Houston Outplacement Resume Writing and Career Coaching

06/05/2026

Take Initiative if You Want to Change Careers

Nobody Is Going to Give You Permission to Change Careers I talk to career changers every week, and so many of them are waiting for the same thing: someone to give them a chance. They have spent years in one field, they know they want something different, and they are quietly hoping a hiring manager somewhere will look past the mismatch on paper and take a leap of faith....

If you want to change careers, start learning, volunteering, and posting about what you are learning and doing.

06/05/2026

Stop Treating Generic Online Resume Advice as the Gold Standard

Stop Treating Generic Online Resume Advice as the Gold Standard I had a client a few weeks ago who came to me absolutely paralyzed. She had spent weeks reading everything she could find about resumes online, and now she could not write a single line without second-guessing it. One article said never go past one page. Another said two pages was fine after ten years of experience....

Generic online resume advice doesn't work for everyone. Each person is unique and the point of the resume, interview, and branding campaign is to showcase your unique value.

05/15/2026

Gen X in the Workforce Are They Getting Phased Out or Kept Around? Nobody Can Decide.

Gen X in the Workforce. Are They Getting Phased Out or Kept Around? Nobody Can Decide. Here's What to Do Either Way. By Bridget Batson, CMRW, CERM | BridgetBatson.com If you've been scrolling the internet lately (and of course you have, we're Gen X, we practically built the internet while our bosses were still printing MapQuest directions), you've probably seen the headlines....

https://bridgetbatson.com/gen-x-in-the-workforce/

Gen X in the workforce. Are they getting phased our or kept around? No one can decide. It really just depends.

05/14/2026

How to Respond to “We Chose Another Candidate” and Keep the Door Open

How to Respond to "We Chose Another Candidate" and Keep the Door Open You made it far. Really far. Maybe you had a few rounds of interviews. You got a good vibe from the team. You were already thinking about what your commute would look like. And then you get the email, or the call, and it says something like: "We really enjoyed getting to know you, but we've decided to move forward with another candidate."...

How to respond to "we chose another candidate" and keep the door open to future opportunities at the company while building your network.

05/10/2026

How to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work Here?” on a Job Interview

How to Answer "Why Do You Want to Work Here?" on a Job Interview Most people answer the "why do you want to work here" question with some version of "your company has a great reputation and I think I'd grow here." That answer does nothing. It tells the interviewer you did a Google search, found nothing alarming, and decided to apply....

How to Answer "Why Do You Want to Work Here?" on a Job Interview to showcase you are the right fit and can do the job while promoting your value.

05/09/2026

The Easiest Way to Build Your Personal Brand Online

Don't Overthink It! The Easiest Way to Build Your Personal Brand Online By Bridget Batson, CMRW, CERM, CGRA, CPRW, NCOPE, CEIP | CEO, Houston Outplacement So I want to talk about something that comes up in almost every single conversation I have with clients. And it does not matter if I am working with a senior executive navigating a career transition or someone who just wants to get more visibility in their industry....

The easiest way to build your personal brand online is to simply talk about what you know. Don't overthink it. You are already an expert in what you do.

05/07/2026

Writing Your Resume Is the Best Interview Prep You Will Ever Do

Writing Your Resume Is the Best Interview Prep You Will Ever Do By Bridget Batson, CMRW, CERM, CGRA, CPRW, NCOPE, CEIP | CEO, Houston Outplacement Okay, so I want to talk about something that most job seekers completely miss. And I mean completely. Because when people come to me to work on their resume, they think we are just working on a document....

Writing your resume is the best interview preparation. When you work with a certified resume writer, you will actually be elevating your interview skills.

05/06/2026

How to Bury Negative Search Results About Yourself Online for Your Career: Take a Lesson from Celebrities

How to Bury Negative Search Results About Yourself Online By Bridget Batson, CMRW, CERM, CGRA, CPRW, NCOPE, CEIP | CEO, Houston Outplacement LLC Okay, so here is something I tell my clients all the time, and I want to talk about it because it comes up a lot. Whether you are out there looking for your next opportunity or you are settled in your career and just want to protect your reputation, there is a really good chance something is floating around online about you that you wish wasn't there....

Take a lesson from the celebrities on how to bury negative search results about yourself online for your job search and career growth

05/05/2026

Stop Job Searching. Start Career Marketing. (Your LinkedIn Profile Is the Difference.)

Stop Job Searching. Start Career Marketing. (Your LinkedIn Profile Is the Difference.) You worked hard on your resume. You polished every line, nailed your metrics, and told your story the right way. And it is good. Really good. Now what? You hit apply on a few roles, refresh your inbox, and wait. And wait. Here is what most job seekers do not realize, and what I tell every single client I work with: by the time that job posting went live, a recruiter may have already found their top two or three candidates.... Read more https://bridgetbatson.com/stop-job-searching-start-career-marketing-your-linkedin-profile-is-the-difference/

Service booking page: www.houstonoutplacement.com

04/21/2026

Back in 1996, I bought my very first resume book, Resumes For Dummies.

I did not know it at the time, but that book would quietly shape the direction of my entire career.

It taught me the basics. How to think about a resume, how to structure information, how to tell a story on paper. It gave me just enough confidence to take a step into recruiting, which turned into years of experience inside the hiring process, reviewing resumes, understanding what works, and what gets overlooked.

Fast forward many years, a career in recruiting, and now nearly two decades (WOWZA time flies) as a full-time resume writer, career coach, outplacement service provider, and LinkedIn and personal branding strategist, and I am sitting here a little emotional.

Because several of my resume examples are featured in the newest edition of Resumes For Dummies.

Full circle does not even begin to describe it.

To go from learning the fundamentals through those pages to now contributing to the same resource is something I do not take lightly. It is a reminder that small beginnings matter. That learning the basics matters. That you never really know where something will lead.

A sincere thank you to Laura DeCarlo for the opportunity to be part of this latest edition and for continuing to create resources that help people build careers.

And to anyone just starting out, wherever you are in your journey, keep going. You might be a lot closer to your own full-circle moment than you think.

And, yes, someone just HAD to go to Barnes & Noble to get a picture of herself in front of the book.