Upgrading Your Resume
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE RESULTING CLOSURE OF MANY SPAS worldwide has led to an unfortunate
reality: many spa directors are now fully unemployed and stuck at home. Even if you’re planning on rejoining your former
employer, it’s a good idea to take the time now to update your resume for a post-coronavirus world—many of our
members have indicated they’re polishing their resumes in preparation.
How does one prepare their resume, though? What can you do to stand out from the pack? Pulse reached out to
former ISPA Chairman Jean Kolb, now of Hutchinson Consulting, and Alison Harrigan, of organizational consultants
JEAN KOLB: ALISON HARRIGAN:
1. “I don’t see strategic thinking on many spa directors’
resumes. Anything to show that you can think long-
term—serving on an executive committee, being involved
in capital planning, strategic planning, marketing plan-
ning—is very important. So many em-
ployers want someone who can think
beyond day-to-day operations to a
higher vision of where the spa is
going.”
2. “Show your financial acumen.
Whenever we look at a GM of a
hotel or a director of rooms, they
talk about that a lot, but spa
directors don’t. Do it at a high level—
you don’t want to spray a resume with a
lot of numbers, but you do want them to know
that you managed a 21-room spa with $4 million in
revenue at an average of 8 percent growth year-over-year.”
3. “When I talk to candidates, I ask them, ‘how strong
is your LinkedIn profile?’ and they cringe. Everyone
uses the LinkedIn profile. It has to be strong—as strong
as the resume.” 1. “Hiring managers mainly
look at the headers. If you
worked at Miraval, but
worked at different locations,
put it all under Miraval. That
highlights that you spent 10
years at Miraval instead of
highlighting that you spent two
years in Tucson, two years in
Austin, etc. Hiring managers want to see
longevity in a position and having jobs that lasted less
than two years can be seen as a negative.”
2. “You shouldn’t feel pressured to keep it to a page.
Make the resume clearer, make the headers stand out.
The formatting and the design don’t matter as much as
the grammar and the spelling.”
MAY 2020
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PULSE
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