How to Become a Resume Copywriter

Run a Google search on the term resume copywriter and you'll likely come up with nothing useful (besides this site, of course). If you came here looking for tips on how to write a resume, click the text to the left. Perhaps the reason is that copywriters don't often want to write resumes for clients. After all, resumes only pay out about $100 a pop. Compared to writing sales copy, this is nothing!

But this means anyone interested in using their copywriting skills to niche themselves as a resume copywriter will have little to no competition.

The Benefits of Being a Resume Copywriter

Besides the lack of competition, being a resume copywriter brings many benefits.

1. Resume copywriters don't have large projects. You will likely work on short, one-page resumes. This means you will have a lot more control over your time when compared to other types of copywriters.
2. Resume copywriters don't need to do much research. Whereas copy for sales or products requires a lot of market research due to large market sizes, resumes only intend to target one customer:  a potential employers. This means you'll only really have to look into that employer's company and not much more.
3. Resume copywriters follow a rather standard formula. Writing resumes requires a lot less creativity than writing sales copy or product descriptions. As a resume writer, you may choose to save a few Word formats and make minor alterations to fit your client.
4. Resume copywriters affect individuals, not big businesses. If you're successful in what you do, you've helped many individuals find jobs. Your job as a resume copywriter is not just to get a big business more revenue but to help your fellow man find his place in life.

 

The Bad News of Being a Resume Copywriter

To avoid being biased, I may as well give you the bad with the good:

1. Resume copywriters have a lot more variance in results. You cannot rely on tried and true copywriting techniques of the past century. Instead, you've got to appeal to a given employer's personality directly. This is hard when you know nothing about said employer.
2. Resume copywriters often must go through a company to get steady work. While I've never niched myself as a "resume copywriter," I have worked for a resume-writing company. The work you get through such a company is stable, but the company also takes a good cut of your profits. Allowing the customer to cut out the company can save you both money, but not every job-seeker is willing to go out of his way to find you.
3. Resume copywriters might get bored quickly. I know I did. Writing resumes for professionals is pretty standard fare. Once in a while you get an artist or a designer, whom working with is much more fun. But the day you do is a rare day in the life of a resume copywriter.