Earning Potential of a Professional Resume Writer

What are resumes? A Resume or Curriculum Vitae is the first point of interaction between an employer and a potential candidate. Right from the first day of job search, candidates needs to make an impressive resume to get that elusive interview call.

Now, everyone does not have the skill or knowledge about creating the best resume to make a positive impact on the employer. Right? This is where a resume writer is needed.

If you are a person who can write in a straightforward, clear and concise way, and also present information in a proper and acceptable format, you can become a resume writer.

Though there is no universally accepted qualification to become one, you can still check with your country or state. If there is, it will be to your advantage to do the short – term certificate course.

Internet gives freelance writers several opportunities to earn money online. If you have been following the online trend in the last few years, you will notice that a steady stream of freelancers is growing who specialize in certain areas.

For instance, while some writers cater only to the article writing market, there are others who write academic papers for students. Similarly, professional resume writing services are sought after by many candidates.

As with all our Income Insiders posts, the agenda is to lay bare the “income barrier;” here we will discuss the major problems a resume writer will face or is experiencing, along with solutions and a brief account of potential income opportunities.

Lack of Concise Information

This is a major problem with all 99% resume writers – clients simply don’t provide enough information about their career to write the resume and as a result, the clients find the end product half baked, which further creates problems with the writer because then they are expected to revise and restructure everything.

For a new entrant into the job industry, this problem is slightly less because they are entirely dependent on the resume writer’s output. But those who are working for even one year expect the professional resume writer to spin miracles and make an award winning resume automatically!

Now, as a resume writer, what you can do is ask for complete information from the job seeker by asking him/her to fill out a questionnaire developed by you.

This questionnaire will have questions which you would like the job seeker to answer so think hard about the details you want to know. Moreover, ask the candidate to send their previous resumes.

The previous resume will also give you a comprehensive idea about educational and professional background.

You should not invest more than 2-3 days working on a resume. At times, candidates want resumes written within 24 hours so then you can charge accordingly. (will come to the fees section a bit later)

Geographical Barriers

Should a professional resume writer restrict oneself to any particular country? Often clients complain that the resume writer could not understand the requirements to write a comprehensive yet concise resume. This situation arises when the resume writer does not know about the different education and professional formats acceptable in an employee application.

For instance, what is the difference between writing “English (Hons.)” and “Graduate in English?”  “Nothing essentially,” you would say as both the terms are talking about being an English literature graduate.

But there is a difference – while writing “English (Hons.)” is an acceptable format for Indian job seekers, candidates in the US will prefer writing “Graduate in English” on their resume. Getting the point?

These minor yet noticeable differences do have an impact on the employer.  The whole world knows that candidates prefer hiring professional resume services but as a resume writer, you must consider your skill and experience in writing globally diverse resumes. You may have years of experience to write any kind of resume but it is better to stick to few resumes styles.

Moreover, if you are new in this, our advice is to deal with one or two resume styles first to gain experience. If you are a US resident, work with clients from the US only because you will have more knowledge and idea about ‘what they want.’ As you progress, you can expand your resume writing and take on geographically diverse resume writing works.

Employment and Earning Potential

For beginners, it is advisable to approach reputable resume writing service agencies or job websites that require CV writers regularly. It will be too much of a risk to work independently in the beginning and working with job websites and agencies will help you polish your writing skills as their feedback will motivate you to keep on improving.

In this option, you will be under their payroll – getting paid monthly or per resume writing project undertaken and successfully accomplished.

However, once you gain experience and wish to work independently, provided that you have full faith in yourself and your ability to set up a business, you can start by developing and marketing a business resume writer website. With 1-2 years experience, you can easily charge $20 per page or more.

A job seeker does not need resumes written everyday, maybe every few months or years, so they are ready to pay well for high quality and professional writing.

To add to the value, you can also include “resume critiques” – a critical evaluation of the existing resume where you add your perceptions and highlight areas for change. Some clients only ask for “resume critiques” and not a new resume, so you can include this too in your list of resume services.

Finally……

It is essentially for a professional resume writer to be acquainted with several presentation styles. Some want resumes in .doc format or .pdf format. Not only writing, but the presentation and format gets due importance by employers.

While they should not look too ‘shiny’- ‘colorful’ or full of ‘bold and italics,” what they should portray is the professionalism of the candidate. If you can achieve that, you will be in the resume writing market for as long as you wish!