Refreshing Your Resume

I was looking for extra freelance work to add a little more income and realized that my resume was behind the times.  The last time I actually had to write a resume was when I worked at a floral shop.  I’ve written for Beyond for a year and a half and a resume wasn’t required, just a writing sample and writing credits.  In fact, all of the submissions I had sent in for the past two years have been writing samples with writing credits.  Then I also realized that a “writer’s resume” was a whole other kind of critter than a regular resume.  So, I did a little research and discovered that a writer’s resume is more of a skills resume than a traditional work history resume.  I figured that if I needed help with making a new one, maybe someone else may too.  So here’s what I found out.

An example of a writer’s resume:

Your Name

Mailing address

Phone numbers/Fax Numbers/email address

If you have a website or a blog, it goes here

Your Objective:  What it is you are looking for in the writing field, for example, “from home freelance work”

Your Writing and Editorial Background:  If you have written for any publications, if your work has appeared in magazines, books, brochures anything with your name and writing credit on it, make sure that it’s included. You can include any kind of writing that you can take credit for, even a church news bulletin. You’ll also want to list any skills you have that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. 

Editing:  If you’ve edited anything, make sure you include it.  This can be newsletters, content editing, reports, or business materials. 

Familiarity with internet tools: How are you on the internet, HTML, XHTML or java?  What about Word?  Make sure you include any tools that you are familiar with and can use competently.

Your Work History: You should include all your work history even if it really doesn’t have anything to do with your writing skills.  This shows that you are employable and if you had periods of steady employment, it shows you’re reliable.  If you were promoted at any of your jobs, make sure to mention that.  You do want to keep these sections short.  Use two or three sentences to explain your duties and any achievements. 

If you have been employed as a freelance writer, you can list this as your most recent job with contact numbers and names.  You can list a short summary of what your job is and any major publications that you may have written for.  If you have previous work as a self –employed freelancer, you can list the previous job, the company name and a contact number and person for reference.

Education: You need to include your educational history starting with the most recent and going backwards.  This section should include any other education that is relevant to the job you are applying for.  If the company asks for a degree in writing and you don’t have one, don’t toss the wanted ad.  A lot of companies will accept experience in lieu of education.

Awards and Memberships:  This is for any awards that you received, any societies you belong to or any organizations pertaining to writing.

You will need a publication list of everything you’ve had published.  You may also be asked to include any clips of your work so make sure you only send your best ones.

I hope these tips help with your resume, I know they're going to help with mine!

If you have any tips on writing a resume, please comment below.