Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Dussan.
Hi Diana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I come from a very diverse professional and educational background, so resume writing came naturally to me and just made sense. I have worked for both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, and I have corporate experience at some of the biggest companies in the U.S. including at the world headquarters of Whole Foods Market in Austin, TX and Calvin Klein in New York City, NY.
It all started in 2010. My father, the VP of a major New York City advertising agency at the time, was laid off during the economic recession in 2009, and he came to me with his worries. He had an impressive work history at the world’s top agencies, but his resume wasn’t working and he had been looking for a resume writer. They were charging well over $1000 though, and he had gone months without work. Unable to find a resume writer at an affordable price, I took on the task of writing and designing his resume. It worked and immediately landed him multiple interviews and offers. It was then that I realized I could put my talents to good use and lend my services to other people who found themselves out of work and unable to afford a quality resume. That’s when Résumé Goat was born.
There are hard-working, qualified professionals in search of work who haven’t been given the chance they deserve because they don’t have the resume that they deserve. I wanted to change that, so I did. For more than ten years, I have been able to help thousands of people by writing and designing high-quality resumes that are unmatched in quality and design—both as the owner of my own company, Résumé Goat, and for a few years in a corporate capacity as a Senior Professional Résumé Writer for Fortune 500 company Randstad (the world’s second-largest HR consulting firm) and its acquired companies, RiseSmart, and Monster.com, among others.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The hardest part for me has been raising three kids while juggling my business and my clients. Instead of following the age-old advice, “sleep when the baby sleeps,” I would work when the baby slept. I have a strong work ethic and really care about the work I put into each client’s resume, so it’s been really important for me to give it my all, sometimes at the expense of my sleep.
Building the company was slow in the beginning. New clients would come to me sporadically, but never every day like they are now. That is until I dedicated some time to search engine optimization (SEO) and developed an affiliate marketing-type of relationship with another resume writer. From there, it was a snowball effect of the best kind: word of mouth from happy clients! My clients would tell several people who would tell several people who would tell several people, and before I knew it, I was swimming in work. Without doing any advertising at all and barely dipping my toes into social media, I’ve been able to grow Resume Goat from side hustle to a full-fledged, profitable, 5-star-rated business.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Résumé Goat specializes in professional writing and design services including Traditional ATS Résumés, ATS-Friendly Design Résumés, LinkedIn Profile Optimization, Cover Letters, Professional Biographies, and more. It is owned and operated by me, Diana Dussan, a Senior Professional Résumé Writer, Graphic Designer, and Branding Specialist based in Austin, TX.
My diverse professional experience and broad knowledge base across multiple industries and subjects enable me to offer my clients exceptional, highly effective résumés that are unmatched in content, quality, and design. Unlike most resume writers, my added expertise as a Branding Specialist and a Graphic Designer enables me to craft expertly written, high-impact designer resumes that are custom-tailored to the needs of each client, along with supporting documents to match.
I offer quality résumés at affordable prices by personally writing each résumé. In other words, Résumé Goat is not a résumé mill. Most résumé writing companies get a client in the door and then farm the actual work out to independent contractors. Not Résumé Goat. I am on the initial consultation, I work with each client through the entire process, and I write each résumé from start to finish. Not only does this approach constantly evolve my expertise (i.e., every day I work with multiple people across various fields and experience levels), it also lowers the price my clients pay for a Résumé, Cover Letter, LinkedIn Profile Optimization, or whatever else they need because I’m not paying a third party. It’s a win-win. One that hundreds of people took advantage of last year (and the year before, and the year before . . .).
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think it’s important to take risks. Honestly, it can’t hurt to try. I would rather know if taking a big leap is going to get me anywhere than sitting around wasting time wondering about it. The worst that could happen is that I’m back at square one, in which case I could go back to what I was doing before or try something else. I try to remind myself that just because I make a choice or take a risk doesn’t mean I have to stick with it. I could just as easily make a new choice and take a different risk. Life is fluid, nothing is permanent after all.
Pricing:
- Entry-Level Résumé Package – $150
- Mid-Level Résumé Package – $250
- Senior-Level Résumé Package – $350
- C-Level Executive Résumé Package – $450
- Cover Letter & LinkedIn Profile Optimization- $50 each
Contact Info:
- Website: www.resumegoat.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/resumegoat
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/resumegoat
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/resumegoat
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/resume-goat-austin
- Other: https://g.page/r/CaeCXxzSfltUEB0/review
