freelance writing job Archives - The Creative Writer

Seven Tips for Creating a Freelance CV

Creating a freelance CV or curriculum vitae is an important part of your business. It sets out your experience for potential clients and enables them to understand where your previous work could help them in their business. It can also help to establish you as someone who sees their writing as a job and not just a hobby.

There are plenty of websites that can help you write a CV, so do look around and read a number of author’s ideas on how a CV should look. There is no one perfect way to write one, although professional CVs should contain a number of things.

Include your personal details including address, email and a phone number by which you can be reached. You want the person who is reading your curriculum vitae to be able to contact you if they have some work for which you are a good fit. Make sure that your email and phone number are up to date and include Facebook business pages, Twitter account and any other social media accounts that you use for work. You should have separate accounts for private and business use.

Open with a statement that includes the kind of work that you have been doing and some of the strengths and skills you have. For example:

“Sarah has been a freelance writer for 7 years. In that time, she has worked with many clients and companies to create strong content that delivers interest and information. In her current role, she also manages social media on Facebook and Twitter, curating relevant content and interacting with other users on behalf of the company.”

Not everyone is comfortable using the third person, but some argue that it can look more professional. In the end, it is a personal choice. I have seen some great CVs that also write in the first person. The important thing is that you think about the client that you are approaching and include some work experience in the area that you are hoping to work in. How long should it be? As long as it needs to be. Some application forms seem to expect you to write a 2,000 word essay in support of your application, but I feel that this can be a bit much to wade through and also could be repetitive to write. Write as much as you need in order to explain what you do and how you could fit this role.

2. List out the relevant jobs that you have undertaken, together with a brief explanation of how you fulfilled them. If you have done hundreds of jobs, then you may need to choose the most relevant. If you apply for a number of different jobs such as editing, proof-reading or content writing then you may need to create a different freelance CV for each situation. You could also include links to content you have written if you wish.

3. Take a look at your CV each time you are preparing to send it out and make sure that it matches the client or job that you want to send it to. Be prepared to alter it to ensure that the client understands what you are offering and that it is relevant to them.

4. Include the highest level of education that you undertook and the qualification. You can also include any relevant courses that you have since done. Even though my degree is not strictly relevant to my work now, it is good that employers can see that I am educated to degree level.

5. Including a skills section can enable voluntary work to be included if it has not been included in the main work experience section. Make sure that the skills you include are relevant to the application.

6. Testimonials – ask previous and current clients for testimonials so that you can offer snapshots of what others think of your work.

7. References – if you have clients who would be willing to be a reference for you then include their contact details on your freelance CV but do ask them first.

A Quick Style Guide

When you are producing your piece of writing for a client, it is best to be consistent with grammar and spellings, particularly when using headings. Here are some of the most common things to look out for.

Headings

The beginnings of words in a heading should be capitalised unless they are small words such as ‘and’, ‘is’ or ‘of’. It is sometimes helpful to bold the heading to make it stand out from the rest of the text. Make sure that if you decide to do this, that all the headings are capitalised and in bold.

The Main Body of the Text

Start with your opening paragraph which sums up what the article will be about. Keep it short and succinct. It does not need a sub-heading over it – in fact your first sub-heading should be at least one paragraph in.

If you are writing for the web, then keep paragraphs short and to the point. There should be two to three paragraphs underneath each heading and of course they should be relevant!

Consistency, Checking and Counting Words

Photo by Martin Hagberg and used under Creative Commons licence

When you are writing your first draft, then just get the ideas down and let them flow. Write until you have finished, Then go back over it and read through. Check for spelling errors (be aware of the differences between American and UK spelling and use one consistently throughout). Also keep an eye out for grammatical problems and check out the word count.

Clients are usually very definite about the amount of words used in a piece of writing, but it is important to write in a focused way on the topic. Beware of fluff or filler. Take out any words that are unnecessary, read your work aloud to check for flow and ensure that your sentences are short and to the point rather than long and wordy. This makes them much easier to read.

End your writing with a strong point or call to action. Revise it again and again until you are happy with it.

Finally when you think your work is done, put it away for at least 24 hours before getting it out and reading it again. The distance is important: it allows you to view your work with fresh eyes and improve it.

Consistency and care is the key to producing strong work which you can be proud of and which is more likely to please your client and bring in more work commissions for you.

Applying for a Writing Job

The Ancient Way of Applying for Jobs — Photo on Flickr by Soapbeard

You’ve checked out the jobs boards, you’ve trolled the best sites and you’ve found a job that you are reasonably confident that you could do. Now what?

Now get up the confidence to apply for it! No job ever applies for itself and if you don’t try then you will never know if you could have got it. Here are a few pointers when applying for a writing job.

Send Your Best Writing

This sounds obvious, but its amazing how many writers don’t think of it: if you are applying for a writing job, then you need to write at your best. This is not a time for spelling mistakes or glaring grammar errors!

If you are applying to a job advert, then read it carefully. Some employers put instructions in the ad to ensure that applicants have read it thoroughly. Follow the instructions: if they ask for a CV then write a CV. If they ask you to call, then call; email then email. If they ask you to put “buckaroo” in bold in the middle of your CV, then do it! (They were probably testing you to see if you read the application thoroughly or not!)

Email as though You Were Writing a Letter

If you are applying through a jobs board, then the first contact is likely to be an email. Although these are usually informal, it will do you no harm to approach this as though it were a formal letter. Begin with ‘Dear’ and the client’s name and end with the appropriate ‘Yours Sincerely’ or ‘Yours Faithfully’. It sets you out as a business-like person. It creates a good impression and sets you out from the rest.

Explain why you are suited to the job and why you should be considered for the role. Keep it brief and relevant – no major life stories here. At the end of the letter, say that you look forward to hearing from them and sign off.

Include Contact Details

Make sure that you include full contact details so that any prospective employer can get in touch with you quickly.

Leave your email for a while before sending it (some people recommend 24 hours – but give it as long as you have got). Read it through again and correct any errors. Reading out loud will help.

Attach your CV if required. Send the email. Jobs boards usually have a closing date, so you could have a week or more to run before notifications are sent out. Keep an eye on the site to see if the job closes early.

If you have written on speck, then you may get a reply quite quickly. It may be “no thanks, I’ll keep you on record”, in which case keep applying to other people.

If you got the job, congratulations.

If there is no answer, don’t wait on it forever – get on with the next application. As previously stated: the more applications you send in, the more likely it is that you will get a ‘yes’.