What resume did I use to get hired after working for myself for 10+ years?
Before I share exactly what I did, the tools I used, and how I prepped for interviews…
…I want to emphasize that I am not offering career coaching services 😂
This is purely my experience.
Getting The First Job
Oct 2015 was when I quit my job to go full-time in my business. A few years later I saw what looked like a dream job so I interviewed in 2019 to be a webinar producer for a well-known tech company. Although I didn’t get the job, I was told that I made it to the final round.
Then in 2021, I used the same resume to get hired full-time at a marketing agency as a Demand Generation Manager.
That job lasted 90 days before I realized I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to being a full-time business owner.
Fast forward to the end of 2022 and I took a trip to Egypt for the first time.
It was a truly life-changing experience.
That was when I realized that the life I was chasing was no longer the one I wanted.
Here’s why.
Initially when I started my business, I wanted to make a million dollars, get famous enough to be on TV, and travel non-stop.
As I grew older I realized that I enjoyed my privacy more than I wanted fame. And I discovered that chasing that million dollars led me to make some poor financial decisions (which is another story for another day).
And finally, I found that even traveling could be tiring. At most, I desire 3-4 trips per year–twice to the beach in the winter, a local city trip in the summer, and a bucket list trip every other year.
Why I Ultimately Decided to Transition
With those realizations, at the start of 2023 I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. On one hand I had to hold on to this business I had created, and on the other hand, I just wanted to be free of the obligation to keep it running.
Enter burnout.
That’s why, mid 2023, I made the decision to wind down my coaching business, put most of my digital products on autopilot, and start seriously looking for a traditional job.
The main reason I transitioned is that I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do with my career. I just knew I no longer wanted to do what I was doing.
Every day I was getting up to go through the motions, and some days I was just spending most of the day on the couch, watching TV.
For me burnout looked like zero energy to do anything other than the bare minimum.
I didn’t want to create any new products, re-launch any old ones, or market my services.
I just wanted to work from 9-5 and have weekends off.
That’s when I dusted off the old resume…
…and got rejection after rejection.
Creating a Portfolio
As I was applying to marketing jobs, I discovered that I was lacking a portfolio. So I took a week pulling one together.
I had to track down old metrics, campaigns, results, and nice things I built for fun. By the end of it, it looked like this. Digital Marketing Portfolio [Public Version]
After that portfolio, I got a few more initial screening calls, but that was it.
Narrowing Down the Search
That’s when I contacted my friend Courtney–who was also a coach in The Path to 6-Figures–and I asked for her advice. She helped me narrow down my skills into two different resumes.
I created one that was purely marketing focused as a media buyer–running Facebook and Google ad campaigns to generate leads. I created a second that was focused primarily on sales–sharing my results in communication and sales conversions.
Apparently, my old resume was not getting past these new applicant tracking systems that screen out candidates. So she told me about a site that creates a resume tailored to the job description. It uses the right keywords to help your resume get past the first screening. When I tested my old resume with the tool they scored it at 43%, but after making the changes they suggested, it scored 86%.
I started applying with that new resume and within 2 months I had my first job. It wasn’t the perfect fit so I kept applying and got hired with my current employer.
This is the resume that I used, before and after.
The Winning Resume
OLD_LaTisha Clayton Resume | NEW_LaTisha Clayton Resume
The biggest change is that I realized I didn’t have to squeeze all of my experience into one page. Also, I needed to position myself with a singular focus, even though I have multiple talents.
I hope this has been helpful for you. Getting the job is only the first hurdle. Now I have to demonstrate that hiring me was a profitable decision.
Getting Clients for a Startup
That leads me to what I got hired to do–get clients. My strategy is simple. I plan to follow their existing blueprint and then add my own flair. This is what I have accomplished so far.
Within the first two months I generated $255k of pipeline. Those are initial conversations with potential clients. I did this by attending events and scheduling intro meetings.
But I don’t want to only rely on events to hit my goals. So I’ve also been creating email sequences, calling potential clients, and creating LinkedIn content to generate demand.
Takeaways to Help You Get Clients (or a new job)
This letter was a little different than what I normally write for the 7-Figure Weekly. Because I’ve been gone for a few months, I wanted to share what I’ve been up to and how I plan to balance life, work, and business moving forward.
As I was thinking of a summary I realized that the way I got hired was pretty much the same way I understand the process of getting clients.
Step 1: Get specific
I had to narrow down the type of job title I wanted and tailor my search and efforts there. The same is true for getting clients. Who do you really want to work with?
Step 2: Be Unique
You are unique. I had to stop looking at my entrepreneurial experience as a negative and view it as a positive instead. It became my unique selling proposition which made me well suited for start-ups. I’m no stranger to building and working hard independently.
Step 3: Be Persistent
If you’re doing what everyone else is doing to get clients, then you’ll fall into the same traps. Keep trying new things and don’t give up. If you truly desire something you can have it! You just have to be willing to do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until it takes.