Used Car Salesmen, Lawyers ... and Resume Writers?

Maybe I'm just more sensitive to the subject recently, but it seems that the professional resume writing profession is taking a beating lately. We're the subject of polls, discussed extensively in podcasts, and debated in Facebook posts.

Louise Fletcher, of Blue Sky Resumes, caught some of this as well, and wrote an excellent note on her Facebook page. A recruiter, Jill, responded back with a post that included this comment:

"It's true that most in your profession just seem to get paid by the word but that's why it's so important that you (Louise) are out there."

Ugh.

Live Twittering From NRWA Conference 2009

If you're like me and couldn't make it to the NRWA Conference, you can still find out what's going on through live Twitter updates from conference participants. Search for "#NRWAconf2009" or "#NRWA09" ...

Check out these folks:
@CEOCoach (Deb Dib)
@CIO_Coach (Kim Batson)
@wendyterwelp (Wendy Terwelp)
@dawnrasmussen (Dawn Rasmussen)
@susanwhitcomb (Susan Britton Whitcomb)
@tessaweeks (Tessa Weeks)
@RobynFeldberg (Robyn Feldberg)
@BonnieKurka (Bonnie Kurka)

Resume Writers Recession Survey Results

Last month, I was invited by the Career Management Alliance and National Resume Writers' Association to participate in a joint effort to survey resume writers about how their businesses were faring in the current recession. (Thanks to Don Goodman, of About Jobs, for suggesting the survey idea and initial questions.)

We finalized the questions and put the survey out there. We received 191 responses between Aug. 3-16. Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., Research Master for the Career Management Alliance, compiled the results and prepared a report, which was released today. (If you have signed up for a free subscription to Resume Writers' Digest and confirmed your subscription to the double-opt-in list, you received an e-mail from me this morning with the 8-page report.)

Here are some highlights:

• Compared to a year ago, more respondents (48.4 percent) are doing better now than are faring worse (39 percent).
• Twelve percent of respondents say they are doing the same as last year.
• Six percent of those surveyed said their revenues were up 61 percent or more over last year; 3.2 percent said their revenues were down 60 percent or more. Twenty-eight percent said their revenues were up 1-20%. Twenty percent said their revenues were down up to 20 percent.
• The top source of business is referrals (47.5 percent), followed by their personal website (25.6 percent), Yellow Pages ads (14.9 percent), and subcontracting (14.4 percent).
  

Speaking of subcontracting, it can be an excellent source of business (especially during slow times). Resume Writers' Digest offers a special report for resume writers looking to affiliate with firms that hire subcontract writers.

If you would like to receive a copy of the results, sign up for your free subscription to Resume Writers' Digest and then e-mail me at editor(at)RWDigest.com with the subject line "Recession Survey Results" and I'll send it to you.