Blown Mortgage provides former mortgage industry employees a free resume review to help them find work in another industry

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Update: If you’re interested in having your resume reviewed check out my new service: Resume Donkey.

I get a lot of resumes. People who read Blown Mortgage send me their resume and inquire about employment at my company. I’m always flattered when someone sends me their resume; it means they have an interest in my organization and, in a roundabout way, me personally. But, of course, my company is not hiring. We’re not immune to the effects of the market slow down. We went through layoffs and downsizing back in May, and I blogged about the agony in which I had to let friends and relatives go.

But that experience, and the continuing influx of resumes gave me pause. There are too many good people out there; those that worked hard, did their job well, who are now looking at a complete shift in career. The jobs are just not in the mortgage industry any more. Whether you have 6 months or 6 years of experience there is little in the way of gainful employment. Save for the booming loss mitigation/REO/servicing side (which is an important option to consider, btw) there isn’t much out there; and certainly not enough to pick up everyone. With that in mind I have come up with a new service for Blown Mortgage readers who happen to be in the mortgage industry.

What’s the idea?

Blown Mortgage Resume Review

In order to help those that have lost their job due to a layoff or company closure, I am offering a full resume review to help those out of a job find employment in other sectors of the job market. I will do this completely free of charge.

Where do I send my resume?

Send it to resumes@blownmortgage.com. You can send it as a word document or inline in the email. I can’t do anything with JPG, PDF or any other funky file format; and I probably won’t have time to respond and ask you to send it in a format I can work with, so please try to help me help you.

Be sure to include the following information:

Are you planning on looking for another mortgage job?
Are you planning on a new field? If it’s a new field be sure to specify what job position(s) you are exploring and/or what field(s); it will help tremendously with my review.

Why should I send you my resume?

You should send me your resume for a handful of reasons:

1. My family has been in the job placement industry for nearly 40 years; I was the black sheep who didn’t take on the mantle. I had the opportunity to live side-by-side with people who make their living putting people in jobs for the majority of my formative years; as well as hands on experience via internships for my mom’s company. Learning from my mom and grandparents has given me a keen sense of what people are looking for when reviewing a resume and what are red flags to HR folks.

2. As chief operating officer of my company I was responsible for the hiring of administrative, operations and hourly staff. I also was heavily involved in sales team hiring. I have reviewed thousands of resumes. I have seen some terrible ones and some great ones (mostly terrible). I will provide you with some insight from what I would think of your resume if it landed on my desk.

3. I came from outside of the mortgage industry. I was in marketing and advertising. Before that my background was in technology. I have a wide understanding of the business world that exists outside the mortgage and lending universe. The mortgage resumes I saw show a lack or care, attention to detail or any type of substance whatsoever. This got people by in the mortgage boom as companies scrambled to fill seats and ops positions. In today’s competitive job market outside of our world those resumes will land in the recycle pile - quickly. I can give you the critical eye of an outsider’s perspective on your resume.

4. I’ve taken many classes in hiring and interviewing and know what people are looking for and what questions they’ll be asking; this insider knowledge can benefit you and help you be more prepared.

What’s the catch?

There are two catches. Come on, this is the mortgage industry, there’s always fine print!

I get to use the recommendations I give to you to other people, and I reserve the right to publish or post those ideas on the blog (removing personal data, and specifics of course).
If you like my suggestions you send me a PayPal donation of $5-$10 for my time. If you don’t like them, you don’t pay - simple as that.

Anything else?

Yes. Patience is a virtue. I only have so many hours in the day; and while I’d love to spend my life on this blog, I need to make real money, and so my job will interfere with the amount of time I am able to commit to this project.

Further, I reserve the right to cease this project at any time, with or with out notice. Please also note that I am not a registered or certified HR consultant; I am merely a person who has pored over resumes and learned a great deal about hiring candidates from my environment. If that isn’t enough for you, fair enough, but that’s what I’m offering.

Consider it a small token of appreciation for the people who read Blown Mortgage every day who are out of work or are trying to hedge against the specter of future unemployment. We try to give out a lot of consumer advice here; and this is our way of giving back to the industry.

What’s Else Can You Expect?

I will be doing a series of posts on best-practice ways to go about finding a job outside the industry; focusing on some tried and true methods for job searchers to find a job that meets their requirements and hopes for the future. Those will start later this week.

I am also considering adding a job board, but see my opening reservations about the limited jobs in our field at the moment.

Thoughts? Feedback?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the idea, even if you think it is a terrible one. It’s just one guy trying to help some people out, so if it flops it’s fine by me - I just wanted to put the offer out there.