Sample answers
What Morgan told the Pathfinder
A tenured professional moving from 14 years of agency communications and program leadership into a senior in-house role.
Morgan Ellery is a fictional person. These are the exact answers and resume the sample report was written from.
The ten questions
word for word
The same questions you will answer, in the same order, each with the answer this report was built from.
What are you repeatedly good at? Give one time it showed up.
Writing, using words; leading others; planning, coordinating. Turning complicated missions into plain language that moves people to act, and building the team that keeps it going. Clearest example: during the pandemic at Meridian Public Affairs I led a four-person team doing public-health communications for a state health department, reaching 3 million residents in English and Spanish. We rebuilt the family resource hub in plain language and it drew 2.1 million visits in its first year.
What work leaves you with more energy than it took? Name a time it did.
Leading a team to a deadline; teaching someone until it clicks. Launching something with a team under real pressure and watching it land. The 48-hour crisis response for Harbor County, when a water main break left 60,000 residents without service, was exhausting and the best work of my career: one clear message, every channel, updated every two hours, and a service award at the end. I also love coaching writers; I've promoted three of my staff into senior roles.
What subjects, causes or products pull you in? Name any industries you'd love to work in, and any you'd rather leave out.
Health and health care, Climate and clean energy, Libraries and literacy, Veterans and military families. Public health and clean energy: the two missions I keep coming back to, because people's health and their energy bills are where plain language changes what they actually do. I volunteer as communications chair for my neighborhood library foundation, and I'd love to work on literacy or libraries one day. Workforce programs for veterans and military families mattered to me at ClearPath. I listen to a lot of public-radio podcasts and admire how NPR explains hard things. Leave out: political campaigns, and agency account work.
What matters most to you in your work? Name your top five values, and the one you won't compromise on.
Social impact, Working for something I believe in, Personal development, Enjoyable colleagues, Time for personal life. Won't compromise: time for personal life; I pick up my kids two afternoons a week.
Picture a workday you'd love. Desk or on the move, quiet or buzzing, a small team or a big company, leading people or doing the work yourself?
Working with people, Working with information, A mid-size company, Hybrid, Managing people. Most of my day is writing, editing and talking things through with a team. A mid-size or large mission-driven organization with a team of five to ten that I lead. Hybrid, at my desk in focused blocks, in meetings with partners a few times a week, out in the community now and then. Collaborative and calm rather than frantic. I'm happy managing people and want to keep growing writers, but I want to own the strategy, not chase billable hours.
Where are you, and how far will you travel for the right role?
Baltimore, Maryland. I'd commute up to 45 minutes, hybrid is ideal, and I'm open to fully remote for the right mission-driven role. Not relocating.
What are you aiming to earn, and is there a number you will not go below?
- Aiming for
- Around $150,000
- Won't go below
- $130,000
What credentials, licences, or degrees do you hold?
Master of Arts in Strategic Communication, Bayview State University. Project Management Professional (PMP), 2021. HubSpot certifications in content, email and inbound marketing (2024).
What is fixed? Hours, location, caregiving, anything that is not negotiable.
I pick up my kids from school two days a week, so I need some flexibility in the afternoons. No more than about 10% travel.
What have you already ruled out, and why?
Agency account management again: I'm tired of billable hours and chasing new task orders. Pure social media roles: too narrow. Political campaigns: the hours don't work with my family.
Morgan's resume
Uploaded with the answers as a Word file. Select a page to see it full size.
And in their own words
14 years in communications and program leadership. Program Director at Brightwater Partners (2024 to now): I lead a $24 million statewide clean-energy outreach program and a nine-person team, two years on scope and 4% under budget. Before that, Account Director at ClearPath Communications (veterans' career programs, $6 million account, grew it 22%), Communications Team Lead at Meridian Public Affairs (pandemic public health), Communications Lead at Tidewell Technologies, and earlier consulting, health-system executive communications and editorial roles. I volunteer as communications chair for my neighborhood library foundation.
Read the resume as text
Morgan Ellery Harbor Heights, MD | (410) 555-0147 | mellery@example.com | linkedin.com/in/mellery Turning complex missions into stories that move people to act. Communications and program leader with 14 years’ experience across consulting firms, nonprofits, and public-health programs. Employers have recognized Morgan for sharp messaging strategy, clear writing and editing, and steady change management. Morgan builds versatile campaigns and content products that help organizations reach their goals, and as a natural storyteller, creates work that makes audiences take notice and take action. As a leader, Morgan builds collaborative, purpose-driven teams and invests in coaching and mentoring staff. Morgan is also a trusted client partner who brings curiosity, calm, and a growth mindset to hard problems, and works well with every personality type and at every level. Public Health Messaging • Digital & Social Strategy • Change Management • Public Health Messaging • Content Strategy • Creative Team Leadership • Stakeholder Engagement • Program Management • Executive Communications • Client Relationship Management PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • Op-eds and talking points placed in national outlets including The Washington Post, NPR, Axios, Politico, and The Hill • Rebuilt a public-health resource hub in plain language for families and caregivers; pages drew 2.1 million+ visits in the first year • Led a statewide wellness campaign that raised enrollment by 34% in ten months across 22 counties • Pitched, won, and managed a $1.2 million creative services contract for a regional transit authority • Received the Harborline Excellence in Service Award for leading a 48-hour crisis response that kept 60,000 residents informed • Earned a 95% satisfaction rating in the Communications category of the 2021 staff survey at Meridian Public Affairs PROFESSIONAL HISTORY BRIGHTWATER PARTNERS — Baltimore, MD February 2024 – Present • Program Director. Lead a $24 million public outreach and education program for a statewide clean-energy initiative that has helped 180,000 households cut their energy costs. • Lead a nine-person team of writers, media relations specialists, designers, and digital strategists producing press materials, explainers, video, and paid and organic social campaigns for 40 partner organizations • Built a social listening and reporting practice that flags emerging issues within hours and feeds a monthly insights brief • Serve as senior advisor to the client’s Communications Director on strategy, message discipline, and program impact • Manage budget, forecasting, status reporting, and daily operations; delivered two consecutive years on scope and 4% under budget CLEARPATH COMMUNICATIONS GROUP — Columbia, MD May 2022 – January 2024 Account Director & Program Manager. Led a team of communications professionals promoting career and leadership programs for veterans and military families on a $6 million account. • Set strategic direction on communications, change management, and stakeholder engagement; served as first-line client contact and grew the account 22% through new task orders • Reviewed and approved all team deliverables, including campaigns, newsletters, blogs, and design products • Directed a thought-leadership content series that tripled organic search traffic in 12 months • Built a repeatable, agile content process; ran quarterly content audits and owned the editorial calendar • Planned and hosted 18 webinars and live events that brought in 3,400 registrants and 260 program applicants MERIDIAN PUBLIC AFFAIRS — Annapolis, MD March 2020 – April 2022 Communications Team Lead. Led a four-person team delivering public-health communications for a state health department client during the pandemic, reaching 3 million residents in English and Spanish. • Handled media relations and worked with reporters to deliver timely guidance, talking points, and public statements • Prepared briefings for hospital, school, and business leaders; ran biweekly partner calls to surface community needs and keep guidance consistent • Prepared spokespeople for interviews and town halls, managed crisis communications, and reported on media coverage, social analytics, and audience sentiment PROFESSIONAL HISTORY (continued) TIDEWELL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. — Richmond, VA September 2017 – February 2020 Communications Lead. Led internal and client communications and served on the Customer Success team for a technology modernization program serving 5,000 users. • Streamlined how updates reached every stakeholder, with clear messaging for product launches, events, and policy changes; cut help-desk tickets tied to launches by 30% • Served as creative director for 12 videos, three annual reports, and a full set of logos, icons, and infographics; advised partner organizations on messaging and design • Advised company executives on corporate communications, the user experience of a new website, a new tagline and logo, and business development pitches LARKSPUR CONSULTING GROUP — Baltimore, MD August 2016 – August 2017 Communications Consultant. Led communications for a sustainability program that helped a network of 40 facilities cut energy use and operating costs. • Wrote grant and partnership pitches; prepared leaders for media interviews; covered program events in photos and stories; produced fact sheets and white papers for internal and external audiences • Piloted a virtual site-tour tool that saved $85,000 in travel costs in its first year KEYSTONE HEALTH PARTNERS — Towson, MD July 2014 – July 2016 Joined this program at Crestline Advisory Group in 2013. Moved to Keystone Health Partners with the contract in 2014. Communications Manager. Managed executive communications for a regional health system serving 1.2 million patients. • Wrote senior-level reports, presentations, promotional materials, and ghostwritten pieces for the Chief Medical Officer • Led digital and offline campaigns that won stakeholder buy-in for health and IT initiatives • Wrote executive speeches and video scripts shown to 45,000 clinicians and staff through social media and required training • Prepared leaders for interviews with The Baltimore Sun, Modern Healthcare, and STAT; supported leadership site visits across 14 hospitals CRESTLINE ADVISORY GROUP — Baltimore, MD March 2013 – June 2014 Communications Specialist. Recruited to provide communications expertise to health and public-sector clients. • Helped a state health agency client write, edit, and finalize its five-year strategic plan • Contributed to the firm’s strategic communications practice and its health communications team EARLIER POSITIONS OFFICE OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, HARBOR COUNTY — Harbor Heights, MD June 2012 – February 2013 Communications Assistant. First point of contact for resident questions on environmental and public-works policy in the County Executive’s office MEDTRADE WEEKLY — Towson, MD April 2011 – May 2012 Editor & Reporter. Produced digital publications for 25,000 paid subscribers covering healthcare business news EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY Bayview State University, Harbor Heights, MD, Master of Arts in Strategic Communication Graduated Linden College, Port Linden, MD, Bachelor of Arts in English; Minor in Psychology Graduated • Certified in Content Marketing, Email Marketing, and Inbound Marketing from HubSpot Academy March 2024 • Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute June 2021 • Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing, Bayview State University Extension May 2019 Proficient: Canva, Adobe Express, Asana, Smartsheet, SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Descript, Loom Some Experience: Cision, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere, WordPress, Tableau, Hootsuite, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
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