Cloud. Networking. Hardware. SaaS. DevOps. If you’re an information technology professional, such as a senior network engineer, software developer, and especially a CIO, you certainly know these terms. The technology field is changing rapidly, especially in cities like the Boston Metro. Route 128 is known as Boston’s Technology Corridor. It’s arguably the second largest tech hub behind Silicon Valley. Several major companies are headquartered there, such as HubSpot, Constant Contact, TripAdvisor, and EMC. As technology innovation reaches a fever pitch, I.T. jobs are being created that nobody would have heard of just a few years ago.
With so much competition, it’s important to make sure your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn are on point so you stand out among a wave of qualified applicants. Here at Spring Forward Resumes, we’ve worked with countless CIOs and technology project managers to help them achieve their dream jobs.
Sasha’s Story
A recent client of ours, Sasha*, had a unique background. She held dual roles at a small Boston technology company as a supply chain manager and a technology project manager. Not only did she manage inventory and vendors, she also directed project teams to create and deploy complex applications in the DevOps space.
Sasha was frustrated at doing two jobs for one salary, and felt that she reached the limit on advancement at the company. After performing a Google search for a Boston resume services, she found Spring Forward Resumes. Sasha explained that she wanted to hire a good resume service in Boston or Rhode Island (having someone local was important to her) so that she could move forward with her goal: to find a position at a global company and relocate to California. Making such a big change can be intimidating, and many people wouldn’t have the courage to leave a steady job and look for a dream job like this.
We assured Sasha that not only did we have more than 15 years of expertise helping clients make big changes in their professional lives, we work with people one-on-one throughout the process. Our team digs beyond the surface to capture people’s passions and express them on paper in the most authentic way. For Sasha, her dream was to be able to innovate and excite people with the applications she could create, and make a difference on a worldwide scale.
The Process
We encouraged Sasha to tell us exactly what she envisioned, and helped her uncover themes in her experience where she had already disrupted the industry. One of her applications was deployed in an overseas, emerging market – and broke the barriers to entry so more people could use cutting-edge technology in their daily lives.
Unfortunately, Sasha’s resume and career materials were very bland, and didn’t capture these stories. She had blocks of text with every single duty and responsibility in both jobs. Achievements were buried under repetitive, mundane paragraphs. Her resume was 5 pages long! We knew, for Sasha to achieve her ultimate dream job, a complete overhaul of her resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile was necessary.
We started the process by discovering more about her experience, likes, dislikes, and accomplishments. We helped her put it all together with a comprehensive job search strategy to target her ideal workplace. She wanted to move to California and get a job as a senior technology program manager at a large, Silicon Valley company – a lofty goal. Sasha had the experience and the drive to do it; she just needed us, a resume service company, in her corner to help her showcase all of that.
Sasha faced formidable competition in a place like Silicon Valley, so we needed to make sure that her vast experience in managing project teams, sourcing vendors, developing high-profile technology applications, and directing the entire program around these applications, was highlighted in all her materials. We also showcased how her many years working in Boston, as the second-biggest technology innovator in the U.S. besides Silicon Valley, and the top region for startups, prepared her to work with major players in the industry.
Working with Sasha was a delight. Though she had many questions and concerns throughout the process, our resume service team at Spring Forward answered them through email, phone, and text, often off hours to accommodate her schedule. We know that this process is personal, and we show that through the care we give our clients. When we finished all of her documents, she said, “Is this it? I’m excited yet also a bit scared. I feel like a child, not wanting to let go of Mom’s hands!” We assured her that we never forget our clients, and she could reach out to us anytime.
Four months later…
One day, our owner, Karen, received a note from Sasha. Though it was an insanely busy day, she took the time to read. We love hearing from our clients to see how they’re doing! Karen was thrilled with what Sasha wrote:
“Dear Karen, I have been meaning to write you and tell you that I am here in San Francisco and getting settled. I was in orientation and training, so I just left my big suitcases in my corporate housing! I got what I wanted! New job, big company, and a new city!”
This is exactly why we do what we do – to strive to be the best resume service in Boston and beyond – and we are so glad things worked out for Sasha!
*Name has been changed for privacy.