How much would it be worth to you to leave your current workplace and walk into your dream job tomorrow? Here’s the equation for that:
X = Salary
Y = Price of career services
Z = Work days per year
A = How much quicker you’ll find a new role than with what you’re currently doing
B = Frustration with your job (%)
Maybe you would just pay a thousand dollars just to skip the job-search process. Maybe you want out because you can’t stand another day in your job but need the money. Maybe you were in that situation earlier today but you found the strength to walk out; now you need something ASAP. Maybe you walked out a month ago and have a couple dollars to stretch your little mini-vacay to a longer one.
The bottom line is that if you’re reading this, getting a job sooner rather than later is worth something. But what exactly is it worth? Let’s explore. How many more weeks is it going to take to get into that new job with your current, perfectly reasonable, acceptable (but maybe a bit boring) résumé? Or what if you get an infographic résumé with us? Will it take less time?
Let’s say you’re out of work, and you expect to make $47,000 per year (assuming a 17% income tax rate) that means that exactly one week’s salary will pay for an infographic resume. So if you only get a job or one week earlier then you would if you hadn’t gotten a new, spiffy, supercharged infographic resume, you break even. If you get a job two weeks earlier, the résumé pays for itself and puts $750 in your pocket.
And if you’re currently in a job but they gave you one-time bonus of $750, how long would that make you want to extend? Whatever the answer is there is the amount of time an infographic résumé would have to get you a job versus your current résumé to make it work for you, financially. If they raised your salary, that’s another story. You might extend longer for a bigger jump. Below is our completely unscientific assessment of the effects on salary and a lengthened stay at a job you may not be so pumped about.
Not to mention that with a professionally-designed résumé, employers will recognize this investment in your career and know that you’re serious about your job search. A woman strolls into an office with a snappy suit, sitting down in the lobby; she looks the part. Another woman coming in for the same position with a comfy sweater and khakis might not appear so prepared. You gotta dress for success.
Of course, you may not get a job any earlier than with your old brick of lists, black and white word.doc, but if you keep using the old one, the next job may be the job that you settle for rather than the one that you really want. You could go to work in whatever atmosphere you’re not so excited about now for another year or two of your life, or you could be the woman who has done her research, watching the face of the woman in the suit sink as the CEO opens the door to her office wearing a comfy sweater and khakis. Preparation + Opportunity = Success.
Another thing is taxes. We were going to wrap this section up talking about them and how you could deduct a bunch of expenses relating to your job search, but the US congress decided to give a bunch of rich folks tax breaks and take from the rest of us. We would have said something like; “We’re not tax attorneys, or would be legally allowed to say that this is a tax deduction, but what we are allowed to say is that you can consult with your tax attorney and these very well may be tax deductions.”
In 2017 going forward, all that is gone, but it’s highly likely that we’ll see these kinds of deductions pop back up in a few years. If you have an LLC and use it for contracting, you may still be able to deduct those expenses related to looking for work.
Even if those benefits don’t exist right now, we can get these résumés done in a week, which is faster than most services out there, so if you’re more than two weeks away from getting your dream job with your completely acceptable résumé (or if you’re two weeks away from taking a job you feel like you’re settling for), we want to help.
Cheers,
Hagan Blount
CEO, InfographicResumes.com
P.S.: We like tax deductions, too, but we really like giving back… For every 25 infographic résumés purchased, we donate one to a Defy Ventures graduate. Defy Ventures is a program to help the formerly incarcerated population of the United States establish businesses and careers upon completion of their prison term. Defy offers a suite of services including personal and leadership development, entrepreneurship training & competitions, executive mentoring, investment, and business incubation. We are proud to assist with résumés for graduates. Learn more at DefyVentures.org.
