Resume Strategists

I shelled out 3k so you don’t have to…
I haven’t needed a resume nor been on a job interview for almost 10 years, and I was making a career change. I did need help, and for some reason I thought the more money I spent, the better assistance I would get. Not the case!
First off, Resume Strategists charged me 3,000.00 for a resume, cover letter and linked in profile because they said I was «mid career». The resume process took about a month. The way they worded some of my accomplishments definitely sounded better than what I had originally. However, the overall result was that I sounded like the most lowest common denominator Office clone. I sent out about 20 of their version and got ZERO response.
I then went over my resume and noticed that I had a history of collaborating with different teams to accomplish projects. I bumped up my summary and added some more details and got ONE response. Resume Strategists FAILED to quantify or qualify any of my accomplishments (I did that and they didn’t even ask for numbers) and they FAILED to see a pattern of cross-​functional team collaboration and highlight that in the summary. Some of the resume revisions I could tell hardly any thought went into them at all.
The linked profile? what a joke, just a regurgitation of your resume. The cover letter — they give you one final version. Frankly, the cover letter sucked. It was, again, my resume regurgitated. And the «career counseling» — is the most average, basic info that is easily found by doing an internet search. They do not have any inside knowledge or cutting edge information.
And in the final meeting, we barely got into the interview questions because we went over on time. Which they promptly stopped at the allotted time because they had someone else to price gouge waiting.
You don’t work with Alyssa, who is touted on their website. I never even met her. And they have very nice full floor office in midtown Manhattan. Now I know why the price is so high! Gotta meet that overhead for the swank office.
Knowing all I know now, this is how I would approach writing my resume. Having an objective person or more than one person look at it is valuable. So I would go to Craigslist where there are tons of people offering resume-​writing for around $ 50 and hire 4 of them that stood out to me. When I had the four versions, I would sit down, google search for relevant key words and create my own resume using the material I already had.
Summary: Resume Strategists is NOTHING SPECIAL and NOT WORTH 3,000.00!

I agree with a previous reviewer.
I saw they had eight 5 star reviews on Unilocal.I went to the website and filled out the necessary information to schedule a consultation. The email correspondence was very professional.
I waited 10 days to speak with someone (not Alyssa) for 6.5 minutes, just for them to let me know that it would cost $ 2500 to get started and it takes about 4 weeks on average from start to finish (of course that depends on how active you are…).
C’mon. I don’t deny that they are as great as the initial 8 reviewers state, I believe that whole-​heartedly. I just wish I didn’t have to wait 10 days to find out that I cannot afford it. So I’m posting here to answer the two burning questions I had, hopefully I can save someone else a week and a half.

I’m not sure this is the place to go. I am the president of an entertainment company and just called this company. I didn’t get Alyssa, she’s owns the company and you don’t work with her, and the price is out of control — not what others are charging since this is the third place I have checked. Plus they won’t do just a resume and cover letter, you must buy a package for $ 2500 that included career counseling and a linkedin profile. I’m too high up in my career to need a career counselor. I’m passing on this company. Now maybe they are good once you pay the major money, I’m won’t be going that far — because I’m stopping after that initial person talked to me on the phone. Here’s a lesson to this company — the first person you speak to says a lot about your company.

I knew my old resume was way too dense, but was getting bogged down in details trying to edit it into something that wouldn’t make people’s eyes glaze over. Alyssa did a great job stepping back and seeing the bigger picture of my career, leaving me with a resume that I believe does an excellent job telling the ‘story’ of my experience and what I can offer. I am hoping to make a career change, and feel confident my new resume shows how my skills can easily transfer to a new position.
I am very happy with the results and recommend her services highly. She spent a lot of time with me in our initial phone call, then a few hours going over my work history, and then working with me until I had a resume I was 100 per cent happy with. Overall, it was a surprisingly painless experience — I actually found it helpful because speaking with Alyssa forces you to not only think about your past, but also about where you want to go.
Most of my career has been spent internationally, and Alyssa was also pointed out a few things in my old resume I didn’t realize were probably working against me here in the States. Great to have «a local» give you feedback if you’re applying for US jobs for the first time.

Alyssa was great. I didn’t know where to start with my resume. I was lost. She was very patient and walked me through her process. She made me relived all those years of work experience, but I am glad she did. It allowed me to see what I wanted and did not want to do in my next career. She implemented my suggestions and revised my resume until I was happy. I am very happy with the final result.
Thank you Alyssa!

I had such a positive experience working with Alyssa. She did such a great job articulating my accomplishments and was also a great listener who gave some very valuable career advice. I will recommend her services to all my colleagues and friends.

Capitalize on your assets!
We all have assets and accomplishments to feature and with Alyssa’s help you’ll get to the core of it. The time she spent working with me and talking through my career path, I not only ended up with terrific materials, but I was able to see my own value from a different perspective. With her experience, she transformed what had been a jumble of experiences into a well-​articulated resume and cover letter. The experience has been a very positive one, as it has helped me further prepare for interviews. This gives me a greater confidence in my abilities and how I speak about myself.
I am in the midst of relocating to the East Coast and there is no room for error in hitting my goal; this was not the time for a DIY effort. And frankly, DIY efforts have only netted mediocre results. At this point, with Alyssa’s help, I have noticed an increase in traffic to my LinkedIn profile from searches and I have received very positive feedback about my updated materials (cover letter and resume).

You don’t deserve to find the career you want if you don’t use Resume Strategists!
After recently deciding to switch careers, I found myself in a bit of a bind. Unfortunately the many years of corporate experience had been in one field, which only made me valuable to the career I was desperately trying to get away from. I truly believed that I had developed skills which were transferable to any profession, but I wasn’t able to reflect them in my resume and cover letter. I decided to seek out a resume professional in New York City using Unilocal,and I am so grateful I did.
Based on ratings and location, I decided to reach out to Alyssa at Resume Strategisits. She immediately responded to my inquiry and in our initial 5 minute conversation, she gave me the confidence that I had plenty of transferable skills amongst any industry. Alyssa was extremely thorough, very reliable, and was genuinely interested in helping me in anyway she could.
Alyssa’s prices are very fair, and could easily charge more, as her services are priceless. She helped me in so many ways with my resume that it was a no-​brainer to have her help with my cover letter. I can’t thank her enough for her help, and I STRONGLY RECOMMEND Resume Strategists!!!
–Chad

Alyssa was great in putting together my first real resume after having been in the work place for more than fifteen years. She developed an excellent resume that framed my experience and highlighted the deliverables I have had in past jobs to help me land the one I want. She is a great listener and very collaborative — very quick in responding to edits or suggestions. Strongly recommend.

Alyssa’s process for building a resume is flawless. She makes the time to speak with you both in person and over the phone, creating a personalized and effective approach. Her relentless pursuit to assuring you, the client, are satisfied with the result has given me a resume I’m not only proud of, but reflects my career roles accurately and eloquently. Alyssa’s pride in her work coupled with extensive experience is a win-​win for anyone looking for a truly professional resume and guidance throughout the resume making process. Highly recommended

I’m in a transitional stage with my career, and was looking on the Internet for a Professional Resume Writer.
I contacted Alyssa Gelbard, at Resume Strategists to help me redo my resume.
Alyssa provided fantastic service to me. She was patient and willing to work with my hectic schedule, to create what I consider an outstanding product.
I would highly recommend Resume Strategists to anyone.
–Jay