I knew when I first read Martin Buckland's profile and discovered his company, Elite Résumés, that there was an interesting story and there certainly is. By trade, Martin was a police officer specializing in anti-terrorism. You say, "What?!" and so did I. I wondered if I had heard right and then I thought maybe he was kidding. His lovely British accent betrays his now Toronto home, as he shares that he was once a London Bobby and worked at Scotland Yard. He was recruited by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Mounties, where he worked for a few years before leaving law enforcement.

Fast forward a few years to the purchase of a 40-megabyte computer, the salesman telling Martin that he would never fill up that much space. Ha! Little did he know. "A friend asked me to type up his résumé for him, he got a job offer. Then a friend of a friend asked me to type up his résumé..." And well, here we are today with a profitable business that has very little competition. "I specialize at the $100K plus a year executive-level and those who aspire to be business leaders," he clarifies. "Those that don't have drive or ambition are usually not my clients." He started off as a résumé writer several years ago but has diversified enough to also offer career management, executive coaching, personal branding, as well as job search strategies to his clients.

When asked what the biggest mistake is that job seekers make on their résumés, Martin states, "Not selling themselves right. We want to hire performers, not couch potatoes. The best way to sell yourself is to have that 'wow factor.' Use the buzz words for your particular industry and list as many accomplishments as you possibly can." Martin has an outstanding reputation and networks with HR Professionals and Recruiters all the time to understand what they are looking for today and tomorrow. He is one of the only résumé writers to do this - he has a tremendous referral base.

He believes in the power of networking and knows how to get his name out there and increase online visibility. The day I interviewed him, he was getting ready to attend a "Pink Slip Party" in Toronto and claimed it would be the first of many. Not familiar with the phrase? A Pink Slip Party is a get together where each of the attendees has lost their job due to a layoff or downsizing..., obviously a great place for Martin to network.

He sees Elite Résumés expanding a bit and would love to educate more people about his business and venture out into the speaking circuit. "Networking while fully employed is imperative. Use online networks to keep their brand out there, current. Everyone is unique and each should market themselves as an expert. Recruiters look for the needle, they are always looking for the expert. You have to be an extrovert. " Martin goes on, "The best thing to say? Conquer the fear of being able to sell yourself and conquer the fear of rejection. There is a space for everyone. "

Elite Résumés has had clients all over the world, in 71 different countries. All résumés are written in English as his specialty is relocating individuals back to the United States or Canada. He has many, many returning clients and also provides a fifteen-minute free résumé critique. He will ask distinctive questions as "Invariably, people do not put the thing that makes them unique in their résumé. The best résumé writers? Engineers, they are very detail-oriented." Martin has a deep and abiding passion for what he does, "There is nothing better than getting a call saying that a client got the job. Even better? When their spouse calls to thank you." Yep, I bet that feels pretty good.