A local startup aims to help job seekers ace interviews and wow potential employers.
Jody LoMenzo, president and founder of Emanation, started brainstorming the new business in March after friends, family members and colleagues came to her for advice.
“People were coming to me and saying, ‘How can you help me prepare for this job interview?’” LoMenzo said. “I worked on their resumes and explained different interview tactics.”
LoMenzo started building the company with Andrea Siebentritt, a media relations professional, and Christine Corrieri, former director of business development for Circuit City Stores.
LoMenzo spent about $5,000 to get it up and running, worked the networking circuit and landed an office at Willow Lawn.
“It’s a shoestring business. We’re still getting off the ground,” LoMenzo said.
Emanation works with clients in a handful of key areas: interview preparation, business communication, job offer negotiation and employer research.
“The goal is to get the job you want, understand the process and learn the company,” LoMenzo said.
LoMenzo’s past jobs include working as a reporter, as a spokesperson for bio-pharmaceutical company Insmed and with a firm she runs called Point of View Public Relations.
“My previous PR experience was for businesses, but [Emanation] focuses on individual PR and branding, and is custom-tailored to their needs,” she said.
Emanation has worked with about 12 clients, including first-time job seekers, college students, people changing careers and people who have been laid off.
To gather revenue, they charge clients according to their level of experience and amount of time the company has to invest.
Prices for the service vary from $150 for resume building to about $500 for a more complete makeover. Sessions can be one to three hours depending on the level of skill and how many areas the client needs help with.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the state of the economy,” LoMenzo said, “and people are looking for work, so charging them a lot would just not be fair.”
A local startup aims to help job seekers ace interviews and wow potential employers.
Jody LoMenzo, president and founder of Emanation, started brainstorming the new business in March after friends, family members and colleagues came to her for advice.
“People were coming to me and saying, ‘How can you help me prepare for this job interview?’” LoMenzo said. “I worked on their resumes and explained different interview tactics.”
LoMenzo started building the company with Andrea Siebentritt, a media relations professional, and Christine Corrieri, former director of business development for Circuit City Stores.
LoMenzo spent about $5,000 to get it up and running, worked the networking circuit and landed an office at Willow Lawn.
“It’s a shoestring business. We’re still getting off the ground,” LoMenzo said.
Emanation works with clients in a handful of key areas: interview preparation, business communication, job offer negotiation and employer research.
“The goal is to get the job you want, understand the process and learn the company,” LoMenzo said.
LoMenzo’s past jobs include working as a reporter, as a spokesperson for bio-pharmaceutical company Insmed and with a firm she runs called Point of View Public Relations.
“My previous PR experience was for businesses, but [Emanation] focuses on individual PR and branding, and is custom-tailored to their needs,” she said.
Emanation has worked with about 12 clients, including first-time job seekers, college students, people changing careers and people who have been laid off.
To gather revenue, they charge clients according to their level of experience and amount of time the company has to invest.
Prices for the service vary from $150 for resume building to about $500 for a more complete makeover. Sessions can be one to three hours depending on the level of skill and how many areas the client needs help with.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the state of the economy,” LoMenzo said, “and people are looking for work, so charging them a lot would just not be fair.”
Are any of the firm’s members certified professional resume writers? There are professional organizations for resume writing — the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches and the National Resume Writers’ Association — and certification is obtainable through them.
I have worked with a certified professional resume writer, and the results were fantastic. If you are going to pay $150 or more for a resume, I highly recommend that you spend it only on someone who is certified and has a track record of clients who obtained jobs with resumes written by that writer.