Innovator Award Winners
There are many true Career Innovators in our midst!

CDI receives extremely innovative submissions in the pursuit of a Career Innovator Award. This contest does not run every year.
2022 Award Winners
This was extremely challenging for our judges this year and we ended up extending their judging timeframe. There was quite a lack of consensus as to what was actually innovative today - either for content, delivery method, or both.
While every submission offered something of value and received at least one vote to win, through judge feedback we believe one of the greatest barriers for entrants in placing for an award was lack of familiarity with programs that already exist or overlap in their space, or in creating offerings that seem to be derived partially out of existing white labeled programs.
Additionally, a Career Innovator award requires innovation and not just excellence. Conversely, innovation is also not enough if the program content is not of a high caliber or it is difficult/confusing to use.
The greatest agreement was that one entry had 62% of the winning votes from the eight judges, but at different scales of one to five with one being the highest and five the lowest. Two judges scored it as the #1 best innovation. That winner is The Career Snapshot© by Rex Roy. The other winners were scored relatively equally so that if we were ranking all of them, there would be four tied for second place.
We did run the numbers multiple different ways just to be sure of the winners and nominees.
In no particular order, except the 1st:
Rex Roy of The Career Snapshot© - The Career Snapshot©
Highest rated! (See above)
The Career Snapshot© is a new tool for job seekers that fills an important void in the networking and personal brand building space. It is a 1-page, metric-based, interactive infographic developed by a 40-year veteran of the advertising and marketing world. The Career Snapshot is not a replacement for the traditional resumé and cover letter, but a supplement to these important tools. The Snapshot helps clients quickly earn the attention of hiring influencers and decision makers, improving the chances of starting a conversation that can lead to a job offer.
Amy Britta Watt of Career Marketing Centre/Police Test Tutor - Police Test Tutor
Police Test Tutor has introduced a highly unique and modernized service for use by candidates who are seeking to prepare and practice for their job interview. It allows candidates to access highly specialized and specific questions that relate to their upcoming interview and provides candidates the opportunity to practice these interview questions on a self-serve basis and receive automated feedback on multiple aspects of their recorded interview.
Maureen Farmer of Westgate Executive Branding & Career Consulting - CEO 90-Day Plan
Maureen instituted a significant innovation with our CEO 90-day plan. The strategy has evolved over 5 years and toward the end of last year, we published a blog on the Westgate website titled, Make your CEO and board happy with a 90-day plan, and it includes a template, checklist, and accountability script.
Whether you’re a new CEO, an experienced CEO, or a C-level planning to get hired up, you can use this comprehensive 90-day plan to jump start your year, maximize performance, and appease your investors.
Like a Swiss Army Knife, the 90-day plan will help you master the job interview, master your first 90 days on the job, and serve as a continuous performance improvement tool.
Tiffany Cruz of Power Writers USA - The Video Resume Pro App
Video Resume Pro is a mobile app designed to digitize, modernize, and personalize the job search process. The app quickly connects job seekers with recruiters through short, customized video resumes recorded on the app, which they can send directly to recruiters on LinkedIn. Video Resume Pro is opening a new revenue stream for resume writers to create scripts for the jobseekers to speak to. Resume writers can sell this script writing product to each client as an enhancement and digital solution to the traditional resume (Suggested to quote based on the length of the video: 15/30/60 sec). This allows job seekers to put a “voice” to their resume and share more of who they are. Recruiters and hiring managers have a new way to “meet” the person they are interviewing before/while they review their resume, helping them make better hires and better align talent with company culture.
Athena Ali of The Get Noticed Coach - Key Selection Criteria Made Easy course (formerly Interview Landing Key Selection Criteria)
The Interview Landing Key Selection Criteria course is part of my Career Accelerator program. This program is specific to the Australian Public Sector. It is for job seekers who use the STAR method to respond to selection criteria.
This contains my unique way of explaining the process instead of using the word STAR for the method, I use the 4 I’s. Issue, Improve, Implement and Impact.
I use this formula to explain how criteria should be addressed and why it is more impactful to start with the end in mind.
The summary of how this formula is used is that Impact should be the first thing you write in your selection criteria as it immediately “wows” the reader into wanting to read more.
We tell them the impact we made first (like the Result in the STAR method) which also lends itself to being like the achievement or accomplishment statement in your resume.
When we begin our paragraph with the result, it draws in the reader to want to know more about how you achieved that and you can then go on and tell the story of what the issue was, the methods you used to improve it, then go through how you implemented it and then reiterate the impact you had when you did this.
Knowing how to write key selection criteria is also crucial to writing your achievement statements in your
resume, writing your cover letter, and being able to respond to behavioural interview questions which is why it is crucial to get this right in Australian Public Service applications.
It does not only help to address key selection criteria requested, but should be enmeshed in all the job
application documents submitted.
When you see how STAR is explained on government websites, there isn’t enough information for applicants to really understand how to do this in a way that “wows” the hiring manager, the responses provided are very vanilla, vague and just like what everyone else would submit.
My course breaks down what to do before you start writing, how to decipher the questions, examples, and also how to write them in a way that will excite hiring managers and bring the candidate in for an interview.
2022 Honorable Mentions
Alana Henry of The Writique, LLC - Comprehensive Pipeline for Prospective Clients, Active Clients, and Offboarding Clients Using Dubsado and ClickUp
I have created a comprehensive pipeline for my prospective clients, active clients, and offboarding clients in two tools: Dubsado, and ClickUp. Despite not being designed for use within the writing industry, I have tailored the setup and functionality of these tools to ensure optimal performance for resume writers according to our unique needs. The labels, data dashboard, and custom statuses can ensure that resume writers and their staff are aware of where each project is in their pipeline and that nothing “slips through the cracks”. Taking the knowledge and understanding of these tools and process optimization, I have worked to support other resume writers in creating a client journey that meets their needs and reduces inefficiencies.
Kyle Elliott of Caffeinated Kyle/Assemble - Assemble Your Job Search Training Program
Assemble Your Job Search (AYJS) is a first-of-its-kind job search training program. This special program provides a welcoming, supportive, and inspiring environment for job seekers as they find their next opportunity in the modern job market. Participants attend weekly 90-minute live learning experiences facilitated by award-winning job search expert Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES. These engaging, on-screen, live learning experiences are complemented by meaningful peer connections, bespoke “homework” between sessions, and customized job search resources.
The following are the focus areas of each live AYJS learning experience as well as the associated learning objectives.
Session 1: Assemble Your Career Goals
Session 2: Assemble Your Transferable Skills
Session 3: Assemble Your Resume
Session 4: Assemble Your LinkedIn Profile
Session 5: Assemble Your Interview Skills
Session 6: Assemble Your Network
Special thanks to 2022 Judges:
- Mary Elizabeth Bradford, MaryElizabethBradford.com
- Lotte Struwing, Lasting Solutions HR Consulting & Coaching
- Carolyn Smith, Impact Career Services
- Barbara Safani, Career Solvers
- Robin Schlinger, Robin’s Resumes®
- Laura Labovich, The Career Strategy Group
- Rachel Raymond, RVP Career Services
- Marie Plett, Aspirations Career Services, Inc.
2020 Award Winners
In no particular order:
Stacey Murray of Human Spark (FKA The Resume Creative - Resume Writing for Return to Work Success course
This course empowers parents (mothers and fathers), careers and people recovered from injury and illness with the resume writing and job search skills to successfully secure a reentry to the workforce. The course is accessible online and comprises 26 bite-sized modules which can each be listened to or read in approximately 10 minutes or less (most under 5 minutes - great for busy lives and not at all overwhelming), complete with exercises, reading materials, video demos, and audios.
Meg Guiseppi of Executive Career Brand - CareerBrandVideos™ for Job Search, Career and Entrepreneurs | Personal Branding Video. (Innovation is a collaborative effort with Hannah Morgan and André Palko.)
CareerBrandVideos™ is a customized kinetic animation video system specifically designed for career-long branding for job seekers, career-minded people and entrepreneurs. The content or text in the videos is guided by proprietary information-mining documents (the worksheet and submission form attached here) which are based on the proprietary worksheets I’ve perfected over my 20+ years creating resumes, LinkedIn profiles, biographies, etc. for job seekers. The videos are to be used recurrently on various social media channels for personal branding and building online visibility.
Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders - Resume Keywords for All Professions V. 6 (contact creator for V. 6)
The entire Resume Keywords product contains 70,000+ keywords and covers about 15,000 positions to ensure all critical keywords are included so careerists’ resumes are screened in—not out. All Keywords are categorized by profession and were gleaned from current job openings and actual employer keyword lists. Each profession-specific document allows users to check off all relative keywords to include in their resume.
Each also includes sections that cover their “Technical Skills,” “Primary Personal Attributes,” and “How These Attributes Help in Your Profession” along with the “Employer Benefits of Your Attributes.” All important information to get their resume screened in.
Kristin Sherry of YouMap LLC - The YouMap® Career Profile
YouMap® was created to fill a market gap for a holistic, actionable and intuitive career profile tool. The YouMap® profile uncovers all four pillars of career fit, which include strengths, values, preferred skills and personality, all of which must align to bring fulfillment. Other profiles only look at one (or two at most) of the pillars. The YouMap® Career Profile also has companion workbooks for job seeker/career changer, entrepreneur, organization/employee, life coaching, students, and military veterans.
Barbara Safani of Career Solvers - Job Search Networking Tracking System (available from https://www.careersolvers.com/)
The Job Search Networking Tracking System is a tool that helps job seekers track their networking activity throughout the entire life cycle of their job search. It keeps them organized and accountable and it turns what many view as an overwhelming task into a system that gives them structure and control.
2020 Honorable Mentions
Nickquolette Barrett of iRock Development Solutions, LLC dba iRock Résumés - iRockS.T.A.R. Method (You’re HIRED! – 10 Tips to Rock Out Your Interview and Land Your Dream Job – The method begins on at Chapter 7)
From interviewing hundreds of job candidates in my career as a leader in corporate America and with my clients, I found that people get caught up in telling their story or situation and forget to tell the end result. This led to the I developed a new way of helping job candidates interview better. I call it the iRockS.T.A.R. Method or R-S.T.A.R. Method, which helps job candidates to interview better when answering behavioral or competency-based questions. It’s a better way to utilize the S.T.A.R. method successfully.
Jennifer Hay of IT Resume Service - Information Management (BI and Analytics) and Data Management courses for job seekers interested in these fields
These courses provide an overview of the 27 most common specialties in information management and data management fields. The courses were designed for:
- Recent graduates and those fairly new to information technology to help them decide the next steps in their career by giving them a foundational understanding of each specialty.
- Recent graduates are often taught concepts and techniques for several specialties but are not taught how each fits into the overall field. They don't have a real understanding of the job roles and how they interconnect; for example, who would depend on them and upon whom would they depend.
- Those people who are considering a job change into information technology and need help deciding what specialty is right for them.
- Those people who want to help shape successful interviews by demonstrating their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of others within their team.
Meg Applegate of Hinge Resume Collaborative - Resume Branding Workbook
The Resume Branding Workbook is an e-workbook with a resume branding statement writing formula to help job seekers hone their value and articulate it from resume to interview. The DIY workbook specifically focuses on crafting a resume branding statement unique to their competitive edge, career accomplishments and job target.
Special thanks to 2020 Judges:
- Laura Labovich, The Career Strategy Group
- Rachel Raymond, RVP Career Services
- Lucie Yeomans, Your Career Ally/Sick Resumes
- Marie Plett, Aspirations Career Services, Inc
- Skye Berry, Skye is the Limit Resume & Career Solutions
- Lori Jazvac, Creative Horizons Communications - Resumes
- Marie Plett, Aspirations Career Services, Inc.
- Rebecca Henninger, The Job Girl @ RH Resumes
2018 Award Winners
In no particular order:
Carolyn Smith of My Career Groove Pty Ltd. - https://mycareergroove.com job board (2-sided market for highly skilled talent seeking to find their career pathway and employers wanting to attract and secure top talent)
Lotte Struwing of Lasting Solutions HR Consulting & Coaching - Lasting Solutions Career Management Program via http://www.hrcareertransition.com/ (‘turn-key’ program that gives career strategists instant access to high-paying corporate clients with the ability to provide best-in-class, career transition services)
Janet Wall of CEUonestop.com - www.CEUonestop.com website (provides various professional development opportunities to career development professionals through live and virtual venues)
Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Resume ClipBullets For All Professions™ at http://www.careercatapult.com/CareerCatapult.com/Resume_ClipBullets.html (significantly cuts down resume writing time and makes writing expert resumes a breeze because most all the resume bullets you will need for a particular position are already written out for you)
Virginia Franco of Virginia Franco Resumes - https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/resume-storyteller-with-virginia-franco/ podcast (features a mix of career experts and real life job seekers who have tested the job search waters and lived to tell the tale)
2018 Honorable Mentions
Skye Berry-Burke of Skye Is The Limit Resume and Career Solutions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsM6odIH00g “Staying Current with Resume Design Trends” presentation (empower other like-minded Canadian resume writers and career professionals to design career marketing documents that are in alignment with more modern and effective job search strategies)
Lori Jazvac of Creative Horizons Communications - Resumes - https://www.creativeresumestrategist.com/ Creative Horizons Communications Strategy (offers jobseekers a holistic, creative, “whole-person”, and intuitive approach that guides and empowers them to navigate challenging career transitions)
Special thanks to 2018 Judges:
- Posey Salem, Radiant Resume Career Services
- Laura Labovich, The Career Strategy Group
- Rachel Vander Pol, RVP Career Services
- Tiffany Hardy, Top1Resumes
- Lucie Yeomans, Your Career Ally/Sick Resumes
- Marie Plett, Aspirations Career Services, Inc
- Kimberly Robb Baker, This Little Brand
2012 Award Winners
Jennifer Hay of IT Resume Service - Twitteresume: The Twitter-Enabled Real-Time Resume
Laura Labovich of The Career Strategy Group and Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers - 100 Conversations for Career Success: Learn to Network, Cold Call, and Tweet Your Way to Your Dream Job
Murray A. Mann and Rose Mary Bombela-Tobias of Global Diversity Solutions Group LLC - Multicultural Career Management Program (MCMP)
Pat Schuler of The Gemini Resources Group and Susan Whitcomb of The Academies, Inc. - Serious Revenue: Landing 4- and 5-Figure Clients … with Integrity and Heart
Barbara Safani of Career Solvers - Job Search Mobile Phone and iPad App
Chip Cohan of Preptel Corporation - Preptel’s solution to optimize resumes-based computational linguistics
Special Thanks to 2012 Judges:
- Director of Awards (non-judge) - Robin Schlinger, Robin's Resumes®
- Mary Elizabeth Bradford, The Career Artisan
- Janine Moon, Career Ownership
- Susan Guarneri, AssessmentGoddess.com
- Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt.org
- Aricia LaFrance
2011 Award Winners
Jennifer Rolles of IntRvue, Inc. - www.intrvue.com - a powerful platform for capturing, developing and presenting professional stories online.
Mary Elizabeth Bradford of Career Artisan - The Job Search Success System - www.job-searchsystem.com
Camille Roberts of CC Career Services - Free e-book: Create an Effective Federal Résumé with the USAJOBS.gov Online Resume Builder (http://www.job-hunt.org/guides/Job-Hunt-USAJOBS-resume.pdf)
Barbara Adams of CareerPro Global Inc. - Introduction of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to the Resume Writing/Career Services industry and bringing quality assurance and accountability to the forefront of the careers industry. (www.careerproplus.com)
Janine Moon of Career Ownership - Book: Career Ownership: Creating ‘Job Security’ in Any Economy CareerOwners.com)
Special Thanks to 2011 Judges:
- Director of Awards (non-judge) - Robin Schlinger, Robin's Resumes®
- Val Matta, CareerShift, LLC
- Joan Murrin, University of Iowa, Dual Career Network
- Robert Shindell, ILostMyJob.com LLC
- Chandlee Bryan, Best Fit Forward
- Laura Labovich, Aspire! Empower! Career Strategy Group
- Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt.org
- Aricia LaFrance, www.aricialafrance.com
2010 Nominees and Award Winners
Nominees
Presented in no particular order:
Robert Shindell of ILostMyJob.com, LLC - ILostMyJob.com - www.ilostmyjob.com
Barbara Bruno of Good as Gold Training - Candidate Next Step (CNS) - www.candidatenextstep.com
Carole Martin of The Interview Coach - Job Interview Brand (AKA Job Winning Interview Brand) - www.jobinterviewbrand.com
Deb Dib of Executive Power Brand, Susan Whitcomb of The Academies, and Chandlee Bryan of Best Fit Forward - The Twitter Job Search Guide - Amazon page: http://tinyurl.com/236daua / Book website: www.TwitterJobSearchGuide.com
Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Career Worksheets for All Professions - www.CareerCatapult.com click on "Career Worksheets" in right side bar
Winners
1st Place - Deb Dib of Executive Power Brand, Susan Whitcomb of The Academies, and Chandlee Bryan of Best Fit Forward - The Twitter Job Search Guide - Amazon page: http://tinyurl.com/236daua / Book website: www.TwitterJobSearchGuide.com
2nd Place - Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Career Worksheets for All Professions - www.CareerCatapult.com click on "Career Worksheets" in right side bar
3rd Place - Robert Shindell of ILostMyJob.com, LLC - ILostMyJob.com - www.ilostmyjob.com
Special Thanks to 2010 Judges:
- Director of Awards (non-judge) - John Donovan
- Robin Schlinger, Robin's Resumes®
- Susan Guarneri - Career Assessment Goddess
- Tony Deblauwe - HR4Careers
- Laura Drew - Carolina Career Coach
- Laura Labovich, Aspire! Empower! Career Strategy Group
- Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt.org
- Cheryl L. Simpson, Executive Resume Rescue
2009 Nominees and Award Winners
Nominees
Presented in no particular order:
Val Matta of CareerShift - CareerShift - www.careershift.com
Michael Queally of Resume Partners Pty Ltd - iResume & iCoverLetter - www.resumepartners.com.au/iresume/
Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Resume Writer System-in-a-Box™ - www.CareerCatapult.com click on "Resume Writer System in-a-Box" in right side bar
Joan Murrin of University of Iowa - Dual Career Network (DCN) program - www.uiowa.edu/~dcn
Jane Roqueplot of JaneCo's Sensible Solutions - ProfilingPro.com - www.profilingpro.com
Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Career Worksheets for All Professions - www.CareerCatapult.com click on "Career Worksheets" in right side bar
Winners
1st Place - Val Matta of CareerShift - CareerShift - www.careershift.com
2nd Place - Evelyn Salvador of Creative Image Builders.com - Resume Writer System-in-a-Box™ - www.CareerCatapult.com click on "Resume Writer System in-a-Box" in right side bar
3rd Place - Joan Murrin of University of Iowa - Dual Career Network (DCN) program - www.uiowa.edu/~dcn
Special Thanks to 2009 Judges:
- Director of Awards (non-judge) - John Donovan
- Robin Schlinger, Robin's Resumes®
- Malloy Lacktman - Sage Resumes
- Susan Guarneri - Career Assessment Goddess
- Tony Deblauwe - HR4Careers
- Laura Drew - Carolina Career Coach