. Help the client eliminate unnecessary information, ensure consistency in formatting, and enhance the overall visual appeal.

As a leadership and life coach, and a former hiring manager & committee member who's seen >1k resume and interviewed ~100 candidates, I helped review my client's resume to ensure they have consistent and strong story, and clear and concise descriptions of their experience & qualifications. Things I often check for are: 1) Actions and quantifiable results 2) Relevancy (listed experience and skills are relevant to the target role) 3) Keywords and skills that are listed for the role

Career coaching is not my niche however when asked I’ve shared my CV for some inspiration. I also ask clients anyway to think about values, strengths and goals because having the clarity on what you want can help hugely in a career search. Try to not have a CV that is pages long, make sure it stands out in the best possible way. My CV is literally one page as I consider the hiring manager looking through hundreds of cvs. I also get them to think outside of the box. What can they do to stand out from everyone else and go and do that.

One's self needs to understand their brand for the CV to tell the story they will emphasis during the interview to get the job they want.

Career coaching and resume writing is not niche; however, I have advised clients to have multiple resumes curtailed to the job that they are seeking. If my clients needed further assistance, I have referred them to career coaches and resume writers who are experts in their respected fields.

Coaches can assist clients with resume writing by offering personalized guidance on showcasing strengths, achievements, and skills. They can help clients identify and articulate their unique value proposition, ensuring the resume aligns with their career goals. Providing insights on industry-specific keywords and tailoring the resume to different job applications enhances its effectiveness. Additionally, life coaches can guide clients in crafting compelling accomplishment statements and refining the overall structure and formatting. Offering ongoing support and encouragement throughout the resume-writing process helps clients build confidence in presenting their professional narratives effectively.

By undertaking the Graves Values assessment, a life coach can help a client see their default neurology eg. Level 3: Egocentric (doing best in intense competition); Level 4: Self-Sacrifice for the Mission/Rules (strong for stability and conformity); Level 5: Entrepreneurial (break and make better). With this being understood, the coach can help the client see the roles that match and don't match their current automatics. If a client is seeking a role that they doesn't match their current default, this can be examined to see if the neurology needs updating or the role isn't a good fit. Then, either way, the resume can be updated to reflect the clients neurological strengths.