Examples of Professionally Written Job Search and Career Marketing Documents That Go Beyond the Resume
The “traditional” resume and cover letter still play a primary role in the job search and we do not expect that to change in the near future. But, in recent years there has been a real evolution in thought and creativity regarding content, length, and formats of resumes. Accelerated by an increasingly competitive job market, a variety of new job search and career marketing documents have emerged and are gaining in use and popularity.
The example job search and career marketing documents presented in this portfolio are examples of some of the creative documents that we, at Distinctive Documents, have prepared for our clients. These are just examples of our work, meant to illustrate the quality, effectiveness, and creativity of the documents we develop. Please note that these examples are protected by copyright law and that copying is prohibited.
Networking Resume
A shorter, more concise, one-page version of your complete resume that is useful in networking situations when you don’t want to hand out your full resume. Your networking resume is created to succinctly convey the key facts, major highlights, and your value proposition in an attractive format. You may want to hand several of these to your contacts, for them to use when reaching out on your behalf to their own networking contacts.
See example networking resumes
Specialty Profiles
Usually a one-page document submitted as an addendum to your resume. A specialty profile can be used to showcase your specific area of expertise. Leadership Profiles, Consulting Engagement Profiles, and Technology Profiles are particularly common, but specialty profiles or capability summaries can be created for individuals with expertise in any area. Profiles might include such items as lists of training or presentations, case studies, lists of clients or projects, technology summaries, or even brief case studies.
See example capabilities summary
Biographical Sketches
Typically, a one-page narrative summary marketing your key qualifications and career achievements. Biographical sketches are often included in business plan submissions or when seeking Board appointments or speaking engagements. You may be asked for a biography by a hiring company, to use in their marketing materials or on their website.
See example executive biographies
References Sheets
Going beyond a simple listing of references, your references sheet becomes a key “selling” piece in your overall career marketing strategy. Again, it is usually a one-page document that includes a summary of your relationship with each reference and your traits and qualifications that the individual reference will speak about.
Expanded Achievement Summaries
A great way to include more in-depth information about key accomplishments than is practical in the resume. Expanded achievement summaries are rarely longer than two pages and should include a few expanded achievement stories written in the Challenge-Actions-Results format.
See an example expanded achievements summary
Other Job Search Documents
No matter what your career goal, at Distinctive Documents we can help you attain it with creative career marketing documents customized to your specific needs.
To review our example cover letters, click here.
For resume examples, please click here.
Client Testimonials
I just want to let you know that this week I had four interviews and 3 job offers! One is with my mentor's company, XXXXX, another with XXXXX, and a third with XXXXX. The salary ranges are from $80-$100k. I'm deliberating now about my options, and will start "negotiations" this afternoon. Two job offers came on the same day (yesterday). Three of the interviews came from my on line responses to ads. The XXXX interview was arranged by my mentor who suggested I apply for a position. This all happened (the callbacks) between 1-3 days after I posted my resume. The VP at XXXXX who interviewed me said that he reads thousands of resumes, and that mine was really exceptional. He was talking about your work. Thank you!
(Received a few days later from the same client...)
I start August 4th as an assistant PM working first on a 1.5 billion (with a "b") dollar proposal, then off to the job site in September, working either on the XXXXXX renovation project or various cultural projects with musuems, libraries, etc. in XXXXX. Starting salary $90k with a review and increase to $95 by the end of the year. If I finish my PMP and LEED certifications, I will get an additional $3k for each certification.
I'm so happy that this happened so quickly and that it's such a great job! As I mentioned, the reason they called is because of the resume. They were also impressed by the biography, and apparently the interview went well too :) Thanks again for everything. I couldn't have done it without you.
— C.R., New York
Michelle was very friendly and extremely professional. After she completed my resume I sent out only two resumes and actually received both interviews! I accepted one of these positions at an annual salary $12,000 higher than I was receiving previously...
— J.V., New Hampshire
Happy belated new year! I hope that things are going well for you and all the gang at Distinctive Documents. This note is to let you know that I’ve moved to Jacksonville where I have accepted a position with XXXX the title and escrow insurer. As such, I’ve moved back into operations and although it’s early in the game, things appear to be going well.
Michelle, et al., I want to thank you for your assistance during this last job search. Fortunately, I was able to make the change quickly and to a familiar locale. I’ve also referred a number of people to you as your resumes have always brought me luck. I was only out of work for 6 weeks and everyone said I had one of the best resumes they have ever seen.
— L.W., Florida
