Occasionally I have to turn a prospect for a resume project away because I have determined that they really aren’t ready to work with me. There are five signs that a person is just not in the right place to begin a resume project and doing so would lead to frustration rather than a positive experience. Are you any of these people?

1. You don’t have time to be part of the process. Resume writing is a very collaborative process. Expect to spend time being interviewed by the writer or completing some sort of questionnaire so the writer can gather the appropriate information. Forwarding them a copy of your old resume and expecting them to glean the best information from it won’t cut it. If you are extremely busy, under an enormous amount of stress, or just in a really bad place emotionally, this might not be the best time to embark on an overhaul of your resume.
2. You haven’t spent any time thinking about the value you can bring to an employer. The writer’s job is to best represent you and advertise the benefits you can bring to an organization. But they can only write from the information you supply. A good writer will ask targeted questions to get at the key information that they need to write a strong resume for you. You must be willing to be introspective about your past experience. You need to start thinking less about your job tasks and more about what makes you good at what you do. If you wait until the day you meet your writer to discuss what you have accomplished, you are sure to omit key information or forget something that could help the writer do a better job.
3. You expect your writer to write about skills you don’t have. If you have an expectation that the writer is there to embellish your experience or suggest you have competencies you don’t, forget about it. An ethical writer will only create a true representation of your skills. We don’t make stuff up.
4. You can’t let go of anything. If you are so attached to the great work you did on a Y2K project in 1999 or your stellar GPA in 1982, you will struggle with one of the real benefits of working with a writer…the ability to look at all of your accomplishments objectively and showcase the ones that have the most relevance in the current market. Approach the process with an open mind and let the writer help you make decisions about the content.
5. You want a resume that looks just like the sample one on the writer’s website. Don’t get me wrong. it’s a great idea to review sample resumes to get an idea of the writer’s style. But don’t expect your resume to look like the one on the sample page. That resume represents someone else’s experience. Yours needs to represent you and you alone. This isn’t the drive through window at McDonalds where every hamburger is the same; it’s more like a salad bar that mixes and matches the best choices for each individual.