Most individuals in today's workplace require a well-written, concise and attractive one-page resume that will make the cut in a pile of 100-500 other resumes gathered in response to an advertisement. When a Human Resource person sorts through such a stack, resumes are set aside if they are (a) unattractive, (b) too long, (c) have grammatical or spelling errors, or (d) lack a clear-cut goal or objective. As many people are aware, the average length of time spent initially evaluating a resume is approximately 10 seconds. That is why conciseness is an issue.

2. Two-Page Executive Resumes

For individuals in senior management, academic positions, or some professions a one-page resume will not suffice to get them either the job or the salary they desire. In terms of salary, approximately $80,000-$100,000 and over require resumes of two pages. Others who need two pages are CEOs, CFOs, Comptrollers, college professors, scientists, anyone with a Ph.D., artists with numerous credits, and so forth.

It is a critical decision for the client to select either a one-page or two-page resume. Frequently, fifteen or twenty minutes of direct consultation with Professor Peterson will be needed to determine which will help the customer more.

3. Cover Letters

Even when job hunting on the Internet, cover letters are useful or even required documents for many job candidates. Professor Peterson writes cover letters of 4-5 paragraphs that are geared toward either a specific career goal or phrased in general terms to keep the client's options open. In other cases, the candidate may need to change the first sentence alone to "customize" the letter for the job. When someone is seeking two different types of jobs, two cover letters may be needed. In that case, the 2nd letter is half price.

4. Personal Statements

Professor Peterson has assisted people with writing Personal Statements for graduate and professional schools for more than 20 years. Her experience as a college professor is an important advantage for someone trying to assess the reader's perspective, e.g., she knows "what they want to hear" or more importantly what they DON'T want to hear. The consultation for Personal Statements includes an initial planning session based on Professor Peterson's own Instruction Guide for Personal Statements and an outline specifying the order of topics, the content of the paragraphs, and the conclusion. After the candidate completes this rough draft, Professor Peterson then edits and corrects the writing to ensure good grammar and proper length (usually 500 words). The resume is usually encouraged as a part of this project, at a reduced rate.

5. Career Counseling

Whether the candidate is young or old, many people feel the need to reorient or refocus their career goals. Professor Peterson is especially adept and sensitive to people in this position and has a prior background in psychological counseling as well. Either one or two 2-hour sessions are usual, at a flat rate, and consultations may be done in person or by telephone/e-mail.

6. Improving Your Interviewing Skills

When facing a job search, it is helpful to feel confident about your interviewing skills. These can become rusty if someone has been in a job for a lengthy period or they can be challenging to people with certain types of personality. Most sales professionals do well in personal interviews and therefore don't need much training in interviewing. Others would do well to seek professional advice. Professor Peterson's initial session includes three areas of advisement: (1) things to avoid in interviews (Don'ts); (2) things to include in interviews (Do's), and (3) specific phrases, responses, and questions designed to suit the individual client.