Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Kaplan and Angela Silak.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We met as interns in 2010 and stayed in touch as we both rose through the ranks in entertainment (including working at the same company in 2011!). During this time, we found ourselves hiring employees, freelancers, and interns in our full-time jobs and realized that most entertainment professionals don’t know how to pitch themselves for the jobs they want. So in 2016, we teamed up and started a resume-writing business! We’ve been running Hollywood Resumes ever since, and we’ve loved helping our diverse and talented client base reach their career goals.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Overall, yes! Our friendship and strong work ethic has made this a fun journey. The biggest challenge we’ve faced has been figuring out how to grow our business to meet the needs of our clients. Initially, we thought the majority of our clientele would be people just starting out in the entertainment industry — interns, assistants, and other entry-level job seekers — but we soon realized that people of all levels could benefit from our services, so we’ve created multiple service tiers to accommodate entry, mid, and executive-level professionals. And after hearing clients ask for different service combinations, we developed improved packages to better meet their needs. At launch, we only offered resume, cover letter, and mock interview services, but we have expanded our offerings to include LinkedIn profile and bio writing, script coverage instruction, personal essay feedback, career coaching, and more. Our business has evolved over the years, but we’re steadfast in our commitment to listening to our clients and helping them put their best foot forward.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hollywood Resumes – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
There are a few things that make Hollywood Resumes unique in comparison to other resume writing services, even those targeted at Hollywood job seekers. First, we both currently work full-time in the entertainment industry — Angela in children’s TV development and Cindy in entertainment marketing and as a freelance writer/producer. We’ve worked and hired in various aspects of the industry, so we understand the different roles our clients have had and are seeking, as well as what the hiring managers are looking for.
Secondly, we bring our skills as storytellers to our career services work: We get to know our clients, listen to their backgrounds, and help them articulate where they want to go in the future. We don’t use one single format to plug and play but create each resume with the individual client in mind, and we craft resumes to tell a very specific story.
But perhaps our largest differentiator is that we both work with each client. Though one of us will take the lead on the first draft of the resume, we go back and forth with each other as we review every single one, dialoguing, debating, and checking for bias to make sure the final document has been thoroughly vetted. Our clients get two experts working with them. We’re not in the business of churning out as many resumes as we can, but rather we’re intent on helping our clients during the vulnerable experience of searching for a new job by delivering the highest quality work.
In addition to our paid services, we also share career tips in our weekly newsletter and on our blog. Early on, we developed a quirky social media strategy where we showcase photos of dogs that tie-in thematically to our content. We’re both huge dog lovers, and we have a lot of fun curating the photos submitted by friends and family. Angela’s puppy Carmen has become our mascot!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have a few exciting projects in the works right now — we’ve soft-launched a career coaching service where we can help clients figure out what jobs they want, not just how to apply for them. We’re also in the process of creating new professional development courses and materials. We want to be a valuable resource for people working in the entertainment industry — especially now when there’s so much unemployment and uncertainty. We’ve seen a lot of clients looking for jobs that would be considered underemployment, and one of our biggest goals is to reverse that trend — we’re constantly innovating new ways to communicate the message that job seekers shouldn’t sell themselves short.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hollywood-resumes.com
- Email: info@hollywood-resumes.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollywoodresumes
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hollywood-resumes-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Victor Amezquita
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