8 Tips to Create a Pro Writer’s Résumé

Everyone believes they can write, but few can create a showcase of their work while they design their writer’s résumé. Professionalism is a must because your potential employer needs to know you have the skills required.

You must show that you can deliver work that’s free of endless mistakes. One professional tip we can give you right off the bat is that you must never forget special characters.

Believe it or not, some people think it’s okay to type the word ‘resume’ instead of ‘résumé’ when they’re applying for a writing position. The debate is as old as written communications itself, but expert wordmongers know which one to use.

It’s painful to think that many people don’t see the miscommunication in this mistake. Compare your résumé to a new brand that needs to generate awareness and strive for maximum sales. Writers are a brand on their own.

Grammar and spelling mistakes aren’t the only issues either. The words you choose will determine whether your résumé is read or tossed in the trash.

Take Electrolux as an example of poor word choices. They had a huge misfire when they started advertising their vacuums in the United States. Their confusion-stirring slogan was “nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”

It’s unclear whether they knew about the confusion, but damn is all we can say. Some résumés we received were horrifyingly funny. We received one that listed a writer's interests as: “I love spending time with cooking my children friends and husband.”

Even amateur writers can see the alarming lack of punctuation here. This résumé instinctively makes you want to call the police with its cannibalistic vibe. Résumés require a certain blend of professionalism, expertise, and je ne sais quoi (pizzazz).

This guide will help you design a résumé that drives an irrefutable desire to know more. The potential employer should feel ants in their pants to meet you after reading your interesting compilation.

How to Write a Résumé That Undoubtedly Floods You With Remote Writing Jobs

Without further ado, we’re going to dive straight into the technical requirements and a few expert secrets used to create the perfect résumé to get those remote writing jobs you want.

Tip One: Research

You wouldn’t send your most embarrassing photo where you looked like an electrified hedgehog to apply for an advert that promotes hair products. So, why would you send anything but your personalized best to potential employers?

Our first expert tip is to do your homework. You must learn everything you can about the company or website you’re about to send your resumé to. Research should include:

Who the company or website is.
The typical niches, genres, and content offered.
Previously published work and writing style.

Finally, learn about their expectations if possible so you can also decide whether you’ll fit into their culture. These research results will help you customize your résumé for each company or website.

Tip Two: Technical Jargon

Technology makes life simpler, but for some of us, it’s a never-ending nightmare of failing to understand robotics and automation. Websites swamp us with job promotions. But, have you seen what happens to an incorrectly-formatted résumé?

Your experiences quickly become your interests and the file resembles scrambled eggs. Formatting is the technical part of writing a résumé as these virtual robots shred our document apart to place certain sections into their online spots.

Employment websites will require some complex formatting that requires:

Bullet points
Short paragraphs
Number lists
Headings
Fonts

Honestly, you should be using these for printed and emailed résumés too. It can create a perfect flow of readability and convenience. Nevertheless, you can use the simple template found on The Balance Careers website if you’re unfamiliar with robotic requirements.

You can also format your résumé manually if you wish.

Tip Three: The Boring Necessities

Imagine receiving a résumé that makes you envy the person who wrote it. You feel this urgent need to meet the writer. You can’t live without knowing more about them. Suddenly, your world crashes as you realize there are no contact details on the paper.

Placing contact details on your résumé might seem like common knowledge, but we guarantee you that there’s an imbalance of people who forget this requirement or those who grace you with an endless stream of contact information.

We can assure you that your grandmother’s phone number isn’t needed, but we recommended that you add these details:

Your full name and surname (nicknames from grade school aren’t required)
An email address (only one is required)
A contact number available at all hours (also, only one is necessary)
Your LinkedIn profile link if you have one (get one if you don’t already have one)
Your Facebook profile (only if you have one that shows your writing experience because there’s no need for countless kitty pictures)
Any blogs or websites owned and written by you

Please don’t add headshots because this isn’t a modeling application. Also, don’t add your date of birth. Writing companies are versatile and don’t need either of these things.

Tip Four: Strut Your Stuff

Anyone who’s spent years at university or signing up for courses deserves to be strutting their stuff. Don’t fret if you have no qualifications. It isn’t necessary but it sure amps up the volume when you have some degrees to show off.

You should add qualifications to your résumé in a specific order. Always start with the highest degree first and follow this with a reverse chronological order. You want to wow the reader from the start with the highest degree.

The reason for the reverse chronological order is because people lose interest quickly. They read the first few and then move onto the next section. You can also avoid the loss of interest by only choosing your top five qualifications.

Another important reminder is that university graduates needn’t add their high school qualifications. They can just focus on their minors and majors. Make sure you add the university name and location as well.

A high school graduate can include their grade point average (GPA) and any accomplishments at school. This includes extra-curricular activities, clubs, and additional credits.

Tip Five: Experience and Skills

Experience is more significant than many people think. It can mean the difference between endless training and a quick nudge. That’s why your experience and skills are the second most important part of your résumé.

Very few employers want to teach someone the ABCs when hiring someone to write complex articles. Bring your research forth and customize your résumé for the intended application now.

Please don’t start your experience log with data from your weekend job at the country inn. You want to supply your potential employer with as much information as needed, but you don’t want to add anything irrelevant either.

Use tangible experience where the reader can go onto a website and see your previous work if you were a content blogger. Mention companies and websites you worked for, making sure these places will give you a good referral.

Add your years with the company and a contact number for someone to give you a fair reference. Don’t exclude your work if you run a blog. You can even include a short spurt you had with a newspaper where you learned from a mentor journalist.

The best way to confirm your work is to provide websites, blogs, and even offer the potential employer a free copy of your book. Another common mistake is when people add skills or experience that can’t be proven.

Don’t insert a snippet of how you’re capable of typing 1,000 words per hour. The truth is that a trained monkey can do that. Rather express your great research skills, ability to meet deadlines, proven high-performance feedback, and accuracy.

Keep word choices in mind because you are applying for a writing job after all. Skills can be divided into two categories. There are soft and hard skills. You can use bullet points to mention these.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are also known as self-taught through experiencing life itself. These can include good:

Work etiquette
Time management
Collaboration
Criticism capacity (this is often needed)
Communication
Detail orientation

Hard Skills

These are the kinds of skills we can’t learn from life experience unless someone trains us. They can include technical skills and specialized genres. You can add any of the following to your list of hard skills:

Experienced genres/niches (fiction, self-help, psychology, science, nutrition, etc.)
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Content articles
Copywriting
Google Analytics
Keyword research
Other specialized technical programs that enhance a writer’s career, such as WordPress, Wix, Moz, and Ahrefs
HTML and CSS formatting
Paperback and kindle formatting
Ebook cover designing
Graphic designing
Website coding
Social media influence abilities

This should give you an idea of what you can list as your skills. Many writing companies require more than just ebook writers. We here at The Urban Writers have an entire team dedicated to book cover designs, content marketing, and translators.

You can certainly add translation to your skills as well. It’s a rare skill to find in employees. Therefore, it’s treasured by companies like The Urban Writers.

Tip Six: Achievements

Employers love people who have proven themselves before. Achievements aren’t only found in rewards and publicized accomplishments either. You’ve proven yourself the moment a blog you wrote for a website increased their traffic by ten-fold.

You might’ve improved a small business’s sales through a marketing blurb you wrote as well. These are all achievements that have a dedicated space in your résumé. Keep it short and sweet but don’t overlook small strides either.

Tip Seven: The ‘Optionals’

We recommend that you keep this brief as well, but adding some personal notes will help the potential employer learn to know you better. Add your interests while you keep punctuation in mind.

In fact, please use bullet points to avoid cannibalistic mishaps. You can also add any of these:

Self-publications
Impressive projects you worked on
Conferences you hosted or attended
Additional courses or workshops that aren’t specifically relevant but they show another side of you

Tip Eight: The Final Blow

Creating a brand around your résumé can be done with a summary added at the start or you can include a cover letter. Cover letters increase your possibilities significantly and are preferred by employers across various industries.

The best is always left for last, and the reason you write the first part of your résumé after the rest is that it will summarize who you are. This will be your hook, sales pitch, and the reason people continue reading your résumé.

Now you have a chance of showing your talents with words. It’s recommended that you keep this to no more than 250 words. This summary will include the highlights throughout the résumé while showcasing your wordful artistry.

Make sure that every part of your résumé is shrunk down to a snippet that stirs curiosity. After all, curious anticipation is the strongest emotion there is. The perfect cover letter will ensure you at least become a candidate.

This paragraph will allow the employer to delve into the depths of your soul to some extent. The secret here is to open it with a hook. Your books and articles have started with that one sentence that drew readers in.

You must do the same with the first sentence of your summary. Make it impossible for the reader to stop reading after the hook. Professor Heather Austin, a specialist in career development, gives us intricate advice in her video.

Finally, another expert secret is to add a relatable quote or interesting fact at the beginning of your cover letter.

Bonus Tip One

This might seem insurmountable at first, but résumés that exceed two pages are often tossed aside. Keep it under this limit and remember that your cover page doesn’t count.

Bonus Tip Two

Let’s face it, you’re a writer who’s trying to sell your services. You want to proofread and edit your résumé three times before you send it off. Don’t taint your brand with silly typos or grammar mistakes.

Bonus! Freelance Writing Opportunities

You didn’t think we’d leave you in the deep end without sharing viable freelance writing opportunities with you. We have another blog that covers all the opportunities you can find with ease.

We also have some good news. We hire talented freelance writers, editors, designers, and translators. You can contact our team to discuss joining our culture and gaining experience in various niches.

Bring your skills to a team that offers highly-competitive compensation, support, flexibility, and room for growth. We offer opportunities to gain experience and training in complex specialties as well. Feel free to look at our online reviews.

You can also work on promoting your writing career to expand your horizons. At least we know that it doesn’t matter if you join our team or find great opportunities through an affiliate; you’ve got all the secrets you need to build the best résumé now.

Final Thoughts

You’re ready to make the most of your newfound knowledge. Just remember not to overlook mishaps like a store putting up a sign that reads: “Shoplifters will be prostituted.” Check every detail before you send your résumé to anyone.

Punctuation, grammar, formatting, and word choices are your savior if you’re a good writer. The technical assistance will prevent your online résumé from telling employers that your qualifications are baking cookies and lying on the beach.

Seasoned writers avoid these issues with the help of templates. All that’s left to do is start writing it.