About the Instructors

Deb Dib

One of my heroes, author Dr. Brené Brown, talks about "Daring Greatly."​ And like many of my clients and colleagues, I did.

Years ago I started a part-time career service. A passion for building my skills and business kept me hurdling over courage challenges that scared the ___ out of me. That was daring greatly.

In 2004, after I became one of the first Certified Personal Brand Strategists, my mentor William Arruda encouraged me to niche my practice to clients whom I respected for their vision and values. I gulped and dared greatly.

No sharks or suits! Almost immediately gutsy, fun, ethical execs became my clients. I did the daring greatly happy dance!

Fast-forward to now; I'm grateful and humbled to be considered a leading voice in personal branding and career communications innovation—and I'm collaborating with inspiring colleagues who make a difference to their clients and their world.

Together, we strategize communications excellence for personal brands and LinkedIn visibility. We make work easier and more profitable—without losing voice or values. And we have fun!

I love sharing innovative new concepts, whether consulting with colleagues on their projects; delivering keynotes; or facilitating personal branding workshops and social branding analyst training. And I'm still gulping and daring greatly!

Brené Brown says, "Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen."​ Seems to me, you can't have personal and career happiness without it.

So let's get real and get gutsy!

Some of my "I got gutsy"​ milestones:
Certifications in master-level personal branding & social branding, coaching, career comm | Author: Ditch. Dare. Do! & The Twitter Job Search Guide | Recipient: Dick Bolles' Parachute Award for Innovation | Quoted: CNN, NY Times, WSJ, 30+ career books

Louise Kursmark

As a resume writer/executive career advisor, I have a single goal for each client: To tell his or her career story in a way that is memorable, meaningful, relevant, succinct, and interesting. Today, that means:

► Unearthing and revealing personal, insightful details that illuminate character, personality, and motivations.

My own career journey has been a thrill ride since I launched my business back in the “dark ages” before the internet existed, when working from home was viewed as a quaint oddity and newspapers still published want ads. I’ve seen almost everything, thrived through it all, and continuously upgraded my skills to bring the best and the latest to my clients.

My wisest business decisions have sprung from my mantra, “find and work with smart, successful people.” I’ve partnered with Wendy Enelow on countless book projects and professional activities, including launching Resume Writing Academy and Career Thought Leaders; now I’m delighted to team with our successor, Marie Zimenoff, and the fabulous Deb Dib on this storytelling certification.

On a personal level, I've seen first-hand the power of setting clear, achievable, yet ambitious goals—and the thrill of reaching them. In the last few years I set my sights on a few mountaintops. I learned to swim, completed my first triathlon (then second, then third!), and had a personal essay published in the Boston Globe. In working with clients and with students, I get great joy from helping them achieve their own goals and reach their own mountaintops.

What’s next? While we can’t foresee the future, I confidently predict that our skills as career storytellers will be in increasing demand as job seekers struggle to get noticed in an increasingly crowded, competitive, and depersonalized market. We help them stand out with an authentic presence and valid, relevant experiences (stories) that resonate with employers.

Marie Zimenoff

Entrepreneur. Speaker. Leader. I never imagined holding these roles; my natural analytical tendencies didn’t lend to risk taking. Belief in the power of proactive career management overruled my introversion, driving me out of my comfort zone to build and lead a business.

As CEO of Career Thought Leaders and Resume Writing Academy, I merge vision and best practice to elevate the careers industry worldwide.

Career professionals transform lives and my mission is to support them in impacting the careers of others.

My training as a career counselor gave me insight into the complexity of career transformation and the struggle of fitting passions and skills together. My experience witnessing thousands of transformations as a resume writer, trainer, and career/leadership coach fuels the work I do every day.

I equip career services providers with the tools, training, and support they need to succeed, convening a think tank of industry leaders to share “the now, the new, and the next” in careers with 10,000+ colleagues worldwide.

I champion the world’s premier resume training organization to provide leading-edge programs, content, and resources. We elevate writers’ skills to world-class standards through the Academy Certified Resume Writer and Profile Writer programs and Resume & Profile Writing E-Summits.

Visit www.careerthoughtleaders.com and www.resumewritingacademy.com to learn how we're changing the world...one career success story at a time.