When my professional career encountered a redirection after 15 years at one public service organisation, I struggled to clearly present my knowledge and skills against the capabilities and format required in the current recruitment space to truly market me. In strides, Annie at ‘Resume by Design’ guided me in developing my resume and selection criteria responses to the highest standard, which has never failed to secure an interview. Annie possesses an adept ability to clearly reframe and showcase my experience into selection criteria that are on point and adaptable to my applications. Annie goes above and beyond with her professional services, and at times with very short notice, assisting to meet short deadlines. I continue to use Annie at Resume by Design to ensure I remain contemporary and have no hesitation recommending her to professional colleagues. A heartfelt ‘thank you’ from me to you Annie.
I have been using Resume by Design for over eight years. Annie’s expertise secured me my first government role many years ago. Over time, I have returned to Annie to seek advice and professional services and time and again her products have secured me an interview. Annie provides a comprehensive service, analysing your application materials and then providing a frank and honest assessment of the steps required to achieve success. Annie is direct in her approach, but this is in order to achieve the desired outcome, not to coddle people’s feelings. It is business. The cost is at market rate for the services that are provided; they are perfectly reasonable. Annie’s services are in high demand as she is often ‘booked out’. For those who wish to use her services, I recommend contacting her as early as possible to avoid disappointment. If you are after high quality and timely service I recommend Resume by Design.
I have used Annie’s services since shortly after she started the business. Over the years I have recommended her services to many of my friends, colleagues and I have also used her to assist with my children’s resumes. Overwhelmingly the feedback from my referrals has been the same – great resume that got me to the interview stage. You don’t get invited to present to some of the best secondary private schools in Brisbane to senior-level students about resumes, interviews and the job market if you’re not on top of your game. Annie is professional, knows her field and more than capable of delivering. I wouldn’t consider using anyone else.
With so much experience and insight, I am hands down thankful and so grateful for the services provided by Resume by Design. Annie could see many flaws, the lack of direction and real purpose to my previous resume. As such, we agreed it needed a major overhaul. My new resume now has structure and is composed in such a way that is easy to understand and peruse without the unnecessary bloat. I have also engaged Annie’s cover letter service and have no regrets. I had multiple covers and resumes written; each for different career roles. Each respective document is clean and to the point. Resume by Design’s services has had a positive impact on my job search, having accepted a position in the public sector. I would have no regrets what-so-ever in seeking out Annie’s services for any future changes to my professional documentation. Thanks Annie.
The resume Annie wrote got me a short term contract in 2018 and then in February this year, I landed a wonderful job close to home at Griffith University. It’s just what I wanted, permanent, full time with two weeks off the standard six months’ probation before it’s all tied up. Best of all, they take professional development very seriously and with the size of the organisation, there is room to progress down the track. So rest assured I’ll be in contact with Annie again when the time comes. Thanks so much for your help Annie while I was trying to break back into full time employment. It was a huge help to know I had Annie’s assistance at the very thing I am worst at in the world – writing about myself. Learning a whole new position as a Law Librarian is much simpler than sitting in front of a blank Word document trying to work out how to sell my services to people I don’t know. Thanks to Annie’s sterling efforts, I don’t have to worry about selling myself anymore. Thanks again Annie for all your wonderful work over the years.
How thrilled I have been with Annie Cerone and the services her business provides. I tried so many times myself to get from middle management (EL) level so the Senior Executive Service (SES) in APS Government but to no avail. I was so frustrated and disheartened until I found Annie’s blogs – the examples of selection criteria that have won interviews for her clients. I used Annie’s selection criteria writing services to help me produce a document that got me to the interview stage, which was ranked by the selection panel in the Top 3 – over 90 applications were received. I then had a 60-minute job interview coaching session with Annie. I got the job and I am now at SES level.
Before I found Resume by Design, I had been applying for jobs for a number of months and was unsuccessful in even getting through to an interview. Annie Cerone developed a very well written and professional resume which ultimately led me to be employed in the area I was trying to move into. Annie was highly collaborative, efficient and reliable. I wouldn’t hesitate to use her services again when needed and to recommend her services to others.
I have known Annie Cerone for just over 5 years and in all my dealings with Annie she has been nothing short of superb in her competencies. Originally engaged to prepare my personal capability statements and then as a person I have engaged to prepare material in collaboration for some of my client projects. Testament to where an individual can go professionally when collaborating with Annie, is that both in 2016 and 2018 I was awarded with industry recognition as ‘Certified Practising Marketer of the Year – Queensland’, as well as 2017 Lifetime Member of the Australian Marketing Institute. The CPM professional standard is the peak professional designation for marketing/communications practitioners in Australia, like what a CPA is to accountants. I would never achieve such milestones without the support of colleagues like Annie. Separately, she is an outstanding presenter and communicator, collaborating in presenting industry discussions across the education sector, which has resulted in great feedback. Annie is a person that will give open, honest and candid feedback, which is what you want for someone preparing material for a job. Those that I have introduced to Annie have always given glowing praise towards their experience – you only need to look at the testimonials listed on her website to see this. This is particularly important to me, as I seldom refer people unless I have strong confidence that the experience would be a positive reflection on me and my judgement (my personal brand). I commend Annie to any individual seeking a solid adviser, with traditional values towards providing quality work and good communication throughout the process. She is unashamedly direct with her advice, but it is this characteristic about her that gets the results for a client. I am sure she will continue to prove worthy of my trust.
I have been using most of Annie’s services since 2008. Annie got me into Federal Government at APS4 level through high quality selection criteria where I gained an interview and the job. I have progressed (through Annie’s help in writing required documents) to EL1 level, which is middle management. Every time I have used Annie to write selection criteria, statements with specified word length limits, and developing and updating my resume, I have always gained interviews. I can say with certainty that I would not be at this level in Federal Government if it wasn’t for Annie’s help and her high quality professional services, especially with the written component.
I recently started working at one of the Big 5 banks in downtown Toronto which is my dream company to work for and progress in my career in the sector. I thank Annie Cerone wholeheartedly for all her help and in facilitating this step in my career – it would never have been possible without her help! I have referred Annie’s services to family members as they were very impressed with the resume she developed for me; they have made contact and begun the initial phase with her in re-developing their resumes.
