In today’s rapidly changing and ultra-competitive job search environment, you need to make sure that all of your communication tools are providing consistent messages and working hard for you.  Handcrafted Resumes LLC can help you achieve these powerful synergies.  Most job seekers don’t routinely keep their resumes up to date and few are expert at constructing the types of resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles that are necessary for competing in today’s job market. Trying to come up with powerful and effective resumes on your own can be very time consuming and frustrating.  Let's face it, most professionals are paid to be experts in their chosen profession. They are not paid to be expert resume writers. The process that we use to create your communication tools will actually save you significant time because all of your efforts will be effectively focused in the right direction.

An added advantage for CPG Industry professionals is that Handcrafted Resumes LLC is focused on Sales, National Accounts, Category Management, Field Marketing and other leadership roles within the industry.  Tom is a 30-year veteran of the CPG industry. He knows how the various distribution channels work and he knows the job requirements. Tom’s 10 years of experience as a CPG consultant and recruiter give Handcrafted Resume clients a valuable competitive edge.

The simple answer is “Maybe.”  Of course, the basic information in your resume needs to be current and accurate.  So, with most resume submissions being made via some form of internet attachment or email, the need for strong, consistent and effective resumes and cover letters has never been greater.  There are defined, objective criteria that resumes can be evaluated against to assess their strength and potential effectiveness.  If you are in doubt, please send us your latest resume.  We will be happy to assess it and give you honest feedback, free of charge.

Yes.  We have the experience and training to insure that all of our clients receive high quality documents and tools that meet or exceed industry best practices.  However, our industry experience and resume writing expertise are heavily focused with suppliers, distributors and retailers participating in CPG industry categories.  Handcrafted Resumes' experience can give CPG professionals an edge when writing and submitting their documents for specific opportunities where it becomes essential to powerfully communicate experience, strengths and accomplishments.

We believe that the best resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles come from strong collaboration with our clients.  The reason why collaboration is so important is that when the documents are finished, it is essential that the client embraces the documents as their own.  Handcrafted Resume clients will not be surprised by any fact interpretations or written content that they didn’t approve of or understand.  HCR clients can present their documents with complete confidence because, at the end of the day, they will be their documents.  To facilitate this collaborative effort, we will use emails, phone calls and video conferencing to make sure that the end results meet our client’s expectations.

Yes.  Our objective is to create resumes that are visually impactful and easy to navigate.  However, the most important aspect of this creative process is that the client is completely comfortable with both the look and the content of the finished product.  This comfort level will be a key product of the collaboration process.

Most resume writing projects take about 6 or 7 working sessions spread over a 3 to 4 week period.”

Since we do not control the solicitation or job seeking processes, we cannot guarantee a minimum number of interviews or LinkedIn Profile views within a given time frame.  However, we do guarantee that you will receive clean, polished and professional documents.  We will revise all documents until you are completely satisfied.  In addition, should you discover during the course of your job search that your resume or your cover letters require significant editing we will do this editing at no charge.

Yes.  About 30% of company recruiters indicate that they never look at or consider cover letters.  That means that 70% still do.  Also, when sending your resume directly to the hiring manager or the hiring manager’s boss, a cover email or cover letter is still typically expected.  There are many different types of or reasons for cover letters.  We can write or we can help you script and utilize letter formats that are appropriate and effective for your needs.  Here’s a closing thought to consider; If most of your competitors are submitting resumes without cover letters, could you potentially gain a competitive advantage if you are one of those who do?

Yes.  According to the 2021 Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report, 94% of company recruiters used LinkedIn to find and evaluate candidates.  Having a strong LinkedIn profile that helps get you discovered is no longer an option.  While your LinkedIn profile needs to make you highly visible, it also needs to work hard towards qualifying you as a viable candidate with high potential.  We provide effective LinkedIn profile coaching to help you accomplish your goals.

Our office is located in Livonia Michigan which is a suburb of Detroit.  While our clients come from all over the United States, if you are local to the Detroit area, we would welcome the opportunity to work with you in person.

Prices for resume writing services range from free (if you Google “Resume Writing” you can access basic template documents from a couple of different sites for free.), to a high of over $7,000.  Our services are not free, but we are nowhere near the high end.

At Handcrafted Resumes LLC, we believe that every client’s situation and needs are different and we develop unique service proposals and quotes based on these varying needs.  However, we have established guidelines which are based on estimates of the time and expertise required to meet our client’s needs.  While our services are not free, rest assured, they are very competitive and nowhere near the high end of the profession.  Here are the basic guidelines that we base our quotes on:

• Resume Re-Write and Upgrade $750
• LinkedIn Profile Upgrade $500
• Custom Cover Letters - $175 for the 1st, $125 each for 2 or more
• All 3 services bundle priced $1175 (a $1425 value)

• There are a number of ways to address this question.  A commonly used method is to calculate your lost wages for each week that you are still seeking your next position.  For the last decade the average length of job searches for salaried positions has varied between 4 and 6 months.  If you seek a position with a salary of $100,000, your weekly average salary will be $1,923.  If having effective, coordinated and consistent sales tools e.g. Resume, Cover Letters, LinkedIn Profile, etc., can shave just 1 week from the job search, then a $750 investment would appear to be well worth it.
• Another way of looking at this is that in the United States there are about 6 to 7 million people actively looking for new jobs at any point in time.  The vast majority of these job seekers go about their searches by essentially “winging it” when it comes to writing their resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles.  Keep in mind that the average recruiter only spends between 8 and 15 seconds scanning a resume to determine whether the applicant gets to move forward in the process or is rejected.  Any competitive edge that a job seeker can gain in that 8 to 15-second window of opportunity can be a potential game-changer. Here is a sobering statistic: In 2018, only 12% of candidates who applied for a job, got an interview (Jobvite 2019 Recruiting Benchmark Report).
• One of the best ways to think about the value that well written resumes and cover letters can provide is the confidence that they can give you.  This confidence will show itself in the powerful cover letters that are easy for you to write.  Well-written and focused resumes can be highly effective in generating interview questions and steering these conversations in ways that allow you to showcase your skills and accomplishments in the best possible light.  In the hands of an effective interviewer, a well-written resume can actually script the interview. This provides a great advantage to the candidate.  Confidence in your written materials and yourself are certainly soft benefits, but they are very real.

We understand that emergencies arise and we will do our best to accommodate each client’s specific situation and needs.  What we will not do is delay one client’s work in favor of a different client.  Many career coaches preach that the best time to look for a job is when you already have one.  However, in order to do that, you have to have your resume up-to-date and looking sharp before you need it. Keeping your resume up-to-date is a great way to be ready for all opportunities that arise.