Created by counselors, Resume Therapy™ is the cathartic process of rediscovering and embracing your unique strengths, talents, and achievements through an in-depth, guided review of your work history intentionally designed to extract things you've forgotten, overlooked, or undervalued.
Our Resume Therapy™ model has elevated the lives and careers of thousands of people, helping them to feel good, shine bright, and advance with confidence into the most sought-after companies in the world.
We love figuring out how to get people excited about who you are. Whether you're coming through a non-linear, non-traditional career path, facing seemingly insurmountable work-history challenges, or seeking to take your career (and salary) to the next level, we're the best resource you're going to find.
Our CEO, the mastermind behind Resume Therapy™, has earned quite a few nicknames, from customers, recruiters, and fellow writers, including...
Perhaps most importantly, recruiters have commented on our work time and time again. Indeed, recruiters, HR folks, and executive search firms are some of our top referrers. We know what they want on a resume, and we make sure they like what they see on yours.
For non-technical mid-to-senior-level professionals with at least 5 years' experience who are looking to keep their role as an individual contributor in their chosen field and discipline. There's a team out there waiting for you.
You're an expert in your field. There are things you do better than others around you. When you're at your best, time disappears and work gets done almost without thought. In fact, you've done so much over the years, it's hard to be sure you've remembered everything. How do you get it all down on paper, and in a way that truly reflects your best self?
Our resume process doubles as a mini-career-coaching session: we'll guide you in remembering your greatness, and point you to the stuff that really matters. You'll gain confidence, feel more authentic, and interview better. And then, we'll build a resume that will represent you accurately and in the best light possible.
Your new Professional Resume may include an overarching branding statement that zeroes in on what you have to offer, a keyword-rich competencies section, impact statements that quantify and qualify your contributions, achievement-oriented bullet points, training and development highlights, and transferable skills. We know all the latest resume trends and we've helped people in just about every industry.
There is no work history challenge we can't overcome. Indeed, we welcome complicated stories. We'll find the line and build a new narrative that invokes connection and invites inquiry.
For non-managers working in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math. This includes developers, system/network administrators, engineers, technicians, scientists, biotech specialists, data scientists, and other humble geniuses.
Cliff got his start as a technical recruiter, working with hundreds of hiring managers all over the Bay Area for 4 crazy years. He learned what HR screeners and hiring managers want, and coached clients on catering their stories to these decision-makers' desires. It's not about spin. It's about substance.
We need to develop the right balance of deep technical accomplishments and colloquial storytelling to please both your boss-to-be and the gatekeeping HR guards (not to mention those keyword-hungry, resume-scanning robots).
We partner well with STEM professionals. In fact, we've teamed up with some Engineering groups in the area and picked up an award for Best Technical Resume, in addition to our "World's Best Resume Writer" title from Career Directors International.
A large majority of our clients are in Tech, which is just the way we like it. It's a pleasure to be part of such a rewarding field of innovators, doers, dreamers, and makers... people who create new pieces of reality every day.
Your new Technical Resume will underscore your razor-sharp technical skills through readable yet jargon-laden achievement bullets; tech-oriented problem-solving stories; itemized lists of tools, software, and methods; relevant certifications and licenses; and often exhaustive technical addendums.
You will come off both technical and communicative. Your resume will stand out above the rest.
For mid-level managers and mentors who have excelled in their careers to the point of managing teams in the areas of Product Development, Business Development, Sales, Marketing, Operations, IT, HR, Design, Finance, Accounting, and other disciplines.
If you're like most mid-career folks, you've simply been adding positions to your original resume, without addressing the fact that you've changed significantly over the years – as a leader, mentor, and expert. Your career has matured, but your resume likely hasn't.
Management resumes have an extra layer of goodness to them because you're not only doing your own job, you're grooming and coordinating others to do their work. You're inspiring, you're corralling, you're building. This needs to be shared and celebrated.
Elements that we use in our Management Resume Service include callouts for team leadership and mentoring, side bars to showcase salient projects, and summaries encompassing management philosophy, career highlights, and/or breadth of responsibilities.
Equipped with experience in resume writing, career counseling, and recruiting, we've guided tons of project and people managers in making meaningful transitions, expeditiously and confidently.
Let's reveal the real you and attract the position you've earned.
For accomplished executives and ambitious senior management professionals focused on driving organizational strategy and development at the enterprise or divisional level. This is a great service for decision-makers seeking to lead small-to-mid-sized organizations, helm a division at a larger enterprise, or simply break through to the next level of their careers.
We elevate careers. It’s a pleasure to promote smart, ambitious leaders who have already achieved amazing things in their careers. We accept the challenge of crafting the narrative of your meteoric (and perhaps, nonlinear or unconventional) rise to the top and beyond.
BrightSide CEO and longtime resume writer, Cliff Flamer, has decades of experience, 3 resume certifications, a background in Silicon Valley recruiting, multiple awards (including the industry’s only “World’s Best Resume Writer Award”), and 2 degrees in English and Career Counseling. He continues to lead his industry in innovation and has time-tested strategies for accurately and favorably presenting rock stars on paper to win interviews and get job offers.
Simply put, the Junior Executive Resume Service will increase your chances of being seen and short-listed by showcasing your multifaceted career trajectory in a way that is impossible to ignore.
For seasoned veterans who are used to steering the strategic direction of world-leading and disruptive enterprises, including directors, principals, partners, GMs, EDs, GCs, AGCs, VPs, SVPs, EVPs, controllers, management consultants, CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CTOs, and CFOs.
It's a privilege to work with people at the top of their game — people who are defining and shaping industries with their vision and leadership.
BrightSide CEO and your personal resume writer, Cliff Flamer, has been generating top-tier resumes for business leaders since 1998 as a recruiter, career coach, and resume writer. He is part of an elite class of writers dually certified with the Professional Association of Resume Writers (where he scored in the top 1% on the entrance exam) and the National Resume Writers' Association (where he served on the Executive Board as Certification Chair). Cliff has won respect from his fellow resume writers as well as hiring managers, recruiters, and search firms, who regularly refer clients to us.
Cliff has collaborated with hundreds of hiring executives and HR directors as a recruiter. Now, he helps his clients work their way into six- and seven-figure jobs as a resume writer and career coach. For years, he’s worked with top executives from world-leading companies in Technology, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, CPG, Retail, and others in Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and beyond.
You have the experience. It just needs to be expounded upon and presented in the right light to catch the recruiters’ attention and position you ahead of your competition.
Gain access to tens of thousands of recruiters and search firms instantly, and receive their contact info to follow up.
If you're at the top of your game, recruiters are one of the best ways to get your resume shortlisted. A few words from a recruiter and, all of a sudden, you're a priority. You're the inside hire.
We have access to 30,000+ recruiters nationwide from a database that is updated weekly. Recruiters respond most enthusiastically to candidates who are already experts in their field and discipline, and who are pursuing job titles they've already held.>
If this sounds like you, let us make an introduction with your resume and cover letter via email to generate interest from recruiters that specialize in your position type, industry expertise, and level of seniority.
We'll send you the contact information of each of these recruiters so you can follow up with them throughout your job search, even if they don't have a job for you right away.
These recruiters are the same staffing experts contracted by world-leading institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia, as well as top outplacement firms like Drake Beam, Lee Hecht Harrison, and Goodrich & Sherwood.
There's nothing quite like a phone call from someone who has an inside edge with employers in your field. It only takes one of those calls to change your life.
For those happy with their resume's content and strategy, but seeking to improve its overall appearance, layout, and design to underscore the appropriate content and ensure they stand out in their industry. Be proud to hand over your resume.
An effective resume will truly make you look good on paper, which is why we've developed a finishing service focused entirely on perfecting the appearance of your document(s).
The appearance of your resume sets the stage for how the hiring manager is going to view you.
If your resume is pleasing to the eye at a glance, the screener will search for data that strengthens your candidacy. If your resume is confusing, cluttered, unbalanced, and amateurish, that same person will most likely begin looking for reasons to dismiss you.
It's not merely about making a pretty document.
One-size-fits-all word processing templates and resume design services fail to take into consideration your unique constellation of strengths and weaknesses, nor do they address your audience's wish list.
A compelling resume format will direct the readers' eye to your most impressive qualifications and achievements. It will make it easy for them to find what they're looking for, which means you'll get placed in the YES pile more quickly.
For smaller projects, quick updates for past clients, and one-off consultations, we work at our hourly rate. For more extensive resume and LinkedIn projects involving 3+ years of new experience, 2+ new jobs, or a completely different strategy and objective, you’ll need the full treatment. Pick one of our Full-Service Resume or LinkedIn packages, instead.
Targeted and all-purpose cover letters, branded to match your resume's appearance, tone, and strategy to make a strong introduction and win that all-important first meeting.
Most of the time, cover letters are your first impression. They are also an opportunity to explain challenges you're facing that can’t be fully addressed on the resume. We’ll help you keep it upbeat, candid, and confident so the reader snaps out of their hiring stupor and wants to learn more.
The key is to start strong, with a quote, anecdote, success story, tag line, testimonial, branding statement, or blunt remark about your latest jaw-dropping accomplishment. We go beyond the resume's story to draw themes and patterns, mention soft skills, reframe shortcomings, and draw direct connections.
We can be as traditional or unorthodox as you'd like, always keeping in line with the expectations of your industry and target audience.
An introduction is in order.
Distinctive, keyword-rich social media profiles to make your story stand out so you can attract connections with colleagues, recruiters, and hiring managers who need to find you.
Most people are doing it wrong.
It's not enough that your profile is exploding with keywords and presents a compelling story. That's just the beginning.
With the inclusion of AI and near-full ownership of the job market, LinkedIn is changing the rules of the game frequently and without warning. It's hard to remain up-to-date on the most effective way to build a profile.
But that's exactly what we do.
Some certifications are fluff. Not the NCOPE (Nationally Certified Online Profile Expert)
We had to take 10 hours of live training, including inside tips from a LinkedIn Recruiter, extensive profile workshopping, and an exam. Every month, NCOPEs meet up to learn all of the new developments with LinkedIn. And there are a lot.
The rules change, and we change with them.
You want to be findable. And memorable. These two things are at odds with each other. Keywords make you findable. A good story with elegant language makes you memorable.
When we build profiles, we are thinking in 3 directions at once, and often considering multiple audiences and objectives. The placement, density, and order of keywords is crucial, as is the sequence of job roles and companies.
What works on the resume, may not work, structurally or narratively, on LinkedIn.
And then there's the music in the language. The prose needs to flow.
Our clients are continually blown away by how we do all of this at once... by how their profile reads like a song but is structurally designed to satisfy the AI bots behind the scenes.
95% of our clients ask us to build their LinkedIn profile and resume at the same time. And a fair amount of clients have invited us to write profiles for their entire leadership team after they see our work and witness the change in their incoming LinkedIn activity.
Let's get you discovered.