We recently connected with Erica Ogburn and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?
The best thing I have ever done to show my customers I appreciate them is mailing coffee cups as gifts to clients when they land their first position. This is a gift for their hard work in their career search. Yes, we write the resume, but the client is doing the actual work in applying, putting themselves out there, and bearing the interviewing process. So to show them we appreciate them, we like to provide a token, enjoying their first cup of coffee on the job with them! This process has opened the door to clients sharing their experiences with others via social media. You can see their confidence when sharing their salary increases and career advancements.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As a higher education practitioner, with experience in both the university and community college setting, I developed a passion for supporting current undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, and workforce engaged professionals in career development and professional goal-setting. Many individuals perceive that they should know how to write a resume effectively, but traditionally, K-12 education, nor does all educational programs within higher education provide individuals with the tools to do so. Professionally and personally, I grew a passion for helping my family, friends, and the community in career development.
As an African American Woman, navigating the world and educational environments as both a professional and a doctoral student, I understand feelings of exclusion and lack of understanding of certain concepts or operations due to being the first to experience something or first-time personal exposure. Navigation support is what The Resume Bar Services is centered on providing.
Due to my passion for helping others and support from my family and God, I have completed some significant educational and professional goals. This has provided me with the tools to support my community and others around me in effectively preparing for and reaching their career goals. Reaching one year of operations in September 2020, we are ready to reach and support even more clients to come.
The mission of The Resume Bar Services is simple, to provide high-quality career preparation services to individuals exiting academia and those currently in or returning to the workforce. The Resume Bar educates clients on how to professionally present themselves via the resume, cover letter, online, and during the interviewing process. The Resume Bar is more than an editing and writing service; we support clients in a holistic approach, personally tailoring to their career needs and individual journeys. Along with our services, we support, educate, and provide our clients with the tools needed to maintain their resume and cover letter as their experiences advance. We are about growing our client’s career navigation abilities! As the Founder of The Resume Bar, I will go above and beyond, catering to your career needs.
We are most proud that we have had the opportunity to service clients both within the USA and internationally. What sets us apart is that the owner of the Resume Bar Services has served as a career counselor within the field of higher education and is educationally and professionally versed in various professions language, terminology, and operations. This professional and educational background is critical when effectively articulating clients’ career experiences.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that silence speaks volumes. In business, it does not. So you have to keep promoting yourself, even when it is clear people are sick of seeing and hearing it! You may not get the number of likes on social media that you want or that you see others with similar businesses, but the goal is awareness and your coins!
Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?
Yes, you always want to identify how to tap into other financial business operational areas. For example, we now partner with community organizations to provide free resume workshops. Landing these types of contracts has supported us in getting our name out there and building our representation within the community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheResumeBarServices.com
- Instagram: TheResumeBarServces
- Facebook: TheResumeBarServces