I often speak about the intensity and depth of collaboration in career storytelling, so it’s no wonder that one question I’m asked most often is “When will I have my finished CV?”
Timelines matter. They matter most of all when you’re reaching out for help with something (as most people I work with are). Plus, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my being an independent, freelance writer contributes to that – the only thing worse than being outright scammed is getting into a well-intentioned engagement that just drags on and on but never gets done, and I think we’ve all experienced some version of that before.
So, here’s how long it takes to deliver your documents on each of my different packages:
There are some things in here that need to be unpacked a little, but I hope that gives you an idea of what to expect. The quickest you’ll get a CV from me is two weeks from the date you pay, and the absolute longest it will take to finalise all work on my most detailed, in-depth package is three months. For total transparency, let’s break down some details.
“Before we start”? Do I have homework?
No homework, I promise. In my years doing this, I’ve tested out a multitude of intake processes, from lengthy intake forms and contracts to just going right in with no information. Here’s what I’ve settled on.
First, you get full access to your own customer portal, which has heaps of good stuff in it to peruse at your leisure. There are guides on tailoring your CV for different opportunities, getting the most from LinkedIn, evidence-based exercises for career story development, and loads more. None of that is compulsory, but it’s all there for you any time you want it.
The portal also allows you to do your one and only required job, which is to schedule our initial call. You can book into my calendar, or you can call, email or message me. Whatever works best for you.
To get the most from our work together, I’d also like to know as much about you as possible, and that allows me to do some early work on preparing for our collaboration. You can upload any documents that will allow me to get an idea of you and your background, from old CVs to certificates to basically anything. And there’s a questionnaire that you can submit answers to, or you can just look over and start thinking about it and we can discuss when we talk.
The more I have ahead of our call, the better, but I appreciate that we’re all busy people. Give me as much as you can in the time you’ve got, and I’ll take it from there.
Week 1 is Where the Story Starts
On all of my packages, the first week is where I do the bulk of the research and narrative development. This means looking at all the information you’ve given me (including our call) and bringing it all into a clear narrative, but that doesn’t do justice to the true nature of the work here. Depending on your career and circumstances, this could include:
Framing or Reframing: Identifying the core themes, perspectives and ideologies that we can use to set your career and experience in context for people seeing it for the first time.
Dealing with Complications: Isolating the things that don’t fit our narrative frame and finding the ways to either speak directly to them or omit them without resorting to deception.
Seeing Your Story from the Audience’s Perspective: Figuring out who we want to speak to with these documents and how we want them to react. This allows us to tell stories that resonate with them and encourage them to take the desired action.
Finding the Truth: Whether work-related or not, the best stories start from a compelling truth and work outwards, so I’ll uncover the beating heart of your story, around which everything else can be built.
You won’t see much of this until it’s ready – I’ll test out different stories and approaches behind the scenes, and then present the ones that I think work best for your approval and refinement.
In my Career Boost Essentials and Professional Presence packages, that means you’ll receive a draft CV within one week of our call that tells an interesting story about who you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go next. For Own Your Story packages, we first nail down your own Personal Brand Map, which details your career trajectory, target next steps, communications strategy, brand description, brand-critical qualities and more.
Collaboration is the Route to Perfection
The timelines on all packages get looser around the “Feedback and Revisions” stage. Don’t worry, that’s not because we’re about to get into a lengthy email back-and-forth about the minutiae of spellings and grammar. Rather, what we’re doing is collaborating on the draft of the story. After all, it is about you. If any of it doesn’t feel right, you’ll know that better than anyone, and together we’ll be able to find a far better solution than I could alone.
This part of the process is all about combining my expertise in narrative, professional and personal branding, and career storytelling with your expertise in… well, yourself!
If it helps, I’ve been doing this for a long time now and almost all of these revision phases are completed in the quickest possible time. The only reason I still allow so much leeway is so that we can go deep and make heavy revisions if we need to. It seldom happens that we have to do extensive rewriting, but when it does, I want to fully engage with that – I’ve got no interest in pushing you to finalise any work that you’re not completely comfortable and confident with.
Whatever happens here, this is all about giving us all the time we need to work together and perfect every word of the documents. I make sure everything is resonant, impactful and engaging, and you make sure it’s all accurate.
What is “Continued Access and Support”?
This covers three key promises:
Portal Access: You keep access to your customer portal after our work is complete. That means you can log in any time to review the resources and guides, and to re-download copies of any documents that you might misplace. You’ll retain access to additional materials or strategy notes I uploaded during our collaboration, and you’ll have access to our chat and my contact details for any questions once you take your documents out into the world.
Document Handover Session: This is a call to cover any last uncertainties or tips and tricks that will allow you to own your story. It’s not your story until you’re comfortable updating, rewriting and delivering it yourself, so I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’re not dependent on me for updates and that the work we’ve done lasts you well into the future.
Lifetime Coaching and Document Update Discounts: Even with perfect documents and a seamless handover, things will come up now and again. It might be an unexpected opportunity, or a repositioning that you need a helping hand with. I offer lifetime discounts on narrative coaching sessions to help you resolve any career dilemma in a way that is consistent and aligned with your career story, as well as discounted document updates so we don’t need to start all over again if you just want to add a new role to your CV or tweak your story to take you in a different direction.
Your Story in 12 Weeks or Less
Ultimately, this entire process helps you find, tell and own your unique story, and that’s not always fast work. I’ve put a lot of effort into making it as efficient as I can, and more often than not, my projects come in at the lower end of these estimates. At the same time, I do want to allow for flexibility, and I never want to be rushing you for feedback or finalisation on something this important.
Throughout our collaboration, we’re in constant contact – I’ll never let the project be forgotten if other aspects of life get hectic. The result will be the cumulative product of the time and effort we both put in: impactful, authentic career materials you’re proud to present as the cornerstone of your personal and professional brand.
So, to circle back to that original question: “When will I have my finished CV?” The answer is that you’ll have something meaningful in your hands within a week, and everything will be completely finalised within 2-12 weeks depending on your package. More importantly, you’ll never be left wondering where things stand or when you’ll hear from me next. After years of refining this process, I’ve learned that the timeline matters far less than the certainty – and you’ll have both.
