Resume Writers Digest 2008 Subcontractor Survey

I have just updated the "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor" Special Report with the results of the more recent 2009 Resume Writers' Digest Subcontractor Survey. (I will be conducting the 2010/2011 survey in the next few weeks.)

Because the information was replaced in the report, I've decided to "archive" the 2008 results writeup in this blog post.

As you might expect, for many resume writers, subcontracting is a way to smooth out the peaks and valleys of self-employment, at least according to the responses in the Resume Writers’ Digest 2008 Subcontracting Survey.

Sixty-six resume writers completed the survey. Of those, 56 percent are currently subcontract writers, either for an individual or a firm. The rest used to write resumes as a contractor, but are not currently doing so.

More than half of those responding have been subcontracting for at least three years, and fully half of those responding only write for one individual or firm. Most writers produce 1-2 projects per week as a subcontractor.

Compensation

The opportunity to earn extra income is often the driving force behind the decision to subcontract. Interestingly, the average pay for nearly half of all writers was between $51-$150 per project. Nearly three- quarters of writers are paid a flat fee for each project they accept, receiving 21-35% of the client’s charge, in most cases.

Typical projects include a resume and cover letter together (55 percent), followed by a resume only (18 percent). Other services include bios, thank you/follow-up notes, interview preparation training, KSAs, and ASCII text conversions.

Project Management

Most subcontracting projects are assigned via e-mail (61 percent), although a substantial number are also assigned over the phone (17 percent) or through a web portal (12 percent).

The average turnaround time is 3-5 days (33 percent), although shorter timeframes (24-48 hours — 23 percent; 48-72 hours — 28 percent) are not uncommon.

Because standardization is one key to working with a large volume of clients, it’s not surprising that 35 percent of resume writers work with clients via e-mail contact only, transforming old résumés and client worksheets into new documents.

What the writer produces is also fairly uniform — 56 percent of writers work with the client from the draft production through project finalization, working directly with the client to make changes. Seventeen percent produce a draft version only, and 20 percent create the draft but then work with the contracting individual or firm to finalize the project.

Some contracting firms supply templates (24 percent), while most prefer the writer produce the document entirely from scratch (46 percent).

Most subcontract writers are generalists; however, for those that specialize, they most often identify themselves as experts in writing executive resumes.

Substantial growth in subcontracting opportunities exists for resume writers who specialize in federal resumes, as only three percent of survey respondents reported they specialize in this area, and demand from firms seeking subcontractors who have expertise in writing federal resumes continues to grow.

First Look: 2010 Resume Writers' Digest Industry Survey

The 2010 Resume Writers' Digest Annual Industry Survey was conducted in December 2010/January 2011. To give you an idea of who the respondents are, sixty-eight percent of respondents are self-employed full-time (17 percent are self-employed part-time). Seventy-six percent work from a home office only (12 percent have both a home and business office). Twenty-two percent have been writing resumes for fewer than 5 years; 37 percent for 6-15 years, and 35% for more than 16 years.

January is the busiest month for these writers, followed by February, May, September, and October. 

Money is always an interesting benchmark for writers. Hourly rates charged by writers range from $25-$450 per hour, with the most frequently hourly rate cited as $50/hour. Because of the disparity of hourly rates provided, the average hourly charge was calculated at $105/hour -- although, as mentioned, most rates were under $75/hour.

Another question is how many resumes are written each week, on average. The most common response is three resumes per week, although several respondents write up to 10 per week. The average, however, was 3.68 resumes per week.

The next issue of Resume Writers' Digest will contain the full survey results -- including more statistics about resume writers (we compile a profile of what we call the "average resume writer" based on survey responses), plus number of hours worked each week, least favorite part of being a resume writer, biggest challenges, and average resume sale amounts.

Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to read the full survey results. Subscriptions are free, and are supported by the sale of our information products (books, special reports, teleseminars, webinars).


What do you think of these survey results? How do you compare?

Frequently-Asked Questions About Referral Relationships

In my new special report, "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters," I address some frequently-asked questions about developing and structuring referral relationships.

Here are some of those questions:

Question: Why would a recruiting firm contract with me instead of hiring a resume writer to join their staff?

Answer: The major advantage to the recruiting firm is that they do not increase their fixed costs when they contract with you instead of hiring an employee. They collect a commission for referrals they send your way, but don't have to pay a (fixed) salary for what may be an uneven workload.

Question: How should I handle 'internal' client projects for the recruiting firm?

Answer: There may be situations where the recruiting firm contracts with you directly to write a resume for a key client (instead of the client paying you).

In these situations, you can charge the recruiting firm your fee, less the referral commission (i.e., they would pay 60-85 percent of your normal rates for these projects), paid directly to you at a specified time (i.e., once a month). I suggest invoicing the recruiting firm for these projects and handling payment separately, rather than deducting payment from commissions you owe them.

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Want to learn more? Purchase the report, "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters." The cost is just $27 and the file is available for immediate download.

Resume Turnaround Times: Subcontracting Survey

I'm going to have to add a question to the 2011 Resume Writers' Digest Industry Survey about average turnaround times for resumes -- but I do have some data on it from the 2009 Resume Writers' Digest Subcontracting Survey:

Excerpted from the "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor" Special Report:

While rush fees may be available for extremely short turnaround deadlines, in many cases, contracting writers must produce projects in shorter timeframes than they would when working with their own clients. 

Reported turnaround times include:

Less than 24 hours -- 10%

24-48 hours (1-2 days) -- 10%

48-72 hours (2-3 days) -- 24%

3-5 days -- 52%

More than 5 days --  4%