What we do

Free vs. paid — clearly separated

How it works

Our Services

Every service below is delivered by independent consultants. Free services are genuinely free — no card required. Paid services are billed once or monthly, depending on the plan. Refund and cancellation rules differ by service and are listed on the Refund & Cancellation Policy page.

1. Resume & CV Services

2. Interview Preparation

3. Career Coaching

4. Executive & Leadership Coaching

5. Consulting Retainers & Blog

Free Resources

These resources cost nothing and require no payment details. They are self-serve or community-supported. If you need a named consultant, see paid programs.

Free resource rules

• Free resources are for personal, non-commercial use.
• No payment, no card, no subscription is created by a free resource.
• Because there is no payment, refunds do not apply to free resources.
• Free discovery calls are limited to one per person / per email address.
• Free resources are provided “as is” without any guarantee of interview or job outcomes.
• We may change or withdraw a free resource at any time without notice.

Pricing

Prices are in USD. Sample pricing — final quotes are confirmed in writing before any payment is taken. No hidden charges, no automatic upsells.

The crestonfin Consulting Blog

Practical, no-fluff articles on resumes, interviews, career strategy and leadership.

← Back to Blog

Why Your Resume Gets Rejected by ATS (And How to Fix It)

Published by the crestonfin consulting desk · 6 min read

1. The file format breaks parsing

Most applicant tracking systems read plain text. Tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers and graphics often scramble the output. Use a single-column layout and save as .docx unless the posting asks for PDF.

2. The job title does not match

If the posting says “Senior Financial Analyst” and your resume says “Business Partner — Finance,” automated matching scores lower. Add a target-title line under your name that mirrors the posting.

3. Keywords are missing or stuffed

Mirror the exact skill nouns from the job description, but place them inside real achievement bullets. Keyword stuffing in a hidden white font is detected and penalised.

4. Dates and contact details are inconsistent

Use one date format (e.g. “Mar 2022 – Present”), a professional email, and a city/region. Missing dates create parser gaps that recruiters read as gaps in employment.

5. Bullets describe duties, not results

Replace “Responsible for managing the team” with “Led a team of 8, cutting onboarding time from 21 to 9 days.” Numbers beat adjectives.

6. No revision loop

A resume is a living document. Tailor the top third for every application and keep a master version with everything in it.

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The STAR Method Is Not Enough: Structuring Senior-Level Answers

Published by the crestonfin consulting desk · 7 min read

Why STAR breaks down at senior levels

STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) works well for junior and mid-level questions. At manager, director and executive level, interviewers also want to see judgment, trade-offs and influence — not just a tidy story.

Use SOARA for complex questions

• S — Situation: the business context in one or two sentences.
• O — Obstacle: the specific constraint (budget, politics, timeline, data gap).
• A — Action: what you decided and why, including the option you rejected.
• R — Result: the measurable outcome.
• A — Aftermath: what changed permanently in the organisation.

Answer the question behind the question

“Tell me about a conflict with a stakeholder” is really asking: do you escalate too fast, do you listen, do you keep the relationship? Answer that, not just the story.

Keep it to 90 seconds

Structure the answer, then stop. Let the interviewer pull the detail they care about. Rambling is the most common reason strong candidates are downgraded.

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Your First 90 Days as a New Leader

Published by the crestonfin consulting desk · 5 min read

Days 1–30: listen, do not fix

Run a structured listening tour: one 30-minute conversation with each direct report, each key peer, and two or three customers. Ask the same four questions every time so patterns appear.

Days 31–60: pick two quick wins

Choose wins that are visible, low-risk and clearly aligned with what leadership already wants. This buys credibility for the harder changes later.

Days 61–90: publish your operating rhythm

Define how the team will work: meeting cadence, decision rights, escalation path, performance expectations. Ambiguity is the most common cause of a failed transition.

The stakeholder map

Write down who can accelerate or block your agenda, what they care about, and how often you will communicate with them. Review it monthly.

About crestonfin

crestonfin is an independent career, interview and leadership consulting platform. We publish free guides and we sell 1:1 consulting time.

What we are

• An independent consulting service operated by crestonfin.
• A blog with free career, resume, interview and leadership content.
• A small team of consultants who take a limited number of clients at a time.

What we are not

• We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any employer, recruitment platform, job board, ATS vendor or software company.
• We are not a recruitment agency and we do not guarantee job placement.
• We are not a law firm, immigration advisor, financial advisor or licensed medical provider.
• We do not sell your data or send it to affiliate partners.

How we work

Every paid engagement is confirmed in writing with a scope, price, delivery date and revision window before payment. Every client is assigned a named consultant. A 24/7 human help desk is available for scheduling, billing and urgent questions.

Contact & 24/7 Human Help

Our consulting desk is staffed around the clock. Use the form, the email address or request a callback — a human consultant will respond.

Refund & Cancellation Policy

Last updated:

1. General rules

• All refund requests must be sent in writing to billing@crestonfin.com from the email used to purchase.
• Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–10 business days of approval.
• Approved refunds may be reduced by third-party payment processor fees that are non-recoverable.
• Refunds are not available where the client has breached these terms, provided false information, or requested work that violates platform policies or law.
• Chargebacks filed without first contacting the billing desk may result in suspension of all active services.

2. Service-by-service refund & cancellation rules

3. No-show and lateness

• Client no-show (15+ minutes late without notice) = session forfeited, no refund.
• Consultant no-show or consultant cancellation = full refund or free reschedule, your choice.
• Technical failures on our side do not consume your session.

4. Non-refundable situations

• Change of mind after final delivery of a completed deliverable.
• Failure to secure an interview, job offer, promotion or salary increase — we do not guarantee outcomes.
• Dissatisfaction with a decision you made against written consultant advice.
• Requests received outside the stated refund window.

5. How to request a refund

1. Email billing@crestonfin.com with your invoice number.
2. State the service and the reason for the request.
3. We reply within 2 business days with a decision or a request for clarification.
4. Approved refunds are processed within 5–10 business days.

Privacy Policy

Last updated:

1. Who we are

crestonfin (“we”, “us”) operates this website and provides independent career, interview and leadership consulting services. Privacy questions: privacy@crestonfin.com.

2. What we collect

• Contact data: name, email address, phone (if you provide it), country.
• Service data: your resume, CV, cover letter, LinkedIn URL, interview notes and target roles that you send us.
• Billing data: invoice records and payment status. Card details are handled by third-party payment processors — we do not store full card numbers on this website.
• Usage data: pages viewed, referring URL, device and browser type, and basic analytics.

3. Why we collect it

• To deliver the service you requested (free or paid).
• To schedule calls and sessions and to send service emails.
• To issue invoices and process refunds.
• To send the newsletter if you subscribed (you can unsubscribe at any time).
• To improve the website and detect abuse.
• To comply with legal and tax obligations.

4. Legal bases (where applicable)

We rely on contract performance (delivering services you bought), consent (newsletter, cookies where required), legitimate interests (site security, service improvement), and legal obligation (tax and accounting records).

5. Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with:

• Consultants and staff delivering your service, under confidentiality obligations.
• Service providers such as email, hosting, scheduling and payment processors.
• Authorities, where legally required.

We do not share your resume or career documents with recruiters, employers or affiliate partners.

6. Retention

• Client documents: retained for 12 months after the engagement ends, then deleted, unless you ask for earlier deletion.
• Invoice and tax records: retained as required by applicable law.
• Newsletter data: retained until you unsubscribe.

7. Your rights

Depending on your location you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to processing of your data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent. Email privacy@crestonfin.com. We respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

We use essential cookies for site function and may use analytics cookies to understand traffic. You can block cookies in your browser settings; essential functions may then not work correctly.

9. Security

We use HTTPS, access controls and limited data collection. No system is perfectly secure; do not send highly sensitive data such as government ID numbers, bank details or medical records.

10. Children

Our services are intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

11. International transfers

We may process data in countries other than yours. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

12. Changes

We may update this policy. The “last updated” date at the top will change and material updates will be posted on this page.

Terms & Conditions

Last updated:

1. Agreement

By using crestonfin or purchasing any service, you agree to these Terms & Conditions, the Refund & Cancellation Policy, the Privacy Policy and the disclaimer in the footer of this website. If you do not agree, do not use the site or buy services.

2. Nature of the services

• We provide career, resume, interview, leadership and consulting services.
• We are an independent provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any employer, job board, recruitment platform, ATS vendor or software company.
• We are not a recruitment agency, law firm, immigration consultancy, financial advisory firm or medical provider.
• We do not guarantee interviews, job offers, promotions, salary increases or any specific outcome.

3. Client responsibilities

• Provide accurate, truthful information. We do not fabricate experience, credentials, dates or titles.
• Do not ask us to produce misleading, discriminatory or unlawful content.
• Attend scheduled sessions on time; lateness and no-show rules are set out in the Refund Policy.
• Keep your login or download links confidential where applicable.

4. Payment

• Prices are listed in USD on the Pricing page and are confirmed in writing before payment.
• Payment is due before delivery unless a retainer agreement states otherwise.
• Monthly plans do not auto-renew without your written confirmation.
• Late invoices may pause active work.

5. Revisions and delivery

• Each paid deliverable includes the number of revision rounds stated at purchase.
• Delivery timelines are estimates in business days and may shift if information is supplied late.
• Additional revisions beyond the included rounds are billed at the published hourly rate.

6. Intellectual property

• After full payment, you own the final documents we create for you (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn copy).
• Our templates, frameworks, question banks, checklists, articles and course materials remain our property and are licensed to you for personal, non-commercial use.
• You may not resell, redistribute or republish our materials as your own product.

7. Confidentiality

We keep your career documents and personal details confidential and share them only with the consultant delivering your service, except where legally required.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for the specific service in the three months before the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, including lost income, lost opportunities or lost profits.

9. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify crestonfin against claims arising from information you supplied that is false, misleading or infringing.

10. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate services if you breach these terms, abuse staff, or request unlawful content. Where termination is for your breach, refunds are governed by the Refund & Cancellation Policy.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which crestonfin is registered. Replace this clause with your actual jurisdiction before publishing.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The “last updated” date will change. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised terms.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms: help@crestonfin.com.