Success in Writing: Resume Factor

The new year is a great time to start thinking about how you are going to step up your writing career. The Success in Writing Series is meant to provide you with helpful tips on how you can get more clients, narrow your niche, and write about the things you want to write about. Let's start with your resume.

Review the Resume
How long has it been since you even looked at your resume? I confess, it's been over a year since I looked at mine, but I intend to rectify that situation immediately. If you happen to have a crippling fear of writing your own resume, don't be afraid to seek out some help. Personally, I write my own and then have one of my friends look it over because that's her niche.

Chronological or Topic?
For most writers, a chronological resume may not be feasible. If you worked on an awesome project that was done in two months, you don't necessarily want to put those dates down. For you and your client, it might mean that you kicked ass on it. For those reading your resume, it might mean that you only stuck around for two months. Consider a topic heavy resume instead and maybe even make more than one resume to fit your purposes.

• Make sure your contact information is up to date and check your email signature to make sure it's up to date as well.
• Make a resume by topic so that if you do SEO work, but you really want to only do health and beauty work, you have a resume for each one.
• Offer references and samples as needed. You don't need to include them on the resume, but you do need to indicate that they are available.
• Use headings and subheadings. They make your resume look more professional and they also make it easy for potential clients to focus on what's important to them.
• Keep topic-specific samples handy so you don't have to write a sample for every client you pitch.
• Write a pitch. You get paid to write, so don't waste your time re-writing a pitch for every client you want to approach. Write one pith and then modify it for each client.