Hello! And welcome. We’re excited for you and what’s to come — a new job! And all the good things a new job can bring: higher salaries, bigger benefits, more impact, interesting experiences, a better boss. In this course, you’ll be creating the two documents you need to make that change: your resume and cover letter. 


We’ve been on both sides of the cover letter and resume. Andy hired the 400+ editorial team at Groupon during its hyper-growth phase. Emma was on hiring teams at zulily as it shot from 100 to 1,000 employees. Together, we spent six months building a 30+ person team at an internet startup that was then acquired for $70M. 

We’ve also doubled our salaries by leaving jobs and getting new ones. We've ditched stunted career paths and said good riddance to toxic managers. We are both big advocates of finding jobs that work for us. We want that for everyone.

There are plenty of barriers that stop us all from getting these jobs. The challenge of putting together a cover letter and resume should not be one of them.

We say that knowing full well that it's a bunk system. Having to demonstrate your abilities through two incredibly specific genres of writing is like having an essay contest to determine the winner of a trout fishing competition. Sadly, it's the system we have. Thankfully, anyone can learn how to write compelling, concrete, human documents that will win you interviews. 


We're here to teach you everything we know, step by step. 

Meet Andy + Emma

We’ve been on both sides of the cover letter and resume. Andy hired the 400+ editorial team at Groupon during it’s hyper-growth phase. Emma was on hiring teams at zulily as it shot from 100 to 1,000 employees. Together, we spent six months building a 30+ person team at an internet startup that was then acquired for $70M. Then, we co-founded The Bent, a newsletter and learning resource for anyone who works.
Instructors Andy Anderegg and Emma Thesenvitz teaching The Bent resume course side-by-side

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome!

    • Quick Start Guide

    • Course Intro

  • 2

    Getting Started

    • What to Expect

    • Prep-Work 1: Find Your Why

    • Worksheet: Find Your Why

    • Prep-Work 2: Mine the Job Description

    • Worksheet: Mine the Job Description

  • 3

    Creating a Great Resume

    • What's the Point of a Resume?

    • Frequently Asked Questions

  • 4

    Shitty First Draft

    • What to Expect

    • Make a Shitty First Draft

    • Worksheet: Make a Shitty First Draft

  • 5

    Better Bullets

    • What to Expect

    • PARsify Your Resume Bullets

    • Worksheet: PARsify Your Resume Bullets

    • Breakout Exercise: Know Your Numbers

    • Breakout Exercise: Power Verbs

  • 6

    Even Better Bullets

    • What to Expect

    • Adding the "So What?"

    • Worksheet: Adding the "So What?"

  • 7

    Formatting

    • What to Expect

    • Pick Your Resume Template

  • 8

    Resume Finishing Touches

    • Score Your Resume

    • Worksheet: Score Your Resume

    • *Bonus* Breakout Exercise: Update Your LinkedIn Profile

  • 9

    Creating a Great Cover Letter

    • What Makes a Great Cover Letter?

    • Frequently Asked Questions

  • 10

    Paragraph 1

    • The Salutation

    • The Rest of the Paragraph

    • Worksheet: Paragraph 1

  • 11

    Body Paragraphs

    • The Body Paragraphs

    • Worksheet: Body Paragraphs

  • 12

    Last Paragraph

    • Last Paragraph

    • Worksheet: Last Paragraph

    • Worksheet: Your Complete Cover Letter

  • 13

    Cover Letter Finishing Touches

    • Score Your Cover Letter

    • Worksheet: Score Your Cover Letter

  • 14

    You're Done!

    • Congratulations!

    • *Bonus* Worksheet: Job Application Tracker

Get started

  • Free

    You'll get immediate access to all of the course material and you can ask us any questions that come up along the way!

    Enroll now

FAQ

  • Who is this course for?

    It's for anyone who has ever said "ugh!" at the idea of updating a resume or writing a new cover letter.

    It’s for anyone who’s felt completely overwhelmed because two PDFs hold the fate of their future.

    It's for anyone who wants a phone screen, who’s skipped writing that cover letter, who’s staying in a job they don’t want, who’s tired and wants some structure to keep them accountable.

    Whether you’ve never written a cover letter or a resume and don’t know where or how to start, or you’ve written lots of them and don’t like the results, this course is for you.

  • How hard will this be?

    We’ll be honest: it’s not easy. If you’re looking for a magic spell to cast on a pre-existing draft to make it shiny enough to send tonight, this is not the course for you. If you find that course, please let us know. We’d like to take it.

  • How long will this course take?

    It takes about 15–20 hours to complete the whole thing, including the worksheets and breakout sessions. At the end of that, you’ll be ready to hit send on a job application with your fresh cover letter and resume.

    The course is self-paced and you'll have unlimited access forever. You can tackle those 15 hours in a single weekend, or in 10-minute increments over the next 90 days — the choice is yours!

  • Will this help me get a new job?

    Absolutely. The hardest part of getting a new job is being brave enough to go for it. Part of that bravery comes from knowing how to put together an authentic, persuasive cover letter and resume packet that will earn you a call from the recruiter.

    We put this course together because so many of our newsletter subscribers write to us asking if they should quit. Those newsletters are our most forwarded, most engaged, most everything. So many people want a new job, but aren’t going for it. We don’t want you to feel stuck a day longer.

    If you don’t get a new job using your new resume and cover letter, reach out to us at [email protected]. We’d love to figure out what the issue is and help you work around it. We want you to get that job and are confident this will help.

  • Do I have to be a good writer?

    Not at all! We’ve got templates galore with sentence starters and prompts. Some thoughtfulness is certainly required, but the entire point of our course is that you know exactly what to write in every part of your resume and in every sentence of your cover letter. Our no-fail formulas are easy to implement and don’t require any talent.

  • Why is this course better than other resume + cover letter courses?

    It's a lot of fun. We have a lot of laughs. We're serious about the outcome, but we don't take the process too seriously. We remind you to take a lot of breaks, get a lot of snacks, work together with a friend. We're there in videos every step of the way. We use phenomenal metaphors. And, then there are the easy-to-use templates full of prompts and sentence starters so you're never staring at a blank page.

    Plus, you'll get advice on how to update your LinkedIn, a job application tracker, and straight-talk answers to tough questions like, "Do I have to write a cover letter?"

  • What if I want more help?

    If you want more help, we're here for you! You have a few options.

    Feedback Package: Add a one-time round of personalized feedback and edit suggestions for that extra set of eyes (actually two sets of eyes...). Pay-what-you-can pricing, so don't let $$ stop you!

    New Job Package: A monthly subscription plan that includes unlimited personalized feedback and edit suggestions on every cover letter and resume you write. Plus, pep talks on demand! And don't let $$ stop you: We'll work out a price point together that'll make the investment possible for you.

    To set either of these options up, just send us an email at [email protected].

  • Why is this course $99?

    We're confident that what we cover here will help you get a new job. When we were at our most miserable jobs, if someone told us, "For $100 you could change that!" we would do it. (Andy has spent wayyyyyy more than that on weeks-long vacations hoping that would be enough.)

  • What is your refund policy?

    If you're unhappy with the course or your situation has changed, shoot us an email: [email protected]. We'll work it out.

  • What materials do I need to take this course?

    Just a computer and internet access. Heads-up: our worksheets are all hosted on Google Docs, which means you'll need a Google account to access them. Google accounts are free and compatible with any existing non-Gmail email address.

  • How long will I have access?

    Our course is self-paced, and you'll have access to it forever.

We also offer extra help

  • Want a edit? Or some personal feedback?

    Just send us an email! We're happy to add on a round of personalized feedback and edit suggestions on the resume and cover letter you create. It's pay-what-you-want — so don't let money stand in your way. Just send the email!

  • Want a job search partner?

    If you're looking for someone to strap themselves to you like a skydiving instructor for the duration of your job search, we've got you! We have a turbo-deluxe version of our course — we'll partner with you for your entire job search. We'll help you with every cover letter and every resume until you land the gig, plus interview prep sessions and on-demand pep talks. We can work out the pricing together so the investment is possible for you!