I’ll be honest with you. Somedays I think when I’m ready to semi-retire (since I don’t think I’ll ever retire completely. Why would I retire from work I enjoy doing?), all I’ll want to do is write resumes.

It’s not that they’re easier than writing marketing copy. In fact, most of the steps and techniques are equivalent if not exactly the same, such as always …

• write to the reader’s self-interest
• use action verbs
• be specific
  about achievements and qualifications

Sounds familiar, right? Instead of marketing a product/service, you’re enlisted to help market a person. You’re the one who gets the chance to take a mundane laundry list of work and educational qualifications and craft into a powerful selling piece for a prospective employer’s review and delight.

And what’s the action to be achieved? To get our client’s resume into the "Contact ASAP" pile. It’s a good feeling when a client calls and tells me, "I got the interview!"

For marketing wordsmiths, resume writing is an excellent way to expand our writing skills, help folks who need it, and supplement our incomes between copywriting assignments.

So how do you start? You can read a few good books. (I did that.) Mentor under another resume writer (I did that, too, working as a subcontractor for a while.) Or you can take a course that lays it all out for you. (I didn’t, but how lucky for you — you can!)

AWAI (the publisher of the best gosh darn copywriting fundamentals course I know of) has a nifty resume writing course you should take a look at. (I think the promo letter is more hypey than it needs to be. Ignore the foaming-at-the-mouth hyperbole and focus on the facts of what you’ll get for your very reasonably priced investment.) Including:

• A “crash course” on what makes a winning resume — including the three “power
  elements” that will get your client’s resume seen and acted upon.
• A market-proven questionnaire — 19
  simple, straightforward questions you need to ask your client to produce the
  perfect resume. (This could easily be the most important component of the whole course. From my experience, getting clients to open up and give you the info you need is the hardest part of the entire resume writing process!)
• Lots of little secrets to building your client base and your business

Who knows? You may discover that you like writing resumes so much — and are doing so well at it — you’ll want to pursue it full time. Thousands have and do. And why not? It’s just another variation on marketing/promotional copywriting you’re already doing, using skills you already have.

You can read more about The Pro Resume Writer Program here. (Best part? As with all AWAI writing courses, your satisfaction is fully guaranteed.)

Maven’s Maxim
Whether you’re promoting a product, service, or even a person — it’s all marketing. Expand your skill set and portfolio with a little resume writing. It’s the most obvious line extension of the work you know and are already doing. Learn more at The Pro Resume Writer Program.

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