Becoming a resume writer

[Ted Perrotti]

Hi, all. I've been lurking around this board for a few weeks, contributing where I can. I do some freelance writing and, after much prayer, have decided I want to get into resume/cover letter/career search document writing professionally. I'm working my way through a rebranding process, refocusing my business on this area, and have a web site, TedStoriesThatSell.com.

However, my greatest challenge seems to be in that I don't have a background in HR or recruiting, like many resume writers do. I just have a skill for writing and a grasp of human nature. I learn as much as I can by reading the articles of resume writers and recruiters. But how do I use that fact to promote myself?

Also, might starting out working with a resume writing service help get me some more marketable experience and help me to discover experiences I can blog about--even if it doesn't pay much? (Thus marketing myself even more.)

Bottom line, how best to market myself in this field if I don't come from an HR background? (I work in retail sales.)

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum Ted. Many years ago I thought about offering resume writing services. I had a lot of experience writing my own and I'd help fiends who seemed to have success. I never did, so I don't know how this would work, but I thought advertising on the bulletin boards in college hallways would be a good approach. I assume you have to get permission, but that gives you an opportunity to build relationships at the school.

College students more than anyone need help with their resumes. I would think they make up a large part of the market for resume writing services and I doubt they care if you worked in HR.

[MattAmbrose]

Not having a past in HR might actually help. Means you'll be able to come up with something original that doesnt follow the same dull structure - I think I read that recruiters spend an average of 12 seconds on each resume, so it needs to make an impact. You also understand the importance of focusing on what recruiters want to know and tweaking job histories so they highlight skills, and not just state what they did. Have you looked into Google ads to promote yourself? I think you'll find it's not as swamped as other copywriting niches. If you do go down the advertising route, make sure you create a 'lead magnet' (e.g. eBook on top 10 resume mistakes) so you can generate leads even if people dont hire you on the first visit. Good luck!

[MKarp]

I started out as a freelance writer, and eventually developed a cold-email outreach system that works quite well.

It's all about showing as much value as you can up front, because your potential client's biggest fear is working with yet another freelancer who says they're great at what they do but ends up producing poor quality work.

I agree with Vangogh. I would first target college students, because I highly doubt they care about your credentials as long as you can produce good resumes.

You'll probably be able to find your first few clients on Craigslist, use that work as evidence of your skills, and grab testimonials from them to promote your business (VERY important). If you can get a picture for those testimonials, even better. Post them on a page on your website.

With any freelance work, you've got to show that you know what you're doing. The beauty is, you can do it without any credentials.

You say you have a blog. Google the "Skyscraper Technique (http://backlinko.com/skyscraper-technique)" and use it to write the best article on writing great resumes you possibly can. Make it super actionable. Include screenshots, quotes from experts, link out to other resources, etc. This post has to show potential clients that you know exactly what you're doing.

Then use this post from Robbie Richards (http://www.robbierichards.com/seo/16-explosive-content-promotion-strategies/) to promote it around the web and get some social shares.

Next, search Google for your target clients. I would start off with companies that write resumes for people, and offer your services to them as a freelancer.

In your email, provide tons of social proof:

- Link to the article you wrote.
- Tell them how many social shares it has gotten in the past X amount of time.
- Include the testimonials you have from your previous clients.
- And let them know that you're just looking to break into the field, and you're 100% willing to work within their budget (to help remove the possibility of "buyer's remorse" for them).

You can even say that you wrote resumes for a number of people in your network (your friends, but don't say "friends") and X% of them got the job they were trying to get.

Go through page after page of Google emailing these companies. After 100 or so, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a few clients. After 200-300, you should be making some solid revenue.

(Suggestion: Also try getting a guest post published somewhere and include the link in your email. It shows that you know how to work well with other people and editors.)

Hope this helps you out. The toughest part is getting your first few clients. It gets easier from there.

And make sure to keep that blog going. That's what's really going to attract business for you down the line when you need to find clients again.

[Paul]

You do need some HR/ recruiting knowledge to prepare proper resumes. You need to know the qualifications most important to different industries and positions and what to emphasize or deemphasize accordingly .

Also, you need to know how to get a resume “picked up” by the HR search engines( can’t remember the proper term) that electronically scan submitted resumes for key words and phrases etc. Writing resumes for electronic submission to large corporations can be more like SEO than just preparing a well written document.

[Dan Furman]

You do need some HR/ recruiting knowledge to prepare proper resumes. You need to know the qualifications most important to different industries and positions and what to emphasize or deemphasize accordingly .

Also, you need to know how to get a resume “picked up” by the HR search engines( can’t remember the proper term) that electronically scan submitted resumes for key words and phrases etc. Writing resumes for electronic submission to large corporations can be more like SEO than just preparing a well written document.

Yea, I agree with this. It's one reason this professional writer doesn't do resumes professionally.

[LouiseToronies]

Wow hi I didn't realise people hired professional resume writers? My college offered this service to students anyway so we didn't need any other help but good luck with it all! Louise xx

[MarketingMasterSystem]

A resume is like any other sales letter or advertisement, it has to appeal to the reader, not the writer.

When looking for clients, remember that the person who needs a resume doesn't want a resume, they want a job. The resume is what is between where they are now and the job they dream of. So I would market it more as a 'job interview getting' service than a 'resume writing' service.

As for the resume itself, remember that the person reading it doesn't want to be reading resumes. They want to have the people in place that will help them meet their business goals etc... You can often catch their attention faster by talking about how you can help them than you can talking about how great the applicant is.