Make top $$$ with Resume Writing Business

If you have good writing skills and have experience in one or more domains, say in Information Technology or Sales, you can pursue the resume writing business. Based on your needs, you can work as a full-time freelancer or as a side-income option. Either way, resume writing work can fetch you attractive income!

Home Office and Business Acumen

Setup a small home office if you already don't have one. As with other writing work, you need a PC and an Internet connection, preferably broadband, for resume writing. Keep away distractions. Remember, although you are a freelancer, you need to maintain work discipline and commitment on delivery. In a nutshell, look to resume writing work as a business. It does not matter if you work in pajamas or shorts, but quality, cost, and time does - always.

How to get Resume Writing Work?

1. Spread the word – advertise, advertise, and advertise! Start with your network of contacts.

2. Place ads in relevant classifieds and newspapers.

3. Build your own blog and or website and promote it for success. Spread your customer testimonials across your site to build trust.

4. Send out newsletters for opt-ins from your website. These have a strong potential to open doors for more business.

5. Use networking sites like linkedln and FaceBook to drive your resume writing business.

6. Register with and bid at freelance sites like Guru.com and elance.com for resume writing work.

7. Post your resume at career portals like monster.com and jobsahead.com to find work.

8. Print your site's URL on your business cards, letterheads, invoices, receipts, and others. These can be your passive marketing agents for your resume writing business.

9. Add a line or two to your email signature about your resume writing work.

10. Grab the opportunity to speak at local professional associations and institutes and showcase your resume writing expertise.

11. If you have the budget, advertise your resume writing business through Google AdWords for a faster visibility of your site on the Web.

12. Write articles on resume writing and submit it to free article sites like ezine.com. Such sites may allow you to add a bio and a link to your site. All these mean more opportunities for your business!

Resume Writing Steps

In resume writing, you have to first understand the career aspirations of your client and his/her work experience and education. Of course, you need to have knowledge of and or experience in the career field of your customer. Then, you have to present your customer's profile in a way it addresses the needs of the prospective employer. With this approach, you will find success for yourself and for your client.

Prepare a skills assessment questionnaire for your client. It should include questions like the professional challenges and how he/she has faced them. Ask your customer to quantify achievements.

After you have reviewed the answers to your questions, call your candidate and discuss the accomplishments and experience to get a clearer picture. If you and your client are tech-savvy, videoconferencing helps in a face-to-face interview.

Through personal discussion, you may discover additional information about the job prospect’s career that can further strengthen the resume. Now you are all set to write the resume.

A summary of skills and experience, jargon words of the industry, short sentences that begin with action verbs to describe accomplishments / experience, are among the building blocks of an effective resume.

You can choose to have a separate section for accomplishments or build them meticulously into the sentences that explain experience. How you do it is your call or your client’s preference.

Prioritize the candidate’s profile based on the needs of the company. This way, essential information is quickly visible to the recruiter. Research studies indicate the employers spend only about 30 seconds or less on each resume. So, as a professional resume writer, let the information that matches with the job description standout.

Before you send out the draft copy of the resume to your client, check and re-check for spelling, grammar / syntax errors, and others. Your customer may accept the draft resume as the final copy or require changes or fine tuning.

Deliver the final copy in a format the client needs, which is usually .DOC / PDF format. A copy of the resume in ASCII / text format helps your client to apply for jobs through websites that need the resume in this format.

Resume Writing Certification

A certification in resume writing can set you apart from your competitors. If you want employment as a resume writer in a company that offers this service, certification helps here also. Get details about how you can become a certified resume writer from The Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches (PARW/CC) site at parw.com.

Use Resume Writing Success Stories to Drive your Business

Call your customer after two weeks or so, after you complete the resume writing work, and find out the employment status. Client hasn’t found the job yet? You may want to offer to rework the resume.

Found success with the resume? Great! Check with the client whether you can use his / her success story to market your business. Who knows, your client so impressed with your resume writing work would voluntarily send you accolades! Wish you all the best.