We recently connected with Nikki Igbo and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

The biggest trend in resume writing in particular is the Applicant Tracking System or ATS scan. Over the years many organizations of all sizes and industries have adopted ATS tech to sift through initial applications including 99% of Fortune 500 companies. Applicant Tracking Systems are also why approximately 75% of job applications are tossed before human eyes even have a chance to consider them. With this in mind, it’s important for job-hunters to have ATS-friendly resumes or resumes that leverage language and formatting to satisfy the bots.

Nikki, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been writing for fun, education or business all of my life but I got into resume writing following graduate school and during pregnancy with my first son. Before I took resume writing on professionally, I always made sure to update my resume every year because I noticed that resume writing trends always seemed to change every time I searched for template ideas online. Therefore when I saw an online posting for resume writers, I applied with confidence and figured it could be a nice side hustle while I pursued other writing avenues.

However, the more I learned about resume language and how hiring managers operated, the more I realized how much I (and likely many others) didn’t understand about “selling” oneself in a professional document. As time went on, I became more practiced in describing the most impressive benefits of my client’s professional contributions more clearly and concisely. It was great to hear clients exclaim how they perceive themselves in a brighter because my words helped them make sense of their strengths and talents.

I also began to better understand how I wasn’t just writing a resume for a faceless executive in another part of the world. To craft someone’s resume is to capture their passion, successes and business interests in a story that helps them to live the life they want to live. Each time I’ve helped someone make sense of a career pivot or get the interview they’ve sought or secure that dream job, I know I’ve helped positively impact a life. That feels amazing.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I would say that 95% of my business comes from referrals of satisfied customers. Once I made up my mind to own my resume writing services, I became more vocal about offering them and my friends (who are beloved customers of mine) also told their friends. The biggest hurdle for me was really getting how valuable this service is, finally realizing what a big deal a good resume is. One of my closest friends teased me a great deal for waiting so long for that light to turn on.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Each day I want to continue to help great candidates and business owners get the jobs and customers they want. That’s the simple goal. My loftier dream is to live in a world where women no longer think twice about touting their achievements with confidence. I find that we ladies tend to be unnecessarily humble and meek when it comes to the outstanding work we do. I really want that to change. There are too many unsung s-heroes walking around.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.thewritinggoddess.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikkiigbothewritinggoddess

Image Credits
N. Igbo E. Lewis