TERMs OF SERVICE

We provide services under the following terms and conditions. When you visit CreativeKeystrokesResumes.com or use any of our services, then you (the “client” or “clients”) accept these terms and conditions. Please read them carefully.

Pricing and Services.

By using our products and services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted our pricing and services. Of course, our prices are listed in US dollars.

Terms of Payment.

Payment is accepted via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express), cashier’s check, or money order with verbal or written project order. Terms are a 60% non-refundable retainer at the time of your verbal or written project order, with the 40% balance payable prior to release of your initial set of document proofs. Project orders are not accepted in any circumstances without 60% non-refundable retainer. The retainer entitles client to an electronic or hard copy of Creative Keystrokes℠’ proprietary Resume Questionnaire, reserves a place in the work schedule, and authorizes Creative Keystrokes℠ to begin work if possible with whatever information/materials may be available at that time (e.g., reviewing previous resume or other materials, compiling notes and questions for later consultation, reviewing resumes of others with backgrounds similar to client, etc.).

Client agrees to pay the maximum charges permitted by applicable state law on returned checks or credit chargebacks, plus legal fees and other costs of collection.

Project Timeline.

Unless other arrangements are made, client agrees to provide requested information and/or make himself/herself available for requested consultations needed to provide services as ordered within 30 days from order date. Client also agrees to provide feedback or accept work as written within 60 days from the date proofs are delivered. Additional charges may be incurred at the sole discretion of Laurie Smith for revisions/updates or additional work required due to extended delays in provision of requested information or feedback on/approval of proofs. Assuming no delay in required client input or other circumstances beyond our control, Creative Keystrokes℠ agrees to make every reasonable effort prepare document proofs/revisions and/or deliver services and products within the timeframe estimate provided at the time work order is placed. In any case, Creative Keystrokes℠ will strive to deliver in a timely manner.

Proofreading and Accuracy.

You are wholly responsible for your career documents’ completeness and accuracy, and for proofreading. We are not liable for any injury or damage caused by omissions, false statements, or other inaccuracies.

Creative Keystrokes℠ is not responsible for errors on client’s originals. Client agrees to check all data for accuracy and completeness. If corrections are needed, client agrees to forward them via fax or email and, if necessary, follow up via telephone. If an error is found after final approval, client agrees to pay additional printing or, where applicable, redistribution/re-posting costs. Creative Keystrokes℠ is not responsible for errors or omissions that are “missed” during the proofreading process.

Revisions.

You must review all career documents and notify us of any needed corrections, additions, or changes within 60 days of our transmitting initial document proofs to you. If you wish to make revisions thereafter, then you must purchase an Updated Resume.

Revisions as needed to result in an error-free, accurate, and effective document are included in the quoted fee (assuming they are requested within the 60-day timeframe specified above). Once final approval is given by client, additional writing, reprinting, rework and/or consultation may incur an additional charge at the discretion of Laurie Smith, with the exception of work provided under Creative Keystrokes’ “Guarantee” (see next section).

Guarantee.

Creative Keystrokes℠ can make no warranty or guarantee as to number of interviews obtained or length of search until position is secured, as client’s job search methods and persistence, interviewing skill, market conditions, etc. are not within Creative Keystrokes℠’ control. However, if, after using the new resume and/or cover letter aggressively for 30 days (sending out at least 100 resumes to appropriate, viable targets–positions that are known to be actually still available for which your experience is a close match and for which the resume was targeted), client is not winning interviews, we will, if requested: (a) help client examine his/her search strategy, and (b) if deemed necessary, cheerfully and promptly revise the document(s) to reflect feedback client has received and/or changes he/she feels are needed. Client may be required to supply for Creative Keystrokes℠’ review copies of up to 12 position announcements for which the resume was submitted. This guarantee is valid for 120 days after delivery of final, approved documents.

Refunds.

Refunds of any kind are at the sole discretion of Laurie Smith, except as may be required by law. You acknowledge that our time spent reviewing your submitted questionnaire, previous resumes, and/or other career documentation, preparing for and conducting client interviews, communicating with you, preparing resumes and other documents, and providing all other products and services, is compensable.

Retainers are non-refundable except in extreme circumstances and at the sole discretion of Laurie Smith. This is standard in the industry and has been our longstanding policy for several reasons, among them being that room is reserved in the work schedule for the project, which oftentimes means turning away potential engagements with other clients (revenues that can never be recovered). Upon engagement, review and development of notes from existing materials and perusal of other resumes, online information, and printed materials relevant to your area of expertise and career goals normally begins. These activities commence prior to receiving responses to the proprietary questionnaire you received for completion. Nonrefundable out-of-pocket fees have also been paid to our credit card processor.

You agree that if our pricing or fee schedules are rejected by a court or arbitrator, then you will compensate us at the rate of $200 per hour, with a minimum charge of $200. Time beyond the first hour will be rounded up to the nearest 1/4 hour.

Cancellation, Chargeback Fees, & Refusal of Service.

By purchasing our services, you agree that time is of the essence and that you expressly acknowledge and waive your right to cancel this Agreement under applicable state laws. Clients who cancel their payment may be charged a $100 chargeback fee.

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone or to cancel service to anyone.

Electronic Files & Disk Copies.

We provide your career documents in Microsoft Word, ASCII, or .pdf form. We cannot otherwise guarantee the compatibility of files with your system or that documents will retain their original formatting features. Creative Keystrokes℠ does not provide technical support on document formatting and cannot guarantee system compatibility or successful transfer. We may keep electronic or paper copies of documents indefinitely.

Copyright.

We retain the copyright in all resumes and other client documents that we prepare or create.

Content on this site is our exclusive property or the exclusive property of our affiliates, and is protected by law. The compilation of content on this site is our exclusive property and is protected by law.

We expressly reserve all rights related to our copyrights.

Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property.

CreativeKeystrokesResumes.com, Creative Keystrokes℠, Creative Keystrokes℠ Executive Resume Service, Executive-Resumes.com, Executive Resumes and Career Transition Strategies, and other marks indicated on our site are our trademarks or other intellectual property. Our trademarks, trade dress, trade names, brand names, slogans, logos, graphics, and other intellectual property are protected by law. Among other things, they may not be used (a) in connection with any product or service that is not ours, (b) in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or (c) in any manner that disparages or discredits us.

We expressly reserve all rights related to our trademarks and other intellectual property.

Other trademarks appearing on this site are the property of their respective owners.

Privacy.

We ask you when we need information that personally identifies you (“Personal Information”) such as your name and contact information. We use your Personal Information to operate our site and services. We may also inform you of our new features, services, and products. Your Personal Information is not shared with anyone who does not work for or with us, except with your permission.

We keep client provided writing samples, resumes, and other information confidential. Again, they are not shared with anyone who does not work for or with us, except with your permission.

We “reply to” and re-use return email addresses to answer the emails we receive and to send follow-up emails. It is your responsibility to use an email address that is secure and confidential, and we assume no liability whatsoever for damages or consequences of any kind that may occur due to your receipt of sensitive information or documents that are viewed or misused by others at the email address you have supplied.

We reserve the right to use our work (including resumes and other work prepared for you) and your questions, comments, and feedback in instructional, promotional, or other material. We will remove your Personal Information from any such work.

We may use cookies to count users to our sites but these cookies do not contain any Personal Information.

For more information, see our full Privacy Policy on this website, which is incorporated herein by reference.

License and Site Access.

We grant you a limited license to access and make personal use of this site and not to download (other than page caching) or modify it, or any portion of it, except with our express written consent.

This license does not include any resale or commercial use of this site or its contents; any collection and use of any product listings, descriptions, or prices; any derivative use of this site or its contents; any downloading or copying of account information for the benefit of another merchant; or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. This site or any portion of this site may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, visited, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without our express written consent.

You may not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any of our trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including images, text, page layout, or form) or that of our affiliates and our affiliates without express written consent.

You may not use any meta tags or any other “hidden text” utilizing our name or trademarks without our express written consent.

Any unauthorized use terminates the permission or license granted by us.

You are granted a limited, revocable, and nonexclusive right to create a hyperlink to our home page so long as the link does not portray CreativeKeystrokes.com, CreativeKeystrokesResumes.com, its resume writers, its affiliates, or their products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive matter. Moreover, you may not use any of our logos or other proprietary graphic or trademark as part of the link without our express written permission.

Reviews, Comments, Communications, Essays, Resumes, and Other Content.

If and when we may provide the capability to do so, visitors may post reviews, comments, essays, resumes, and other content; send other communications; and submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, or other information, so long as the content is not illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable and does not consist of or contain software viruses, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings, or any form of “spam.” You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin of a card or other content. We reserve the right (but not the obligation) to remove or edit such content, but do not regularly review posted content.

If you do post content or submit material including essays and resumes, you grant us and our affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable right to edit, use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content subject to the Privacy Policy. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify us and our affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. We have the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any content or text posted or submitted by you or any third party.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

THIS SITE IS PROVIDED BY CREATIVEKEYSTROKESRESUMES.COM ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THIS SITE, ITS SERVERS, OR EMAIL SENT FROM US ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES EVEN IF WE WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR WERE GROSSLY NEGLIGENT.

IF THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT ARE HELD INAPPLICABLE OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THEN OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY TYPE OF DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.00.

In no event will Creative Keystrokes℠, its officers, directors, employees, editors, and representatives be held liable for any damages of any kind, including without limitation compensatory, direct, indirect, or consequential damages, loss of income or data, loss of or damage to property, and claims of clients or third parties arising from any client’s rejection from any educational program, employment offer, or other opportunity of any kind. You submit writing samples, resumes, and any other material at your own risk. Further, you agree to hold us harmless from any academic, administrative, criminal, or civil proceedings.

Applicable Law.

The laws of the state of North Carolina, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms and Conditions of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise.

Disputes.

All disputes shall be submitted to confidential arbitration in North Carolina, except that, to the extent you have in any manner violated or threatened to violate our intellectual property rights, we may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts. Arbitration under this agreement shall be conducted under the rules then prevailing of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator’s award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Agreement shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Agreement, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.

Site Policies, Modification, and Severability.

We reserve the right to make changes to our site, policies, and these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time. All modifications to this Agreement must be made, in writing, by Laurie Smith.

If any of these conditions shall be deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition.