Professional resume consultants / services?

[ahisma]

After 10 years as a consultant / employee at the same non-profit, I'm reading the writing on the wall and realizing that I need to look elsewhere. I started at this company right out of law school (returned later in life) and landed there accidentally. All of this is to say that I have no idea how to start looking.

My immediate goal is my resume. I am a lawyer who works in health policy and compliance for a community health plan. I do have some valuable experience there - I've drafted legislation, worked with senior health plan counsel, worked with CMS to achieve a notable and unique certification, etc. It's tough to explain though, and I know that I need some professional resume advice to do this right.

Any pointers on where to start? I'm incredibly sad to be looking, because I believe in what I do. I need to do this right though - for myself and my family.

[KpbS]

No specific resume advice, but I would think of your contacts in the private sector and the most sensible areas of law for you to slide into based on your work specialization. I’d probably begin by drafting your resume rather generally—degrees, work history, and a couple of major accomplishments, and then tailor it a bit more for a particular job/position. I’m sorry you have to start looking, but hope that you find a new job that is a great fit.

[sariana]

Besides crafting your resume, you'll also want to build your network. Are you on LinkedIn or any other professional network? These services often provide resume advice too. You can follow all kinds of people and organizations on LinkedIn, and people frequently post job-hunting advice.

[hellokitty]

Wow, awesome background! If you have experience with CMS, you could easily work for a large health system. We always need legal counsel and your background with healthy policy and government will be valued.

[mmsmom]

I believe I asked on this board and used an online resume service. There are many of them... I don’t know which one I used but chose by reading reviews. Most do a package with resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. I tweaked the writing a bit but the format was great and something I would never have come up with on my own. And if you itemize the fee is a tax deduction. In recently started a new job with a foreign company and in the interview process one person made a huge deal about my resume and how well written it was and how much they learned from it... I didn’t know quite what to say but realized hiring a resume writer may not be the norm in other countries.

I found LinkedIn was the best for job postings... easy to sort and communicate with posters.

[smiles33]

I'm sorry you feel pushed to leave. One advice is to see if your law school might offer resume and career counseling services to alumni. I know mine does. Otherwise, if you use a paid service, make sure it's someone familiar with the legal field. You want someone who knows the best way to frame your experience, the right verbs to use, what facts to emphasize, etc. Good luck!

[ahisma]

Thank you all. It's a tough spot. I love what I do and am committed to the mission and the organization. It's funding driven - tough times for all. They'd love for me to stay - but there are only so many cuts we can weather (DH is a teacher, so cuts on both sides). I have the gift of being employed while searching, but I feel very conflicted about leaving at all.