Frequently Asked Questions

Over the years, the job market has changed dramatically. Years ago, just having a “chat” with a potential employer was often enough to get your foot in the door. Now, the single most important document you need to sell your skills and experience to a potential employer is an outstanding résumé/CV. You have 30 seconds to get the attention of the reader. How can you do this when you are competing against hundreds of other applicants applying for the same position?

WARNING: If you are a professional resume writer, then write your resume yourself. If you are not, DON’T! Here’s why:

Regardless of what you might have heard about knowing yourself (the product) best, it rarely if ever means you are the most qualified to sell yourself on paper. Think about it — if products were marketed by their creators, then Coca-Cola would be marketed by chemists and the corporation would not be the multi-billion dollar brand that it is today!

While you yourself might not yet represent a multi-billion dollar brand, your resume does have the power to position you to attain the goals you desire – when it’s done properly. We encourage you to invest in your career – the one area of your life that makes all other wants and needs possible – so you can take control, get what you want, and avoid wasting time. Time is money and opportunity, and when your goal position is staring you in the face, you don’t want to lose out!! You’ve got just one chance to make a great first impression, and Total Résumés is your partner in doing just that.

If your resume fails to stand out or highlight your value it will be tossed aside on the “no” pile and not looked at again….How does your resume stack up? Are you sending out your current resume but not getting selected for interviews? If yes, the first place we need to look is your resume. You have come to the right place!

If you have Googled Resumes, Professional Resumes or similar you will be overwhelmed with a large search result of service providers based all around Australia. Warning: All résumé writers are not equal. Total Résumés offers an individualised and collaborative service for clients. We do not take on a large amount of clients each month preferring to work with fewer clients with a focus on achieving maximum results for all.

We invest heavily in further study to stay well-informed of industry needs and changes ensuring our documents are current. At Total Résumés we do it all:

• Professionally written and developed résumés
• Tailored application and canvassing letters
• Clear, concise selection criteria responses
• Dynamic LinkedIn profiles
• Interview coaching
• Job search advice
• Career guidance

Some things to consider when engaging a professional resume writer:

Are you able to identify your writer?
Does your writer possess one–or more career development credentials?
Will your writer use a resume writing program or pre-designed (Microsoft) template?
Does your writer know what employers/recruiters are looking for in candidates?
Does your writer use a word processing program that you do not have on your computer system?
Will your writer provide you with a Word document that you can modify as needed, or will you have to return for help?
What is the turnaround time – 24hrs is too quick to create individualised strategic documents?

A cheap service can cost more in the long run…

At Total Resumes you will work with seasoned professionals. Our Principal is 1 of only 5 Certified Executive Resume Masters in Australia. You will find details of our industry credentials and memberships on our website. When you work with our business you are assured of personalised, expert service and no sub-contracting to less qualified writers.

The world has changed. The times when people searched for professionals based on geographical proximity to home are over. Today, the Internet has set new rules for consumers and service providers. A Certified Executive Résumé Master (CERM) provides a definitive point of difference with talents that have been industry scrutinised and tested, and found to be superior. Our clients can be confident that as CERMs we are: * Ambitious in honing our craft and continuously maintaining contemporary knowledge of job-seeking trends and résumé writing strategies. * Experienced résumé writing strategists; professionals who employ sound and tested knowledge to help jobseekers secure interviews. * Dedicated to professional development by sustaining membership in CDI and accumulating CEUs to maintain the credential. * A cut above my competitors. We are confident of our expertise and willing to be scrutinised by industry leaders.

Resume Writing & Document Development Certifications:

• Certified Master Resume Writer – 1 of only 6 in Australia and 41 worldwide
• Certified Executive Resume Master – 1 of only 3 in Australia and 36 worldwide
• Certified Career Storyteller – The 1^st and only 1 in Australia and 1 of 5 worldwide
• Certified Graphic Resume Architect – The 1^st and only 1 in Australia and 1 of 8 worldwide

Career Services/Coaching Certifications:

• Certified Employment Interview Consultant – 1 of only 4 in Australia and 37 worldwide
• Certified Professional – Online Job Search & Reputation Mgmt. – 1 of only 2 in Australia and 12 worldwide

Industry Recognition: Toast of the Resume Industry (TORI) Award Wins

• 1st Place: Best Executive Resume, 2020
• 1st Place: Best Healthcare/Medical Resume, 2020
• 1st Place: Best Marketing Resume, 2020
• 2nd Place: Best Sales Resume, 2020
• 2nd Place: Best Hospitality Resume, 2019
• 3rd Place: Best Sales Resume, 2019

View our dynamic samples

Read our outstanding testimonials

After you’ve placed your order online–working together is easy! For our professional resumes, we ask for 60 – 90 minutes of your time to complete our detailed questionnaire focussed on uncovering your unique brand, experiences, talents, passions, achievements and more. It may be necessary for you to chase up some referees, project details, or other information as requested by us. From there we’ll address any questions or changes you may have and work together to finalise the documents.

Each project is unique just as our clients are and the preparation time can vary depending on how much information each client has collected. The entire process can take between 7 to 21 business days (additional documents can extend the project) and will include a final resume formatted in MS Word and Adobe PDF).

The first drafts of your documents are returned to you within 7 to 14 business days from the project start date. We then ask clients to respond with any edits or amendments required within 3 business days. 2 rounds of edits/amendments are offered before documents are finalised. Final documents are sent via email only.

In exceptional circumstances, we have been able to create professional documents for clients in around 4 days, but that has only occurred when clients have ensured all of the necessary information was available up front. If you need your documents in 4 days it can be accommodated, when our schedule permits. We do however have an additional charge if you specifically order the priority option.

All documents will be backed up and stored in our cloud-based system and are available within one business day of your request, so if you need another copy ASAP send us an email. Due to the popularity of our services, we sometimes have a waiting list but please email us if you have an urgent need.

The old saying “You get what you pay for” definitely rings true when it comes to professional resume writing. We see a professional resume as an investment and not a cost. It can take up to 10 hours to write a winning resume just to get to first draft stage, then there are several rounds of edits done within Total Résumés, before your documents are ready for your review.

We keep our costs down by providing résumé packages and working with clients online whenever possible. This may necessitate following up our questionnaire by phone to clarify some details, but through working online initially, our clients get 5-star service at a reduced cost. All of our clients benefit as a result. Our package fees are located on our home page.

At Total Résumés, all of our documents and clients get EXACTLY the same level of attention and service irrespective of how long you’ve been in the workforce, and you should demand this from whichever service you choose to write your career documents. Our prices are considerably less than the very high-end résumé writers and have been deliberately structured so that this service is accessible to those who are prepared to make an investment in their future. You engage us for our expertise in developing career marketing documents.

There are a lot of résumé writing services out there, some of them are very good, but we would caution you against using the very inexpensive, low-end résumé writing factories.

Totally! We provide you with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, that you will have the most effective marketing documents based on our professional experience. Our clients have been successful in fast-tracking their job search, securing more job interviews and being offered competitive roles.

Beware if a writer guarantees you a job, run! No resume writer can offer you the guarantee of a job simply because so many factors come into play such as the current job market, your interview skills, the quality of your competition, social media alarms, cover letter blunders, errors in submitting your application and more.

A great resume is just one element of your job search tool kit. We do offer additional interview coaching, and other resources to give you every possible advantage and help you outperform your competition.

Total Résumés offers a full online and phone consultation service. We successfully conduct business this way, which saves both us and our clients time and reduces the opportunity for distractions. Being an accepted industry custom in today’s tech savvy society we find that being 100% virtual results in more productive business days.

Our detailed questionnaire is designed to extract all the information needed to create your winning resume and career documents. If we need additional evidence or clarification we will email or phone. It’s simple and… It works!

We are located in Hobart, Tasmania however work with clients all over the world successfully on a daily basis. All we need is your information…and we do the rest.

Hobart, Launceston, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales

Total Résumés does not offer refunds.  All purchases are considered final. Once payment has been made, the creation of your documents begins.

Total Résumés has built a reputation of trust and confidentiality. With a large amount of clients we have worked with, many come from the same company, project, trade background, or it tends to be a case of everyone knows everyone.

We do not share any of your information without your permission and all documents are maintained in the strictest of confidence.

Your documents will be prepared to a standard that complies with the Career Directors International’s practices, which have been proven to be effective and defined as industry best practice. As professional resume writers we ask that you trust our judgement and have faith in the knowledge that what we create for you has been deemed as accurate and to be of a high standard.

What can you expect your Total Resumes, resume to look like? It will:

• Target your desired position and industry from top to bottom.
• Minimise pitfalls with dates, gaps, career/industry changes, schooling, and job longevity.
• Emphasise your unique selling propositions and brand at the forefront in the summary area.
• Create hooks at the start of job descriptions that set the stage for the position goals and challenges.
• Utilise a model throughout the resume body such as CAR (challenge, action, result) to demonstrate your contributions and accomplishments.
• Play up seemingly extraneous extracurricular activity and accomplishments as needed to meet the target and stand out for the position.
• Be visually appealing, an easy-to-read and easy to navigate layout, that is attractive and engaging whether it has basic formatting or includes charts, graphs, and call out boxes.

RÉSUMÉ SERVICES PURCHASED VIA WEBSITE

• Select the resume package appropriate to your level of expertise via our website totalresumes.com.au
• Select ‘Buy Now’ and then proceed to the Check Out process.
• Upload your existing resume, and provide us with as much additional information that you think may be helpful in the creation of your resume.
• After submitting your details, you will be directed to our secure payment page where you can enter your card details.
• Once payment has been received we will then go through your current résumé / additional information and create a personalised questionnaire enabling us to gather further information about you, your specific work experience, strengths, achievements and career aspirations.
• We will email the questionnaire to the email address you provide and wait for you to return the completed form. Pls note: The entire process can take between 7 to 21 business days so we encourage you to complete and return your questionnaire as quickly as possible. (Turnaround time commences once questionnaire has been returned to us).
• Once received, we will set about creating your career marketing documents and email them to you for approval.
• We do ask clients to respond with any edits or amendments required within 3 business days.
• 2 rounds of edits/amendments are offered before documents are finalised.
• Final documents are sent via email only.

RÉSUMÉ SERVICES BY EMAIL

If you HAVE a current or old Résumé

• Email your current or old résumé to us at carolyn@totalresumes.com.au
• Advise us of your preferred payment method and we will forward details to you for payment along with our Client Agreement Form for you to read, complete and email back to us.
• You make payment and advise us of same.
• Once payment has been received we will then go through your current résumé / additional information and create a personalised questionnaire enabling us to gather further information about you, your specific work experience, strengths, achievements and career aspirations.
• We will email the questionnaire to the email address you provide and wait for you to return the completed form. Pls note: The entire process can take between 7 to 21 business days so we encourage you to complete and return our questionnaire as quickly as possible.
• Once received, we will set about creating your career marketing documents and email them to you for approval.
• We do ask clients to respond with any edits or amendments required within 3 business days.
• 2 rounds of edits/amendments are offered before documents are finalised.
• Final documents are sent via email only.

If you DON’T HAVE a current or old Résumé

• Advise us of your preferred payment method and we will forward details to you for payment along with our Client Agreement Form for you to read, complete and email back to us.
• You make payment and advise us of same.
• Once payment has been received we will create a personalised questionnaire enabling us to gather information about you, your specific work experience, strengths, achievements and career aspirations
• We will email the questionnaire to the email address you provide and wait for you to return the completed form. Pls note: The entire process can take between 7 to 21 business days so we encourage you to complete and return our questionnaire as quickly as possible.
• Once received, we will set about creating your career marketing documents and email them to you for approval.
• We do ask clients to respond with any edits or amendments required within 3 business days.
• 2 rounds of edits/amendments are offered before documents are finalised.
• Final documents are sent via email only.

If you’re applying for positions online there’s a good chance that your resume will be received, scanned by an ATS (applicant tracking system), and entered into a recruiter’s database. Your resume won’t meet human eyes until after it’s been classified by a computer – and even then it will only be read by a person if it’s a good match for an electronic search. We’ll optimise your resume for ATS, ensuring it contains the correct formatting and industry-specific keywords to increase its chances of passing through and being picked up by any resume scanning software.

Our design resumes are visually engaging interview-winning documents prepared using a variety of expert styling techniques. These resumes are designed to showcase your creativity and differentiate you from the many others applying for the same positions. Present one of our stylised resumes during interviews and you will stand out from the crowd!