How to Be a Resume Writer: The Meta Job

Resumes are key for landing jobs. But it takes a special set of skills to write one, and not everyone is up to the task.

That’s where a resume writer comes in, offering job applicants professionally written resumes that can help them impress hiring managers. It’s a creative gig with a lot of potential and a good fit if you’re looking for a career at the intersection of writing and business.

The path for how to be a resume writer is quite similar to the path for becoming any type of writer. Here’s what to know if you’re interested in pursuing it, including what you can expect to do in the role and why a writing degree may be useful but probably isn’t necessary.

What Is a Resume Writer?

A resume writer is a creative professional who composes resumes for scratch for clients or edits existing resumes to make them more impactful.

Most resume writers are self-employed and work with clients on a freelance basis to create polished CVs. And while it might seem niche, there’s actually quite a big market for resume writing, with many job applicants possessing the right skills for the role they’re applying for but those they need to write a stellar resume.

In many ways, being a freelance resume writer is not all that different from being any other type of freelance copywriter. Instead, it’s just one more type of writing that you can do, and a service that may be worth specializing in if you have a talent for crafting a killer CV.

Resume Writer Job Description

What does a resume writer do on a day-to-day basis?

As you probably expect, resume writing itself is a big part of the job, but there’s more to it than that. A freelance resume writer is responsible for optimizing all parts of a resume and will also need to dedicate at least some of their time to new client acquisition. Here are some of the tasks that you might find yourself doing if you pursue this career.

Client Communications

Resume writers must work closely with their clients in order to get all of the information they need to get started on a draft. This may be done through interviews or forms (or both), and is intended to provide the writer with a full picture of a client’s experience, education, interests, qualifications, skills, and goals.

Research

In addition to communicating directly with clients, a professional resume writer may have to do quite a bit of digging on their own. Examples include filling in informational gaps by looking at a client’s social media pages or researching the client’s preferred industry to learn more about relevant buzzwords and what hiring managers are looking for.

Writing and Editing

When it comes to how to be a resume writer, impressive writing skills are a must. Anyone can fill in the boxes on a resume template, but applicants who hire people to write their resume are expecting more than a cookie cutter CV. Strong editing capabilities are a necessity too, since resume writers often take existing documents and rework them into something more effective.

Inbound Marketing

As with any freelance career, there’s quite a bit of marketing involved. Word-of-mouth and referrals can be a great way to get new clients, but resume writers who want to establish a full-time business will likely need to engage in digital marketing tactics as well, including maintaining a website and engaging on social media.

How to Become a Resume Writer

If you’re an aspiring resume writer, you have a number of options for how to start your career. Which route you choose depends on your interests and your desired specialty, though it’s safe to assume that prospective clients are probably going to be looking more for experience than a degree.

Get a Writing or Business Degree

A writing degree or business degree isn’t a requirement for becoming a resume writer, though it can’t hurt. A formal education can be a way to hone your writing, research, and business management skills, and it can also give you more authority with prospects, especially in the beginning.

If you’ve already gotten a bachelor’s degree or higher and it isn’t in one of these fields, it can still be put to use. Consider specializing in writing resumes for the industry or industries that are related to your degree field, and use it as one more selling point when seeking out new clients.

Gain Resume Writing Experience

Experience is usually the most valuable step to finding success as a writer. And for resume writing, that experience can take a few different forms, such as basic writing experience or internships with hiring managers or in human resources.

One great way to gain experience writing resumes is to offer up your services to friends and family members. Many people appreciate the help, and you’ll get writing samples that you can then put into a portfolio to show potential clients what you can do for them.

Practice Makes Perfect

The Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Steps to a Successful Writing Habit

Take the Class

Average Resume Writer Salary

To get a sense of how much a resume writer makes, we need to look at what writers can charge for a resume, rather than an average salary. Because this is a largely freelance career, this provides us with a much more accurate idea of your income potential and also helps you figure out how to price your services.

How much you can charge for a resume will be based on your skills, your experience, and your clients, with a standard price for a custom resume usually falling somewhere between $50 on the low end and $700 on the high end. To make more money, you may choose to offer add-on services as well, such as cover letters and LinkedIn profile optimizations.

Finding Resume Writer Jobs

Deciding you want to be a resume writer is the easy part. Next up: finding jobs, and that can be a little bit more difficult, at least when you’re just getting started. You’ll figure out what works best for you over time, but these are some of the things that you can do to begin sourcing clients and get your freelance resume writing career off the ground.

Look Into Certification

Certification from the Professional Association of Resume Writers (PARW) or the National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA) can help you build more authority with prospective clients and allow you to charge more for your services.

To get certified, you’ll need to demonstrate your skills through testing, as well as by submitting a portfolio with resume and cover writing samples. Once you’re certified, be sure to publicize the fact on your website and in any marketing materials that you produce, and consider getting further involved in your certifying organization as a way to connect with other resume writers and establish a more robust network.

Create a Website

A website is crucial when you’re self-employed. It doesn’t need to be anything too elaborate, but it should be a place where prospects can go to learn more about you, including your services and contact information. You should also post your portfolio or select writing samples.

Some resume writers use their websites for content marketing, publishing articles and videos and optimizing their copy for search engines. This could be worth it if you intend to use your website as a primary lead generator, but it may not be necessary if you’re able to secure clients through other means.

Social media can be a fantastic way to find new clients and build credibility in the industry. Focus your efforts on social platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, where you’re most likely to find people in need of your services. You may also want to join relevant social media communities, which, like joining professional resume writing organizations, gives you a chance to meet fellow writers and possibly find more jobs while you’re at it.

Learn to Craft the Perfect Resume

The best thing you can do if you want to pursue a career as a resume writer is to learn everything that you can about putting together an excellent CV. Delve into topics around resume writing, word choices, and formatting, as well as hiring trends in various industries. This allows you to offer more expertise to your clients, and it will also be instrumental in helping you compose resumes that are worth paying good money for.

Because there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume, you might also find it beneficial to specialize in one or more industries. This narrows down your client pool but could end up being more lucrative than doing a little bit of everything.

Your future in professional resume writing is waiting. Follow the advice above to get going, and build a business around helping other people succeed in their career aspirations.

Get Started With Freelancing

Be Your Own Boss: Strategies for Launching Your Creative Career

Take the Class

Written By