What does a writer's resume look like?

Whenever you send a resume, tailor it to the job you're trying to get.

Be absolutely honest and accurate, but highlight the experience/education that relates to the position.

There's a good example at Writing World that can help you get started. I used it as a starting place for my resume a long time ago. I've seen another good example somewhere, but the location escapes me at the moment. Let me look around and see if I can find it again.

I can't seem to find the one I was looking for, but this one is similar. I currently use a format like this.

I hope these have been helpful.

Barb

I understand the intimidating part. I've been at this gig for over 17 years now and every time I need to update my resume I end up pounding my head on the desk. Don't know why this particular writing task should be so complicated.

Take heart and good luck!

My resume is at DionneObeso.com if you want to check out the template.

Good luck!

The writing resume is tricky! We used the Writing World example mentioned by batyler65 to help us create the template we use for resumes on Writer's Residence.

You can see an example with my own resume:

Monica Shaw's Resume

The important thing is that whatever the job, whether it was a writing job or otherwise, is that you STRESS THE WRITING COMPONENT.

Notice how I did this on my resume for these (uber nerdy) non-writing jobs:

Risk Modeler, Royal Bank of Scotland
Independently researched and reported various statistical models used by the Corporate Markets Credit Risk Department; produced technical documentation and user guides to explain credit rating models to members across the business

Software Quality Assurance Engineer, FTSE UK
Designed, executed and documented software tests to ensure a smooth and on-schedule transition to the “Industry Classification Benchmark System”, a merger of the Dow Jones and FTSE stock market index systems

Finally, I wrote a blog post explaining how to list your "freelance work". Not sure if this applies but it might be helpful:

Where do I put my freelance writing work?

Hope this is helpful. Feel free to post your resume if you'd like us to review it. =)

Best wishes,

Monica

spacekadet said:

The important thing is that whatever the job, whether it was a writing job or otherwise, is that you STRESS THE WRITING COMPONENT.

Click to expand...

This is an excellent point. My resume contains two jobs I held prior to going freelance. One stresses documentation that I researched and co-wrote. The other focuses on skills used as an editorial assistant. Neither job was a "writing" job, but those are the skills I list in my writing resume.

I have been looking for ways to update and polish my resume, this is some good advice and good examples. Thanks guys

One thing I notice is you guys that offered examples of your own resumes... you don't include writing samples on your resumes, either links to the online articles or included samples.

I mean, I guess they could do an archival search of your publications, but you've included other links on your resume so it makes me wonder if there's a reason for that or not.

When submitting a resume you should send whatever is requested. If they want three samples, three samples is what they get. Sometimes those are attachments to the file, other times they are links. I think it depends on the situation. In the case of an online resume where you invite an editor to visit and examine your work you would definitely want samples or links available on the site.

I link to some of my online work in my publications list (the second page of my resume). I only include links to the most relevant work, otherwise I would end up sending pages and pages of links.

Does that make sense?

If I can strong arm a designer into helping me, my next writing resume will look like this. Coolest resume ever.

But in the meantime ...

TheMindKiller said:

One thing I notice is you guys that offered examples of your own resumes... you don't include writing samples on your resumes, either links to the online articles or included samples.

I mean, I guess they could do an archival search of your publications, but you've included other links on your resume so it makes me wonder if there's a reason for that or not.

Click to expand...

Perhaps because resumes were such a big, annoying deal in my old job, I've dug in my heels and resisted creating a traditional paper resume for my writing.

When prospects ask for one, I usually send them a link or hand over a card with my website on it. "Here's where you can view my resume and portfolio online," I tell them.

If they really want a traditional resume or if I want to tweak my resume to emphasize a particular skill set, I do provide a hard copy. Then I attach copies of clips, a client list and anything else they request.

Seems like a writer's resume never travels alone.

Lots of great advice in this thread. Good luck to you!

From what I've been told by HR folks—and from my time as an office administrator who got to handle the HR, too—bullet points are a good idea. White space. Simplicity. Proper grammar and spelling. A name that's bigger than the rest of the text (indicating self-confidence).

The type of job you're applying for should affect your résumé. A graphic designer benefits from using those talents on the résumé, for example.

Personally, I open mine with an intro paragraph that expresses why you want to hire a weirdo who reads grammar handbooks for fun. Then I have a multi-columned bullet list with a brief listing of specific skills I have (like HTML, including HTML5).

Then I list my time as a freelancer with bullets giving examples of types of work I've done, then the full-time proofreader/copyeditor gig I had. I include a note that the list isn't comprehensive.

If the specific job I'm applying for is pertinent to another job I've held—like my time working for a market research company—I'll add that in.

But I designed my résumé to be easily skimmed, with plenty of white space. My résumé's affected by my experience as a web writer, and my experience proofreading newsletters in particular.

I also only bring it out when I'm specifically asked for one, which actually happens rarely. I'm currently rethinking that policy of only giving it when asked.

Whatever you do, when applying for a job, follow the directions. When I was responsible for a company's interviews and such, I quickly learned that anybody who couldn't follow directions while in the hiring process wouldn't follow directions as an employee, either.

after 10+ years freelancing, still need a CV?

I have had to tackle this problem like others here. And it is a trap. Why? Because there are going to be gaps throughout a year, and the years, because of the inherent nature of freelance work.

You can overcome this by just putting down the year when started to the present year, and state that you were freelancing. No need to become too specific.

Otherwise, I think that this is just another example of the person requesting the CV never having worked with or as a freelancer before. This anally-retentive attitude is extraordinarily off-putting.

Most--i think in fact, all--editors I've ever dealt with have asked to receive some samples via links or via pdf. A CV has never been asked for (...maybe once, a long time ago).

Wow! When I joined this forum I didn't realize I would be bookmarking so many pages. I have to make a folder.
Thank you everyone for the links.