Kimberly Robb Baker

Who would think that one of the most awarded resume writers began her business while moonlighting as an 18-wheel truck driver? But then, my whole career has been about shattering stereotypes. (My clients—executives, entrepreneurs, and rising stars—tend to be the same!)

When I started my resume writing business in 2006, my office was the cab of a Freightliner named Angela. Because only one other woman driver worked at our company, the crews were always surprised to see me pull up to the local agency and work as hard as or harder than they did loading up to 20,000 pounds of boxes and furniture.

Driving the 48 states, I’d pull off at rest areas to do client intakes and catch truck stop wifis to send out documents. The long stretches of road gave me time to think about just the right way to present client experiences.

By 2008, I was helping clients fulltime. While I worked my tail off to learn industry best practices, becoming the Certification Chair of the National Resume Writers’ Association by 2009, I couldn’t help but infuse a narrative style that wasn’t the norm.

Storytelling is in my blood. My father is a poet, and I grew up watching my mom perform in plays and in her professional storytelling business. I had a novel with an agent by the time I was 25. Before I drove for Mayflower, I was one of their top salespeople and before that served as a sales manager at another relocation company. I ended up doing a lot of web copy and marketing in those roles, quickly learning that story is what really compels consumers to call and customers to sign.

These days I drive a Honda Odyssey. But my clients appreciate my diverse background, and not only for the skills it puts at their disposal. They like that I can “get” them as a whole person, that I know they are more than their job title. I enjoy learning from the people I work with, drawing out their contributions, and telling their stories as they would if they could. And when our work together is complete, receiving the emails and phone calls with the news that they’ve successfully navigated challenging career transitions is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my work.