About Us

Cliff Flamer, MS, NCC, NCRW, CPRW and CEO of BrightSide Resumes, is a preeminent career counselor, resume writer, and job-search coach with a background in recruiting. He has won awards, media mentions, spots on NPR, and numerous guest-speaking invitations for his expertise in writing resumes and coaching job seekers in Silicon Valley, the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and all across the U.S.

As Principal Writer and Counselor/Coach, Cliff leads a smart, positive, lean team of editors and administrative professionals who fully embrace the BrightSide and are masters in their own right.

Image of Cliff Flamer, CEO BrightSide Resumes

Industry Awards

  • Winner of the first and only "World's Best Resume Writer" competition (People's Choice Award), earning top votes from a seasoned hiring panel of HR specialists, recruiters, executives, and fellow resume writers, as well as from thousands of job seekers voting anonymously via LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
  • Received the most prestigious award in Counseling from San Francisco State University, "The Peggy H. Smith Distinguished Student Award," followed by an invitation from the Chair to join the faculty upon graduation.
  • Earned 2 additional awards from San Francisco State University for exceptional performance and contributions to Communities of Color.
  • Won several industry-level resume-writing awards, including TORI Awards from Career Directors International (CDI) and ROAR Awards for the National Resume Writers Association (NRWA).
  • Honored as a resume-writing judge for CDI's national awards contest.

Certifications

  • Nationally Certified Counselor with the National Board for Counselor Certification (NBCC)—a credential requiring 2 years of graduate-level counselor training from an accredited institution.
  • Certified Professional Resume Writer with the Professional Association of Resume Writers (PARW). Scored in top 1% in the country on entrance exam. Invited to join exam review board.
  • Nationally Certified Resume Writer with the National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA). Appointed as Certification Chair for a term due to credentials, reputation, and high-quality craftsmanship.

Degrees

  • Master's degree in Career & College Counseling from San Francisco State University's CACREP-accredited graduate program, the premier hands-on counseling program in Northern California, requiring 1,500 hours of supervised psychological, career, and academic counseling.
  • Bachelor's degree in English from Tufts University in Somerville, MA. Received scholarship for Writing and Fine Art.

Recruiting

  • Previous career as a lead technical recruiter based out of Silicon Valley. Collaborated with 200+ hiring executives, HR staff, and in-house recruiters on their wants, needs, demands, and preferences in looking for qualified employees.
  • Coached hundreds of job seekers through all phases of the hiring process: resume development, networking, phone/virtual/in-person interviewing, salary negotiation, offer consideration, and the first 60 days.

Media

  • NPR's California Report

    Featured Speaker on Best Practices in Resumes and LinkedIn

  • CDI: Growth Secrets

    Livestream Guest on Running a Resume Writing & Coaching Company

  • More Than Your Title Podcast

    Featured Guest on Resumes with Sarahbeth Berk

  • It's Not You, It's Your Job Search

    Cliff Flamer. Learn how to navigate applications, resumes, cover letters, interviews, LinkedIn, networking, and branding, in a way that doesn’t drain you.
  • Image of Cover Letters for Dummies book cover

    Cover Letters for Dummies

    Joyce Lain Kennedy. Selected as 1 of 5 career experts whose resume *and* cover letter appears in this series.
  • Image of Directory of Professional Resume Writers book cover

    Directory of Professional Resume Writers

    Louise Kursmark. Selected as 1 of 40 writers whose samples appear in this publication, out of 1700+ resume-writer candidates.
  • Image of Resumes for the Rest of Us Book Cover

    Resumes for the Rest of Us: Secrets From The Pros For Job Seekers With Unconventional Career Paths

    Arnoldt Bolt
  • Image of 50 Tips for Building a Better Document for a Brighter Future book cover

    Happy About My Resume: 50 Tips For Building A Better Document For A Brighter Future

    Barbara Safani
  • Image of No-Nonsense Job Interviews book cover

    No-Nonense Job Interviews: How to Impress Prospective Employers and Ace Any Interview

    Arnold Boldt
  • Image of Career and Adult Development Journal cover

    Written In Black and White

    Cliff Flamer, Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, Vol. 21, No. 4.

Tell Us Your Story

We'll show you how compelling it can be.

We elevate the careers of positive, passionate people of all experience levels: senior executives, managers, entrepreneurs, employees, technologists, consultants, and aspiring professionals.

We welcome opportunities to work with women, people of color, members of the LGBT community, and champions of inclusiveness who seek well-deserved positions of visibility and influence.

When we embrace varying perspectives and life experiences, we increase our capacity for innovation, empathy, and problem solving... which is good for business. And good for the soul.

Welcome to the BrightSide.