
Greetings Resume Renovators,
I hope you are as excited as I am to kick off the Resume Renovation 7-Day challenge! You are well on your way to building a powerful resume, the first step in jumpstarting your job search. In preparation for the challenge, here are some organization tips to get you prepared to start Day 1 of the challenge:
1) find and print your resume
2) print out your LinkedIn profile
This course is designed as a 7-day challenge — meaning you will tackle one lesson each day for a week. This structure and flow reduces the #1 complaint of all job seekers: "Updating my resume is overwhelming!"
In each lesson, I share the best practices I advise all my in-person clients who job seeking. I guide you through the types of content, formatting, keywords, tone and how to build a powerful summary. I also touch on what to do about employment gaps, frequent job changes and even how to fend off ageism.
Your job? Implement each lesson each day so your new resume is road-ready in seven days. (Of course, you can certainly complete this course much faster if you desire.)
I am excited to embark on this journey with you!
Renew. Pivot. Thrive.
Stacey Staaterman
Welcome to Day 1 of the 7- Day Resume Renovation Challenge! (updated for 2025)
In just a few days, you will have a freshly updated, powerful resume to help communicate your value to a prospective employer. What a relief! In this challenge, we will develop a two-page chronological style resume using the same template I use with my one-on-one coaching clients. The template is a universal format that will suit most job seekers. Today, we begin by adding some of your personal information into the template provided — and organizing any existing text you have from an older version of your resume.
Implementing this assignment should take you about 30 minutes to complete. Do your best to stay on pace with the assignments as each day builds on the previous.
Please download the three files attached to this lecture.
Welcome to Day 2 of the 7- Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
RECAP of Day 1: In the previous lecture, we got started with some foundational elements of your new resume. You should have completed the following tasks:
1) Captured all text from your last resume into a new file
2) Downloaded the two documents provided the previous lecture
3) Created a new draft document with Education and Main Header area updated on Page 1
If you haven't finished these tasks. Please do so now!
ACTIONS for Day 2: Today is about drafting content for the Experience Section of your resume. Focus on the last 5 or 6 roles you've been in. You will not likely fit more than 5 or 6 positions on a two-page resume and details of older experiences (from 17+ years ago) will likely hurt more than help. Implementing today's assignment should take you about 1 to 2 hours. Don't worry if it isin't perfect yet. Do your best to stay on pace with the assignments as each day builds on the previous.
UPDATED FOR 2025
Using AI to Speed Along the Process
While you will get clear direction based on more than 30 years of hiring practices, you should also lean on your favorite AI LLM (e.g, Gemini, ChatGPT, or CoPilot) as an in-the-moment partner. You will save time by prompting your AI tool of choice to get variations on language. Some sample prompts:
Revise this text to shorten it by 50 words.
What would make this sound more impactful?
Scan this resume to spot overused words - and provide me with alternatives.
Read this job description and suggest customizations to my resume.
Welcome to Day 3 of the 7- Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
RECAP of Day 2: In the previous lecture, you focused on drafting content describing the last 5 or 6 roles that will be included in the Experience section of your resume. If you haven't finished this yet, please do so now!
ACTIONS for Day 3: This lecture is about determining the Keywords for your resume. Keywords are the words used to describe your skills, abilities, expertise, competencies, credentials, and qualities. They are essential because hiring managers and recruiters use keywords to search for talent. Implementing this assignment should take you about 1 to 2 hours to complete. Do your best to stay on pace with the assignments as each day builds on the previous.
Welcome to Day 4 of the 7- Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
RECAP of Day 3: In the previous lecture, you focused on identifying the keywords you will use in your resume. Don't worry if you don't feel 100% on point with your selection. Once you "road test" your resume in a real search situation, you will make some adjustments.
ACTIONS for Day 4: Today is about elevating the draft language you developed for the Experience Section by adding action verbs, incorporating the keywords, and highlighting measurable results. You will also make some choices about content for the last section of your resume in order to highlight credentials, technical skills, affiliations, etc. Implementing today's assignment should take you about 90 minutes to complete.
Welcome to Day 5 of the 7-Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
RECAP of Day 4: In the previous lecture, our session focused on further revising the Experience Section and adding extra information, such as skills, credentials, languages, and affiliations.
ACTIONS for Day 5: Today, our session focuses on how to craft a compelling summary narrative as an executive overview of your value to a prospective employer.
Using AI to Speed Along the Process (NEW FOR 2025)
Don't forget about leaning on your favorite AI LLM (e.g, Gemini, ChatGPT, or CoPilot) as an in-the-moment partner for this exercise.
You will save time by prompting your AI tool of choice to get variations on language. Some sample prompts:
Revise this text to shorten it by 50 words.
What would make this sound more impactful?
Scan this resume to spot overused words - and provide me with alternatives.
Read this job description and suggest customizations to my resume.
Implementing today's assignment should take you about 45 minutes to complete.
Welcome to Day 6 of the 7-Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
RECAP of Day 5: In the previous lecture, our session focused on how to build a compelling summary narrative as an executive overview of your value to a prospective employer.
ACTIONS for Day 6: Today, you will develop a powerful headline and subhead that clearly communicates the essence of who are as a professional.
Implementing today's assignment should take you about 15 minutes to complete.
Welcome to Day 7 of the 7-Day Resume Renovation Challenge!
Hurray!! Our final challenge day!
Final actions for today: It's time to road test your resume with several trusted contacts. Share the resume with three people. Ask for feedback and consider possible revisions to enhance clarity, memorability, and readability.
Also, take time to review the guidance I shared about how to handle professional gaps, freelance work, etc.
Implementing today's assignment could take a few days. Set a deadline for yourself to get this all complete.
"My resume is a disaster, and I don't know where to start!" This is one of the most common reasons people have for NOT starting their job search — even when they desperately want a change. A resume is one of the most important tools in any job search, but creating a great one doesn't have to be an overwhelming or daunting process.
I'm so confident anyone can build a powerful resume on their own, which is why I've created the 7-Day Resume Renovation Challenge - and updated it for 2025 market conditions.
What is it?
In seven easily digestible & manageable lectures, I will share the best practices I advise all my clients who are looking for a new job or professional path. I will provide guidance on types of content, formatting, keywords, tone, and how to build a powerful summary. I will also touch on what to do about employment gaps, frequent job changes, and even how to fend off ageism.
How will it work?
Each lecture will deliver access to a video lesson and action steps that break down the overwhelming process of building a great resume.
Your job?
Implement each lesson, each day — so that you keep pace with the challenge of renovating your resume in seven days!
Here are some real quotes from my clients who completed this course earlier this year:
"I've gotten amazing feedback on my new resume. One colleague told me it's the best resume she has ever seen. Thank you so much for your guidance. My resume is now the best it’s ever been!" (Sales Director)
"Thank you for a very informative week. You seriously rock. The information was exactly what was promised." (VP of Technology)
"This course really got me into the proper mindset where I not only figured out how to break through my resumé writing blocks but also started feeling highly enthusiastic about tackling the project. I love my end result!" (2023 Student)
"The Resume Challenge exceeded my expectations." (Marketing Specialist)
"Everything was awesome. I quickly realized where I had been going wrong and this challenge set me on a much better path." (Operations Manager)
Over 1,000 professionals have enrolled in this course -- on average 4.5 star ratings too!