Question by Michael D: Looking for resume advice for a career in writing?
As I search for a career in technical or copy writing, I find that my resume seems to be tripping me up. Would anyone, particularly those who have been successful in writing, be willing to share tips about successful writing resumes?

Best answer:

Answer by Ask Vagabond!
A career in writing – how exciting and terrifying it is for us!

I am just returning to the workforce myself, so my first tip to you for your resume is to check out http://www.monster.com – you will find a large online community of people who have successfully navigated this field, and are going through it too. There are great resume tips, interview tips, and even targeted advice bulleting boards. You can also thoroughly search jobs and research salaries in your area. Next stop would be http://www.simplyhired.com – where you’ll find a ‘metasearch’ job site that has a very comprehensive list of jobs in your area.

A trip to the library is a must, too. Resume and job hunting books are full of good advice. That said, here are a couple of tips for your writers resume:

1) Spell and Grammar Check thoroughly! An employer expects a writer’s resume to be perfect and very readable. Watch for confusions of they’re and their, you’re and your, it’s and its. Triple check the spelling, and even after running spellcheck 3 times, read through it carefully! One simple mistake could mean disaster!

2) Highlight your experience, and let it shine! You want to draw on anything and everything you’ve written; and I mean everything. That doesn’t mean it all goes in your resume, but if you’ve got experience in newspapers, newsletters, freelance or assigned articles, yearbook layout, wedding invitations, or even a blog that you don’t mind employers seeing, write bullets on it! The best thing to do is include everything in your first drafts, the cut away the fat.
Especially if you have experience in technical or copywriting already, it is crucial that you include it. Ad copy? When, where? Etc…

3) Format: Get attention, sell yourself, pump yourself up, close with them wanting to know more. I got some great advice here. Being a good writer doesn’t mean being wordy, it means you can get your point across with the most efficient use of words. My resume begins like this:

PROFILE
* Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Ability to multitask while providing high-level customer service.
* Skilled user of technology.
* Proficient with multi-user telephones, computers, fax machines, copiers, establishing conference calls and presentations.

Now, this is targeted for administration, so yours will be different of course. They key here is to open up with abilities and qualifications. Yours might say something similar, like

* Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Ability to meet deadlines while providing superior quality workmanship
* Skilled editor and creative consultant [<--- has anyone ever come to you and asked you to tighten up something they've written? Then you're a creative consultant]
* Proficient with writing and editing software.
* Recorded typing score 54 wpm

You get the idea.
Next, hit them with specific qualifications. Where is your expertise? This is where you name-drop tasks, programs and skill-sets. A few examples from mine first:

* Microsoft Office Professional Suite: Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint
* Microsoft Outlook
* Windows 95/88/NT/2000/XP
* Electronic Office Equipment
* Scheduling/Appointment Setting

Under the heading of EXPERTISE, yours might look like

* Adobe Acrobat, FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Word Professional, Word Perfect [<--- programs you know or have used to write]
* Geisel Multivolume Press
* Meeting High-Pressure Deadlines
* Editing layout and content

Etc…. about 10-12 qualifications that you know employers would be looking for. Technical writing or copy writing would be good to put in there if you have done either already.

Finally, list your EXPERIENCE. For this final section, you’ll want to be strong, brief, intriguing and still appear qualified, adaptable and reliable. Here’s my 1st of 3 entries for this section:

Island Tides Newspaper Pender Island, British Columbia
2004 – 2005

Contributing Editor

* Regularly generated story leads; gathered, researched and condensed information and contributed feature-length articles.
* Proofread and edited submissions, ensuring accuracy; corrected spelling and grammatical errors.
* Focused communications and public relations skills by investigating and reporting on regional, national, and international affairs.

You have permission to beef up your resume my making routine tasks sound interesting and challenging. It’s important not to lie or stretch the truth, though, as it could come back to haunt you. But for this section, 3-5 short bullets to get across to them that you have experience.

And if you only have 1, or even 0, jobs writing, don’t worry! You can use this area to let them know your employment history, but make it much briefer and only bullet things that are related to the job you’re interested in. Then, show your writing experience (paid and unpaid), or educational qualifications instead.

The idea with a writers resume is to communicate that you’re a writer. It’s more challenging than it seems to many, but it’s also not as scary as others may think. Optional, but recommended if you have the education, is a brief summary of degree, University, and if your GPA is above 3.0, you can list that too. Doesn’t apply for me, but if you have an MFA or BA, especially in writing, flaunt it.

I hope all of this has been some help to you. Best of luck in your new career.

PS – If you’ve ever won awards for creativity or writing (1st or 2nd place, grant, award, etc), make sure & include it!

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