Are you ready to power up your freelance writing career? Then you need a great resume that will make you stand out among other fish in the sea. Hiring managers receive dozens and something even hundreds of resumes. They have to narrow down that pile, so they skim through the CVs, or they use the ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
If you want to make an impression and catch the eye of the potential employer, you have to optimize your CV. The freelancing industry is taking off, and more and more freelance writers are emerging to the surface. This is why optimization is relevant. It will be your ace in the sleeve.
Without further ado, here are the ways in which you can optimize your CV for a freelance writing career.
Customize the CV to Each Job Application
As a freelance writer, you’ll be sending out your CV to different companies, individuals, and essay writing services to expand your choices. Most job seekers send out the same CV for different job positions. However, that’s not the best approach.
Customize your CV to specific job positions. Simple changes can make a huge difference. Changing up your skills a bit to match the requirements in the job description will give you extra points.
You can also eliminate or add some previous experiences. For example, if you are applying for a copywriter job for a finance website, including that you had an internship in a finance firm can be valuable. However, that information won’t be necessary if you are applying for a home and décor blogger position.
Include Keywords from the Job Description
Look for the keywords in the job description and use those same keywords in your CV. These words and phrases can refer to skills, characteristic traits they are looking for, abbreviations, etc. For example, if they write that the candidate needs to have a B.S. degree, you should use the same abbreviation.
Why are keywords important, you ask? Well, first of all, over 98% of Fortune 500 Companies use ATS to manage job applications. The ATS tracks keywords that are relevant to the job description, and that’s how they evaluate the importance of applications.
Even if your potential employer isn’t using ATS, they will still subconsciously seek the words and phrases they have included in their job description. Therefore, when they skim your CV, those keywords will signal that you are a match.
In case you want to speed up the keyword search process, there is a solution. ResumeWorded is a tool that can help you identify the keywords in the job description.
Use Simple Formatting
Writers should be detail-oriented, creative, and they should know how to organize content for maximum readability. That’s what your CV format has to reflect. That’s how you’ll get to the interview.
Joan Harrison, a freelance writer and editor at paper writing services, agrees that formatting is a big part of CV optimization. “Simple CV structure will make your resume easier to scan. Long, confusing sentences and endless blocks of text will overwhelm the hiring managers before they start reading,” said Joan.
To properly format your CV, you do the following:
- Use short sentences
- Divide sections with headlines
- Opt for clean and simple font
- Use bullet points (aim for 1-line bullet point)
Keep It Short
Coming across a three or four-page CV can seem to the employer like you have written an essay, not a resume. A CV needs to be short, direct, and precise. The best resumes fit into one or two pages, depending on the work experience.
That means that any irrelevant information needs to go. Working at McDonald’s when you were 16 isn’t very relevant to your freelance writer career.
If you need some help with shortening your CV content, don’t hesitate to hire an editor. Search for writing services that can write a paper for me as they have affordable prices as well as experienced writers and editors who can help you with adapting your CV to fit 1-2 pages.
You can also look into ATS-friendly CV templates to see how you can organize information to make it more concise. Job Scan offers some great examples.
However, be very careful that your sentences don’t become incomprehensible because of your efforts to fit everything within one page. Readable tool can be of good use here, as you can use it to check the sentences’ readability.
Add Numbers
Numbers have a powerful effect on hiring managers. They provide them with something real. Better yet, numbers are proof of your accomplishments.
Turn your successful writing projects into numbers. If you have written a blog and during that time the traffic has increased, mention that. Moreover, present that achievement numerically. For example, “Blog writer, 30% increase in traffic in 1 year.”
This doesn’t mean that you should write down how many pages you have written for every job you had. Only use numbers to display your success and productivity.
Spell Check Till Perfection
Resume blunders are unacceptable. How can you convince the potential employers that you are a great writer if you can’t even write an error-free resume?
Spelling errors can mess up your chance with ATS as well. The ATS might be trying to spot the
word “Bachelor degree,” but if you have sent a resume with “Bechelor degrre,” it won’t find a match.
This is why proofreading is essential. Your CV needs to be spotless.
To ensure that not a single error sneaks by you, use proofreading tools like Grammarly. Or, have someone else take a look at your CV. Never trust your eyes solely to do the checking.
Optimized CV as a Path towards Freelance Writing Career
In your pursuit of a freelance writing job, an optimized CV will be your advantage. By applying these tips, you will have in your possession a well-written and scannable resume.
Remember that in this competitive world, you have to find a way to reach your goals. One of those ways is an optimized CV.
