Meet Nancy Spivey: Career Strategist, Professional Development Coach, Trainer | Founder, Ready Set Resumes

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nancy Spivey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nancy, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I am inspired by transformation, which goes hand in hand with my love for personal and professional development. I am passionate about helping individuals, teams, and organizations grow and transform. 

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a desire to help others. In my college days, I had a desire to become a therapist but was also eager to move to a big city and get into the corporate world (and I wasn’t wild about two more years of college at the time). Who knew that I would end up in the IT staffing arena and that would direct me to my long term career and what I believe is my calling. When I was in IT staffing, I found that I loved having the opportunity to impact careers for both candidates and clients. I dove deep with my clients to find out about their projects, goals, skills requirements, and the company culture to help them find the right candidates to fill their positions. I did the same deep dive with candidates determining their skills, strengths, and long-term career goals. It was so much fun for me to see the people I worked with thriving and growing in their careers. I was so passionate about my process and the success my clients and candidates had that I created a workshop to teach others in the staffing industry how to have greater success. It was at that time that I first learned how much I loved speaking and training. Once I learned about this love of mine, I set out to hone my skills. It started with Toastmasters. Then I headed over to the Georgia Speakers Association (GSA) and immersed myself in training as I worked to earn membership into the National Speakers Association (NSA). About this time, the dotcom bust hit, and I was laid off from my job. Little did I know at the time, this layoff opened the door to a path I may not have taken had it not happened. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, worked in family businesses, and had already started one business in college, was running a side business while in the corporate world, and was thinking about starting a training and consulting company. Now, the door was wide open. At one of the monthly GSA meetings, I met and retained a professional coach to help me develop a business in training and speaking. Although I had had coaches and mentors throughout my life, this was the first time I had experienced true Co-active coaching. Co-active coaching is a model that focuses on fulfillment, balance, and process for the client. Again, I fell in love, this time with coaching, so I became trained as a co-active coach. I am passionate about transformation, which goes hand in hand with my love for personal and professional development. I have had the honor of working with all types of clients, including large corporations, small businesses, government organizations, associations, and individuals, providing personal and professional development through coaching and training. Regardless of how far I have ventured out into various exciting opportunities, I have always felt especially called to support individuals in their career development, which is how Ready Set Resumes came into existence. At Ready Set Resumes, we are committed to excellence and helping every client succeed. With that in mind, we do more than just write resumes. We like to learn about our clients’ past and their goals for the future. Whether a client needs career coaching, interview coaching, resume writing, cover letter development, and/or LinkedIn profile development, we look at the big picture with our clients and help them create and implement a strategy for their career and professional branding. Our goal is to help our clients stand out from the competition and help them create a solid plan from the beginning of their job search. It all begins with a strategy. The job market is competitive, so it is essential that job seekers have a strategic plan with a resume and marketing materials that target specific roles.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I have friends in town, I like to take them on a drive around the city to see all the beauty the city of Atlanta offers – the buildings and landscaping. Being a member of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, I love taking guests there to explore. If it’s warm enough, a trip to Lake Lanier is a must. The Legacy Lodge by the lake with their heated outdoor swimming pool and firepit is an all-time favorite. A drive to the North Georgia mountains is always a fun adventure for cooler weather, and I especially love exploring waterfalls. When it comes to eating out, there are so many choices. Southbound in Chamblee is a favorite. I’m blessed with a husband who is an amazing cook, so most of our friends and family members are usually requesting his delicious cuisine as many nights as he is willing to cook while they are in town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, I am thankful to God to have a career that I love and to be able to help others through my work. From a young age, I was always encouraged by my mother and grandmother to ardently pursue my dreams. They believed in me and gave me the freedom to pursue my passions. My uncle was an entrepreneur who rose and prospered after experiencing significant challenges. He inspired me and taught me a lot about business and negotiation. I have always been a huge advocate of being active in professional organizations, networking, and having coaches and mentors throughout my career. The Georgia Speakers Association, International Coach Federation, and Georgia Coaches Association were all instrumental in launching my career years ago. The network of connections I made through being active in those and other organizations has led to masterminding with creative and resourceful professionals as well as developing lifelong friendships that I cherish. I’ve also had countless coaches that I have worked with that have helped me create a clear vision and develop and implement strategies; they’ve encouraged me every step of the way and been there to celebrate successes. Finally, I want to give a big shoutout to my clients. They allow me to do what I am so passionate about – create transformation!

Website: www.readysetresumes.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/readysetresumes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReadySetResumes