An Inspired Chat with Mark Misiano of Philadelphia, PA

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Mark Misiano. Check out our conversation below.

Mark, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Sometimes I feel like I bounce around all day – client meetings, LinkedIn engagement, marketing copy, résumé writing for executive clients…it never ends!

Luckily, my brain loves to hop around from one task to another, so being a solopreneur really works for me. I focus on the most important tasks first (usually deliverables for my senior-level career coaching clients) and keep a long list of to-do items right beside me.

The best part of the day is definitely the coaching sessions I have with the clients who are eager to land a new role that is more aligned with their values, more lucrative, and more fulfilling.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a career coach and résumé writer who runs RésuméReady, and my focus is on senior-level professionals who want more out of their work. My clients are being strategic and intentional about their careers, and support them by walking with them through the job market. I prepare them for the job search first by creating a long-term career management plan. Once we know where they want to go, we can chart a course to get them there.

I develop my clients’ résumés, executive bios, and LinkedIn profiles. I also support them with thought leadership on LinkedIn so they know how, when, and what to post. We build a plan together for an effective job search, do a ton of interview prep together, and then negotiate compensation offers to be sure they earn what they deserve.

I am incredibly active in the career services industry, and I am part of the executive leadership team for the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches (PARWCC). I have earned my Certified Executive Résumé Writer and Certified Professional Career Coach designations as well as the Master Job Search Coach certification through The Modern Coach.

My approach to the job search is rooted in the human element, and I cater that approach to each client I serve.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I genuinely believed that work was to survive. Now I understand that work is the vessel that takes you toward the life you want to live. I’ve built a life I enjoy – no early morning meetings, no clocking in and out, no restrictions on when or where I can take a vacation. It’s freeing to realize that I work to live; I don’t live to work.

The great part about my job as a career coach is that I get to instill this idea into my clients as well. There’s a lot of work at the very beginning of my engagement with clients when we have the time to talk about what they really want out of life (not just out of work), and those conversations often bring up some very exciting new ideas that we then get to pursue together.

It’s all about enjoying everything life has to offer and not being tied down by the stress of a life dominated by unfulfilling work.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear of failure. I’m the kind of perfectionist who won’t try new things unless I know I’ll succeed. That’s no way to build a business, and a solopreneur like me doesn’t have the luxury of playing it safe. I have to take risks, try new things, and being willing to fail if I really want to succeed. Each “failure” is now a lesson learned, and sometimes those lessons are painful. It’s worth going through those experiences though because I know I’ll come out more resilient on the other side of anything that doesn’t go my way.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I see some incredibly smart people who think they’re doing so much better because they’re letting AI replace them. “I saved so much time having ChatGPT write my résumé!” But the résumé is terrible. “I had Claude write this marketing email campaign for me!” But it’s lost the human voice and sounds like a bot.

Don’t get me wrong – I love AI and use it every day. It’s a great tool and helps me, but it’s only an assistant. Pardon my language, but I tell my clients: “Shit in, shit out.” With limited information about you, generative AI isn’t going to produce effective content. It follows the same patterns and makes you sound like everyone else.

I have a mentor who is a VP of Talent Acquisition for a major US company, and she put it perfectly when she told me that AI is creating a “sea of sameness” in the job market. Everyone sounds the same, and there’s no value proposition.

You’re not saving time by using generative AI; you’re making yourself sound exactly like everyone else. Take the extra time, find your voice, and connect with people in authentic ways. We live in a digital age, but that lack of connection is doing you a disservice.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I want to be known as the guy who accelerated thousands of careers. If I can be that small part of my clients’ stories, I’ll be happy. My goal is to be the kind of person who stands in the background, pushes you where you need to be pushed, challenges your mindset when you need to be challenged, and sets you up for success. I’ve heard so many people say: “I never thought I could look this good on paper!” and “It’s hard to believe I actually landed such a good job!” Those are the things that keep me going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://resumeready.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-misiano

Image Credits
Britt Stauduhar
@staudzcreative