How Often Should You Update Your Resume?
A resume is an important job search tool for freelance writers. Not all prospective clients ask to see one. For those clients who do, we want to present ourselves in the best possible way, and an updated resume is a must if we want to do that.
How often should this important document be updated? Ideally, you will update your resume when you have new experience or updated skills to add to it. I’m the first person to admit that I’m not always right on top of things when it comes to my resume. I do take a look at it very few months and make changes as necessary, though.
When you take a look at your resume, do more than just add your new experience to it. Go through the whole document carefully. You may want to make changes in the way you have described your previous work experience or other parts of your resume. As you add more freelance writing work experience, you may want to shorten or change the descriptions of your previous employment experience to keep the employer’s focus on your experience with writing, editing, blogging, etc.
If you have been applying for a lot of freelance writing gigs that you feel you are a good fit for but you aren’t getting hired, it may be a sign that you need to revamp your resume. This document may be the only opportunity you get to show a potential client who you are and what you can do for them, and you need to make sure that you make the best first impression you can.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve gone over your resume, review it and make changes as needed. This step is just as important to your business as any of your other marketing efforts.
Google Alerts as a Job Search Tool
When it comes to looking for freelance writing job opportunities, I’m of the “Leave No Stone Unturned” school of thought. Along with checking out job postings and preparing pitches for potential clients, you may want to consider signing up for Google Alerts.
The process is very easy. You visit the Google Alerts page and fill out the online form indicating whether you want to receive Alerts from Google News, the Web, blogs, or groups. Choosing “Comprehensive” gives you Alerts from all sources.
Next, set up the frequency you would like to receive Google Alerts. You can choose to get them once a week, once a day or as-it-happens. I would suggest as-it-happens so that you get leads sent to your promptly.
I use “freelance writer” as my search term because I want to see all the results with that phrase. If I chose “freelance writer wanted,” or something like that, I would be limiting myself to Alerts with that particular phrase. Keeping it simple means that I get updates that include job leads, news about freelance writers, as well as links to some wonderful blogs written by my colleagues.
If you are open to turning over a few rocks on your search for freelance writing jobs, you may end up finding a diamond or two for your trouble. Have you tried setting up Google Alerts as a job search technique? How has it worked out for you?
5 Tips on How to Ask a Freelance Writing Client for More Work
I wanted to follow up on the suggestions I made in my post about asking a client for more work with some more specific tips.
1. Make sure this is someone you want to work with again.
Don’t ask someone for more work if you really would rather not work with them again. If this client is someone you find difficult to deal with and you cringe at the thought of doing anything else for them as opposed to being excited or at least interested in getting started, skip the request for more assignments. Just thank them for their business and move on.
Asking for more work as a matter of course when you’re not interested amounts to the “I had a really nice time. I’ll call you” thing in the dating world. Don’t go there.
2. Mention the project(s) you have worked on for the client when you make your pitch.
Your client may have a number of writers working for them on various projects at any given time. While we all like to think that we are so stellar that a client couldn’t possibly forget us or our work, it does happen. Give them a gentle reminder so they can place you before moving on to your request for a new project.
3. Tell the client what else you can for them.
If you don’t share the other things you have in your bag of tricks, as I like to call it, the client doesn’t know. You may have submitted a resume when you applied for the gig, but once you were hired, the client probably hasn’t looked at it again.
Say you were hired to write some press releases. Being the professional freelance writer that you are, you have done your homework to find out about your client and what they do. Consider where they might need more writing services and make a pitch for them.
For example, if they don’t have a blog yet and you have experience in that area, contact the client to explain the benefits of having one. Since you already have a relationship with the client, you are in a good position to be hired for the gig – without having to go up against a hundred or more other candidates if the client were to place an ad. You can do the same with web content, copy for web and print, technical writing, white papers, etc.
4. Rinse and repeat.
If you ask for more work and the client doesn’t have anything for you at that point, it doesn’t mean that the source of work has dried up. Make a note to check back later. The client may even give you an idea of when they may need a writer and you should follow up with them slightly before that point. That way, you are well positioned to be chosen for the next gig.
5. Make asking for more work a regular part of your routine.
If you get it the habit of asking for more work when you finish a project, you are more likely to avoid down times in your freelance writing career. It’s far easier to convince someone who you have worked with already to hire you again than to start trying to build a relationship with a new client. A stable of regular, loyal clients who can keep you supplied with work and refer you to other people who can hire you is gold. Treat them like the precious resource they are and watch your business grow.
Ask, Ask, Ask Your Way to More Freelance Writing Work
If you want to turn a one-time gig into a source of repeat business, a good strategy is to remember the “Three Asks,” as I like to think of them. The first one is just good customer service, and the other two have to do with marketing. Here’s the rundown:
Ask if the Client Needs Anything Else
When you hand in your work to the client, ask them to let you know whether they need anything else. This could be interpreted to mean revisions or edits, or the client could interpret it to mean another project that complements the first one. It’s just good business to make sure that your clients are happy with the work that you have done for them and this practice increases your odds of being given future assignments.
Ask for More Work
Clients aren’t mind readers. Unless you let the client know that you would be interested in working with them again, they may not automatically think of you for future projects. Assuming you would be interested, contact the client after you have delivered the project. Tell them that you enjoyed working with the on “Project X” and that you hope that they will contact you with their future writing (editing, blogging, copywriting, etc.) needs.
Ask for Referrals
Assuming that the project went well and the client is happy, you can ask them to refer you to other people who may need similar services. If you don’t mention it, the client may assume that you have a full plate and that you aren’t taking on anyone new right now. While that may be the case today, the situation can change quickly and my take on it is that I’m always happy to talk to a potential client. The details can be worked out once the potential client turns into an actual one.
Do you use any of the “Three Asks” in your freelance writing career?
Why a Targeted Job Search Works Best
As freelance writers, we spend a certain amount of our time in search of new projects. When you are looking for work, do you apply to ads blindly, or do you limit your search to those that closely match your skills and abilities?
Sometimes we can get caught up in wanting to stay busy and we think that if we keep applying for available jobs that we will keep our plates full with plenty of work. This isn’t the best strategy, though. A highly-targeted approach to looking for work is going to be more successful.
I know that I have written that applying for freelance writing jobs is partly a numbers game, and it is. The more opportunities that you apply for, the more you will end up getting hired for. However, you will also increase your chances if you are applying for gigs that are a good fit for you.
Read the ad carefully to see if you can picture yourself doing the job. Some ads seem to be written with you in mind, and by all means throw your hat into the ring and tell the client that you would like to be considered for it.
Why You Should Skip the Ads That Aren’t a Good Fit
If you come across an ad that isn’t really a good fit because of the subject, type of writing, or pay, move on to something else. It’s important to value your time as a freelance writer. You only have so many hours in the day, and the time that you are spending preparing cover letters and getting your resume and samples ready to submit to the client is better spent looking for something that will fit your needs better and help you reach your goals.
If you are spending a certain portion of your day looking for freelance writing gigs and you don’t find any ads to respond to that day, then use the time to make cold calls, prepare a pitch for a potential client that you are interested in working with, or contacting previous clients about their writing needs.
Do you target your search when looking for freelance writing jobs?
5 Things That Clients Won’t Ask You
When you are applying for available freelance writing jobs or make a pitch to a prospective client, there are some things they are wondering about but won’t ask. Consider the following the next time you are communicating with someone new about your writing services:
1. “Are you reliable?”
While freelancers may complain about clients who simply disappear, they aren’t the only ones who behave that way. A client wants to find someone who will show up and do the work they have been asked to do.
2. “Is your everyday work as good as your samples?”
We pick and choose the work that we provide to prospective clients as samples very carefully. It’s only natural to want to find what we consider to be our best work to present with our cover letter and resume. The client who reads them may be wondering if we can produce that level of quality on a regular basis.
3. “Will you be difficult to work with?”
No matter how stellar your samples are, if you give off the impression that you are going to be, um, challenging to work with, then the client may well take a pass.
4. “Can you follow instructions precisely?”
When clients tell you how they want to you to write something for them, it’s not a suggestion. They want what they want, and we get paid to give it to them. Failing to do so means that the work may get sent back for revisions or even reassigned. When that happens, it throws the project off schedule for the client.
5. “Can I afford to hire you?”
The final decision about whether to hire you may come down to whether your rates fit into the client’s budget. If you are asking for a higher rate than the client had in mind, be prepared to show how hiring you will bring value to the project.
You may want to anticipate these 5 questions that clients won’t ask you and address them in your cover letter as best you can. Tell the client about how reliable you are and how you strive to meet your clients’ needs for every project you take on. When the time comes to negotiate rates, give yourself some wiggle room so that you can make a counteroffer if that seems appropriate.
How would you deal with these issues with a prospective client?
You Have a Full Plate: Do You Still Look for Work?
The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Marketing your writing business should be an ongoing activity. Many freelancers have peaks and valleys in their work load. It goes with the territory.
If you want to keep the work coming in, you should be constantly doing activities that will grow your business. Even if you are at the point where your time is completely booked and you couldn’t possibly squeeze one more thing in, do it anyway. Find a few minutes to check out job boards, the job leads we post here at FWJ, to make a couple of cold calls, or approach a potential client by e-mail.
Don’t worry about how you are going to fit the next gig into your schedule. You haven’t got it yet. It may take time to hear back from your job searching efforts, and chances are that you will apply for many more gigs than you actually get. You can always discuss deadlines when you are negotiating fees with the client.
Part of being a freelancer is juggling the work we have in front of us with being on the lookout for our next project. Do you look for work constantly, or do you back off from these activities when you have a lot of work do do?
When to Name Names on Your Freelance Writing Resume
Thank you to Jeanne Grunert, whose comment was the inspiration for this post.
When you are preparing your freelance writing resume, do you list your clients’
names or do you keep them confidential? There isn’t one clear answer that will work for everyone. If you have signed a confidentiality agreement, then you can’t reveal the fact that you have worked for a specific client.
I do include some client names on my resume and some others I don’t mention, although I do describe the kind of work that I have done for them. Here’s how I make the call: If the work is being published under my own name, then I include the client’s name on my resume. A lot of my work is ghostwriting, and I choose not to reveal the names of those clients on my resume.
I can still list the kinds of work that I have done for people and the topics that I feel most comfortable writing about without naming names. So far, no one has asked me to do so, and I think that a prospective client is more concerned with whether I would be a good fit for their project than the names of the other clients I have worked with.
Do you list the names of your clients on your freelance writing resume or do you focus on your experience instead? How do you decide who should be included, assuming you have not been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement?
Listing Multiple Clients on Your Freelance Writing Resume
Preparing a freelance writer’s resume is a little different from writing one where your goal is to find a job. A functional resume, where you focus on your skills and achievements, is a style option that you may want to consider. Can you make the more traditional chronological style work for you? Sure you can.
The Challenge With a Chronological Format for Freelancers
The challenge (notice I didn’t say problem) with preparing a chronological resume when you are a freelancer is that you may be juggling multiple clients at once, do a few one-time-only assignments, and have some dry spells in between. If this sounds like your professional life; relax, it’s not uncommon.
You may be reluctant to list everyone you have done work for in chronological order because of the gaps in the time, or (gasp) because you only worked with the client on one project. Working freelance and having a series of assignments of different lengths is not an indication that you “can’t hold a job.” It’s the way that freelancers roll.
Listing Your Writing Experience on Your Resume
What you want to do with your resume is to tell the person reading it about your experience so that they can determine whether you would be a good fit for their project. My suggestion for listing your experience looks something like this:
2002-Present
Self-Employed Freelance Writer, Blogger, etc.Provided freelance writing services to several clients [including....]
[You can name names or choose not to - your preference]Assignments included [SEO articles, web copy, ebooks, blog posts....] on the following topics [list them here]
I have used this strategy on my resume, since it also lists the work I did before I started freelancing. The point where I started my business is listed like another employer – except the employer is me.
If you use a chronological resume, how do you set out your freelance writing experience?
3 Tips for Finding Work in the Hidden Freelance Job Market
Looking for freelance writing work is something you should be doing constantly. Part of the process involves looking at and answering ads like the one we post links to on our Writing Jobs Leads blog. You also should be tackling the hidden job market regularly. Here are 3 tips for getting started.
Look to Current Clients for More Work
Current clients who are happy with your work are a great source for getting more assignments. I don’t know if you are in the habit of thanking your clients after the project has been completed and the client pays the balance owing, but it’s a good one to get into. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it gives you the opportunity to open the door to future projects. Clients can’t read your mind, so if you would be interested in working with the client again, tell them that.
Contact Past Clients
If you haven’t heard from a past client in a while, send them an e-mail reminding them about the previous work you have done for them. Mention something positive about the experience, and ask them to keep you in mind for future work.
You can also approach a past client like this: Send them an e-mail explaining that you have some project time that has just opened up and you want to offer past it to people who you have enjoyed working with in the past first. You could also offer a price discount for people who book projects by [X] date. If you decide to offer preferred pricing, set the deadline within a couple of weeks to encourage clients to make a decision soon.
Talk Up Your Business to People You Know
This third tip takes a bit of practice, but with time it will feel more natural. When you are out and about and someone asks you what you do, use your elevator speech to tell them about it. Have business cards ready to hand out, and let the person know that you are always happy to talk to prospective clients about their needs.
Have you successfully landed gigs using these strategies? Which ones have been the most successful for you?
