Kathy's inspirational story of how she got her 'Dream Job'

Hi Dawn,

Of course you may use anything I have written for book promotion, as it is
all 100% true--just so you know a little about me, I had my resume done
professionally nearly 2 years ago when I originally got my job with the
library. Money well spent I believed--one resume sent, one job obtained.

However, I have 2 primary-school age children, and libraries are notorious
for both weekend and late night work. Although I loved the actual job, the
hours were eating into time with my family.

As I had a lot of customer service and administrative experience, I decided
to change tack slightly and thought maybe a school environment would be more
family friendly, especially if I were able to get the school holidays off as
well!!

I realised from trying previously though, it is extremely hard to enter
this territory. Apparently you can only get into the system if:
A. You are related to someone who already works there, or
B. Someone dies and you hear it before the rest of the office staff!!

Well, I am nothing if not persistent--I kept applying, but using a 'generic'
cover letter(I know, I know--leaky roof syndrome)-and always getting a ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ letter.

So I went to the internet, discovered your website, and grabbed a copy of
that 'Selection Criteria Toolkit' from the closest library - and set about
changing the way I presented my resume, and how I answered the selection
criteria.  And hey presto--on the very first try after I did this, I was
shortlisted for an interview at a University. That was just so exciting--at
least I knew the resume was good--it had what they were looking for, and the
selection criteria was relevant and correct.

Then straight after that, I saw my dream job - so again, with all the hard work
of the resume now behind me, I structured a winning cover letter--not a
paste and copy one, and emailed it off.

In two days, I had an interview and 3 days after that I had a phone call to
say I had the job--as a secretary in a school with all the school holidays!
What a fantastic result-and I sincerely believe it was all down to the
relevant, practical advice I received from your publication.

All this happened within one month of me discovering your website--so I
cannot thank you enough. Not only do I have a great new job, I also have
quality family time.

Thank you again for getting back to me so quickly, it's been great
corresponding with you.

All the best for any future publications you may have.

Sincerely,

Kathy S - Victoria