Meet the best weapon for your job hunt.

Need a resume? Then you need Isra’a Garatli and Resume Reborn, the first Saudi-based resume writing service.

How did you come up with the idea of Resume Reborn?
I started working at a young age and was lucky to have a boss, Ahmed Alshargawi, who was patient, supportive and who believed in me. He challenged me to interview tons of applicants for positions I had no idea about.

It was intimidating because I had to interview people with many degrees and years of experience. Eventually my email address went viral and people believed I was a recruiter when I really wasn’t.

So, what happened then?
I received many emails with resumes and I started editing to make them more presentable before passing them on to my contacts in contracting companies. Soon after, I received a lot of thank-you emails from the majority of people who ended up getting hired. I did this as a hobby for almost 12 years.

Fast forward to 2013, I had just helped edit and submit a resume for a colleague. Within two minutes, I received a phone call that they wanted to hire her immediately. I wasn’t surprised since she was qualified; however, I was very curious about how they were able to make a decision so quickly.

“We’ve never seen a resume so straight to the point, easy to read, professional looking, and so organized, coming from a Saudi candidate.” This comment made me both happy and sad, but it also made me realize: “Oh! This is MY cupcake!”

Your Cupcake?
(She laughs) Back then cupcakes were trending in a big way. And, I had been worrying that my life was going to be me stuck at my cubicle doing routine work forever. When I got that call, a lightbulb flashed and my cupcake was born: Resume Reborn!

What are the services provided by Resume Reborn?
We’re the first Saudi-based company to provide resume writing services. We cater to people of all backgrounds; whether you’re a fresh graduate or experienced professional, applying for university, jobs or otherwise.

Talk about some of the challenges you faced?
It was a challenge whenever I got resumes for backgrounds I wasn’t familiar with, such as marine engineering, zoology or aviation. I had to do plenty of research to learn all the right keywords and methods to list relevant information under the experience fields.

Time is a challenge too. I started this business independently, and so far, I’m the founder, accountant, communication officer, social media and marketing specialist, resume writer and website developer. I’ve luckily been able to manage everything on my own but obviously it’s extremely time consuming.

Still, it never fails to put a smile on my face every time I write a resume and know I’m helping someone get hired for a job they want.

How do you describe your success so far?
We started slow and simple and let the business gradually expand through word of mouth, so being active on social media helped tremendously. Back in 2014 I was interviewed on MBC, which was a huge boost to my reputation, and in 2015 I received the Women Appreciation Month “WAM” award. Meanwhile, I’m regularly asked to speak about resume writing at career fairs, schools and universities.

What are your future plans for Resume Reborn?
I plan on hiring a staff of young professionals, add in Arabic writing services and eventually expand into headhunting and recruiting.

Email: info@resumereborn.com
Web: resumereborn.com
Instagram: ResumeReborn

Isra’a’s Tips on Resume Writing

• Keep your resume to one page if you’re a fresh graduate or have minimum experience.

• Never exceed two pages, no matter how many years of experience you have. You only need to include what is relevant to the job you’re applying for.

• Begin your resume with a short summary paragraph instead of an objective. This is your elevator pitch where you talk about your core qualifications, areas of expertise and what you bring to the table.

• Recruiters spend no more than 20 seconds looking at a resume, so make those seconds count by writing a compelling summary that grabs their attention.

• Avoid using colors and funky fonts! Keep it easy to read with a nice and clean theme.

• Ask a friend to proofread your resume for spelling and grammar before submitting it.

• Research the company you’re interested in and use related keywords that apply to you within your resume. You can find such words in their mission and vision statements or job descriptions.

• Personal information should only be your name, city, country, email address and one phone number. Don’t include irrelevant information such as marital status, government ID or the number of your children.

• There is no right or wrong way to write a resume; it’s all about how you want to represent yourself on paper. That said, there are best practices and tips and tricks (like this list) to help your resume pass instead of get tossed.