Resume Writers: 7 Reasons to Feed the Media

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The media is hungry for career-related content to share with their readers, viewers, and listeners. Feed them!

The benefits of public relations can be immense. My bachelor’s degree is in public relations, and I know how powerful PR can be for you individually and for the careers industry as a whole.

Here’s seven reasons why you should feed the media:

1. Credibility

Getting a favorable mention of your business in the media holds far more value than a paid advertisement, because it has more credibility with the public.

Nielsen’s 2015 Global Trust in Advertising poll showed that “earned” media sources — including word of mouth, customer testimonials or editorial content such as newspaper editorials and articles, are more trusted than “branded/owned” vehicles such as ads.

Press releases, media appearances, and other publicity-generating PR events help fuel editorial coverage and shape public opinion.

2. Control

Providing your story to the media means you have more control over the message. Ideally, a media outlet will run your press release verbatim, but even if you can’t control a reporter’s final version of the story, you have more influence when their starting point is your press release. Choosing the right outlet for your message is important — choose media outlets that reach your target client. There are so many possible venues: newspapers, radio programs, podcasts, magazines, newsletters, blogs, etc. — pick the ones that your ideal client is paying attention to.

3. Crisis Management

A good PR plan isn’t just about generating positive news coverage involving your company. It’s also about avoiding and being prepared to handle bad publicity.

Being ready with a plan before disaster strikes can save valuable time and face in the event of a crisis.

Whether it’s a credit card breach leaking customers’ sensitive information or a scandal affecting the careers industry (bad actors in the recruiting world, resume writing firms falsely claiming “Top 10” status to the detriment of the rest of us, etc.), your public relations strategy can help position a small business for the best possible outcome in a bad situation. While rare, preparation is the best defense.

4. Exposure

People have many sources competing for their attention these days. Public relations offer another way to reach them — another channel to build awareness and create a positive image. It can be leveraged and also supplement your other marketing efforts. Again, media mentions can significantly improve your “know, like, and trust” ratio with prospects, making your website and other marketing efforts much more effective.

5. Staying Power

In the digital age, news stories no longer have a shelf life. Their visibility on search engines doesn’t decline as time passes; instead, articles continue to gain exposure over time as they are linked by other sources, whether in a newer article, a blog post, a Yelp review, or elsewhere.

There’s an article out there from the early 2000s that I’m quoted in that I still see surface occasionally. It’s almost 15 years old and it’s still getting traction!

And here’s a magazine profile of me from 2017 (see page 27) that’s still generating client prospects!

6. SEO Benefits

Making sure positive stories are told (both in earned and owned media, and across social media networks) and that your messaging is consistent, and your content timely and relevant, will keep your organization higher up in search engine rankings, bringing more customers to you and driving more growth for your resume writing business.

7. Value

Because small businesses might not have access to the financial resources and large advertising budgets that big companies do, PR offers more bang for your buck. Establishing the right public image and communicating it via the news media is a cost-effective route to raising awareness and improving the perception of your business.

Editorial coverage in particular can come at no cost to you, and it can greatly enhance and supplement the marketing you’re doing elsewhere.

Bill Gates famously said, “If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on public relations.” Gates understood the value of a good PR strategy, which is that it offers a cost-effective means to increase your long-term profit.

Want to learn more about HOW to feed the media?

Check out this special report: “Feed the Media: How to Get Free Publicity for Your Resume Business”

or check out our 4-part training on the topic: Feed the Media: Webinar Series for Resume Writers and Career Coaches

One Resume Writer’s Journey: Retiring One Day at a Time (Guest Post)

This guest post was submitted by an anonymous career industry colleague who is retiring on her own terms. It is part of a new occasional series about how resume writers can successfully transition out of their businesses. 

I started retiring three years ago when I turned 62. I decided to retire “a little at a time” because I watched the difficult transition experienced by several friends and family members who retired suddenly. However, I know others who set a retirement date and followed through happily. One friend said he knew the day he would retire on his first day of work. He despised his job for 30 years, retired early, and never looked back.

I have had jobs I felt that way about, but writing resumes and coaching clients isn’t one of them. I still love what I do. I still help my clients succeed, so I am not in a big hurry to leave. In fact, loving my work is one piece prompting this slow-motion retirement. I need time to let go.

The second piece is energy. I realize I have less than I used to. Before this year, I have rarely needed to plan activities around energy reserves. That is starting now, and that means I need to pay closer attention to priorities. My husband and I want to travel more, and I’ve worked on the road enough to know it’s not that much fun.

Another is focus. Although I have always relied on a calendar to organize my time, I find myself leaning more heavily on it to remember important information. My notes are becoming more detailed because I need more help remembering them. I don't want that change to ever affect a client’s project.

Finally, there is motivation. I am getting ready to be done with work. I feel less like taking on big projects. I feel less like doing sales calls. I still enjoy writing, but I feel like doing it less often. These are marked changes, and I need to attend to them.

I took Social Security at 62, mainly because my husband is 10 years older than I am, and we anticipate that I will receive his larger benefit upon his death, which, for the sake of planning, we assume will be earlier than mine.

Receiving Social Security allowed me to make less each month, which ironically didn’t happen until this year. I had two of my best years and then a really sparse one. It did give me was more time right away. I quit all marketing efforts except reposting articles by colleagues on LinkedIn. My rationale was that if I stopped marketing, business would gradually decline, and that was my goal.

As a result, I gained about a day a week. Instead of sliding client work into that space, I added other things to my life. I got a puppy who needs daily walking, training, and playtime. My husband and I are traveling to visit our children, grandchildren, and friends more often.

This year, I will receive Medicare, which will take much of the health insurance expenditure out of the picture. When this happens, I plan to work even less. I am not sure yet what that looks like. It may mean I no longer coach clients, so that my projects are shorter in duration. It may mean that I keep coaching but take on fewer clients. It may mean that I work the same amount of time I do now during “regular” weeks and take longer stretches of time off for travel. In any of those scenarios, it will likely mean that I refer out more prospects who aren’t an ideal fit.

In this stage, I am letting the process guide me. I am paying more attention to what I want to do or what I want to avoid. I no longer have to power through to pay the bills. But that is a new experience for me, and I don't know how I will feel about it. So, instead of following my usual path of planning the heck out of anything I need to do, I am letting it be, watching the volume and schedule of work, trying one thing and then another and seeing what happens.

I think the best approach will become clear, and if it doesn’t, I can always set that retirement date.

Resume Writers: Five Ways to Avoid Burnout

Burnout is a very real thing. I’ve talked to several resume writers over the past few weeks who are struggling with being overwhelmed. 

It can happen slowly.

You procrastinate about starting projects. You suffer from writer’s block when it’s time to write the resume or LinkedIn profile. You don’t look forward to following up with prospects who have inquired about your services.

There are easy-to-miss signs that start slowly and snowball until you question if you still want to continue to be a resume writer.

No one is immune to this dilemma, but there are ways you can prevent it from happening.
Interview prospects carefully. The interview process is crucial for weeding out high-maintenance clients and to eliminate those who don’t want to do the work. I like to call them vampire clients: they suck the energy right out of you with their constant complaints, excuses, and questions. One particular type of client who can burn you out is one who won’t follow through. Or they can’t provide you with any tangible information to use to actually write the resume. 

Trying to get a handle on this type of client in an interview process allows you to reject their business up front or to express your boundaries and expectations right away, allowing them to decide if working with you is the right decision for them. One source for helping you ask the right questions whien interviewing prospects is “First Call Questions: Questions for Resume Writers to Ask Prospective Clients."

Another source of burnout is trying to wear too many hats.

Automate, delegate, or eliminate time-consuming tasks. Running your own business alone is time consuming and stressful. Not only are you writing resumes, but you’re in charge of your billing, your social media marketing, your real life networking events, and (hopefully) creating information products that can provide you with passive income. This isn’t even a full list of all the background tasks you probably do! 

Taking some of these tasks off your daily to do list will free up time and eliminate some stress. For example, allow your clients to schedule their calls online with an online scheduling program. If you have the budget to do so, hire a virtual assistant and/or a bookkeeper. A virtual assistant can also help you streamline your processes so you might be able to combine or eliminate some tasks that are unnecessary.  

Another area to automate is your interactions with prospects and clients. Check out “Three Systems for Six-Figure Success in Your Resume Writing Business" for ideas on this.

Plan your days. Use time blocking or the Pomodoro method to focus on your projects during each day. At the end of each day, create a list for the following day. Write in a journal about any negative events that happened and how you can handle these situations better in the future. Knowing exactly what you have to do the following day allows you to leave work in the office (even if it’s just closing the door of your home office) and enjoy the evening with your family and friends.

One of the biggest sources of burnout is feeling like you’re not being appropriately compensated for your work. Calculate your prices carefully. When you pull random numbers out of thin air because they “sound good to you,” chances are you’re underpricing your time and devaluing your services. And if you happen to let one of those energy vampires slip through onto your client calendar, you’ll quickly start to resent them because they underpaid and you’ll feel like you’re losing money every time you talk to them.  Check out the Pricing Bundle for resources to make sure you’re charging the right prices for your business.

Take care of yourself. Self-care is very important when running a business because if you’re out sick, there’s no one else to take over. A simple thing like going to bed an hour earlier can help you wake up feeling refreshed. Unplug from electronics two hours before bed to allow your brain to slow down. Daily exercise and water intake is also important to flush out any germs and to keep your body healthy and flexible.

Burnout doesn’t have to be inevitable. Get proactive by following these steps and learn how to relax and enjoy the special moments in life.

How to Fictionalize Your Resume Samples

What is “fictionalizing” your resume samples — and how do you do it?

When responding to a request for a subcontract writer — or when publishing resume samples on your website, you should ficitionalize the samples first.

Fictionalizing means taking a real resume and removing any identifying information that may make it possible for a reader to determine the “real” identity of the client. 

This allows someone to see the style of your writing while protecting your client’s confidentiality.

Here are some basic steps to follow to fictionalize a resume sample:

1) At a minimum, change the client’s name and contact information, including changing the street address, phone number, and email address. I recommend changing the city and state to an entirely different area of the country (and make sure the area code you use for the phone number corresponds to the “new” city). If there is a link to LinkedIn profile, you can change it to link to your LinkedIn profile (great marketing strategy) or just to the LinkedIn home page. 

For example, you might change:
5050 Grover Street, Omaha, NE 68106
to:
1111 Main Street, York, ME 03902

Laura Slawson, CCM, CPRW of The Creative Advantage reminds writers to change the footer (the person’s name may be there too!). She suggests using 111-222-3333 for the phone number and email@email.com for the email address.

Based on Laura’s advice, I’d recommend you check the document header too AND the Document Properties field in Microsoft Word.

2) Change the name of any/all companies listed. For example, instead of “Varian Medical Manufacturing,” you might change it to “ABC Medical Manufacturing.” Other “generic” or placeholder company names are: Acme, Ace, Mom and Pop, Sample, Widget, or XYZ

3) If the job title is really unique, you may consider changing it as well. (When in doubt, do a Google search for the job title. If it comes up with hundreds of links, you’re ok.)

4) Change the name of any organizations, clubs, or activities — and/or change the dates that the client participated. For example, if the client has earned a specific credential or designation, make sure that information would not be able to be used to trace the person’s identity.

5) Review the client’s educational history. It may not be necessary to change the name of colleges or universities, but you may want to consider changing a graduation date (or omitting it entirely) to avoid identifying the client. (An online directory of graduates for a small university, combined with a graduating year and job title could potentially be used to “find” a specific person.)

6) Consider changing some of the numbers in the $$/##/%% data so that exact phrases can’t be searched for on LinkedIn or Google.

Finally, review the resume one more time as a whole — is there any information that would potentially be able to be linked to the original client? If so, change it!


FAQs:

Q: Should you ask clients for permission to use their resume?
A: Yes. Most resume writers do this in their client agreement, asking clients to allow the use of the resume for promotional purposes if it is fictionalized to remove their identifying information. You can use a phrase like this:
Unless you request otherwise, your resume may be used for promotional purposes, with the guarantee that all information will be fictionalized to protect your confidentiality.


Q: Should I let people know the samples on my website have been fictionalized?
A: Yes. When publishing samples on your website, use this phrase, or something similar: Please note: All featured samples have been “fictionalized” — the client and company names and locations have been changed to protect the privacy of the original client.

Use Facebook to Get Clients

I’m friends with a lot of resume writers on Facebook. Some of them are really good about letting the world know what they do. Others aren’t.

If you’re looking to get more clients, Facebook can be an excellent source of referrals. People do business with people that they know, like, and trust. People who know you from Facebook can be an escellent source of referrals — or even become clients directly.

When was the last time you actually talked about your business and what you do for people on Facebook? Do the followers of your personal profile have any idea what you do for a living? Or are you on Facebook keeping up with college buddies and parents from your kids’ school?

I know you know this, but it bears repeating: If you don’t toot your own horn once in a while, nobody else will do it for you. Don’t sit back and wait for people to find you. Be proactive and step out from behind your computer and tell people you’re a resume writer.

True, you don’t want every single post to be self-promotional, because that definitely gets old and could turn followers away from you. Instead, develop a social media plan so your posts are a good balance between personal, business, and fun.

Facebook allows at least three different ways to reach your audience — and if you’re on Facebook for business, you should utilize all three, because not everyone will see every single post you publish. Using three different avenues raises your odds that the people in your target market will see something of interest.

Step One: Optimize Your Personal Profile
Prospective clients will check out your profile if it’s public or semi-public. So, in order to grab their attention, post consistently and be sure you fill out ALL the space on your personal profile page as completely as possible.

• Add a bio — describe to your followers what makes you tick, and how you’re unique 
• Add featured photos — a nice, visual way to grab attention with photos from conferences, workshops, speaking engagements, etc. 
• Add your workplace information – link to your website, Facebook Group, and Facebook Business Page 
• Link other social media profiles — under the About >> Contact & Basic Info section 

Even though your personal profile is meant for personal stuff, you can certainly announce the launch of your book, post photos of your recent conference you attended. While these are business-related, you’re not purposefully promoting your business via your personal profile.

Step Two: Create a Business Page on Facebook
The standard rule of Facebook is you use a business page to promote your business while your personal profile is meant for personal communication. So, to stay in good standing with Facebook, create that business page and optimize it in the same manner as you did your personal profile.

Business pages have come under fire recently because users complain that they never see page posts in their news feeds, even though they have liked the page. While this is aggravating, don’t give up yet. If for nothing else, you can add your website link and other contact information here and, since it’s a business page, you can talk about your business and promote your products every single day, even multiple times a day, without penalty. You can also run contests from your business page as well as add an opt-in offer to one of the tabs. Consider this a quick overview of your business where your followers can decide if they want to move forward with a consultation. Put a “Send Message” button on your business page to make appointment booking even easier.

Step Three: Consider Using Facebook Groups to Woo Prospects
Facebook groups can be another great resource to chat directly with prospective clients. Public groups are a good way to handle customer service questions. Closed or Secret groups are best used for specialty discussion topics, or memberships. Keep in mind that successful groups need daily interaction from their host so they don’t forget about you but that’s easy to add to your overall Facebook marketing plan.

I don’t know of very man resume writers using public groups, but there are a few using Closed or Secret groups as a benefit of working with them.


Remember this important note: finding clients is all about building relationships, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Talk about your business, showcase your expertise, reach out to your followers, and when the time is right, they will remember your name because you talked about what you do.

Q&A: I Think Subcontractors Aren't Getting Paid Enough

I sent out an email last week to promote a subcontracting opportunity for one of my listings in the "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor" membership program and received the following response.

I think the 20% to the writer is the wrong way around. Especially for only a couple of assignments per month.

A fairer business model would see the writer getting 80%+ and the originator getting a 10% - 20% “finder’s fee”, based on the premise that the writer is doing the majority of the work. Also, I think the client gets a better result when the writer interacts with them directly, rather than adding links into the chain of communication.

Having said that I am definitely interested in subcontract work and will check out your site and the YouTube.

Just my two cents!

– G.S.

Compensation for subcontract writing projects generates a lot of controversy.

Ask a subcontract writer, and they will tell you the pay is too low. Compensation is generally ranges from 20-35% of the project fee. Factors affecting the percentage include: the amount of client contact (and whether writing from worksheets vs. conducting the phone intake session) and whether the subcontractor or the contracting writer handles revisions. In general, the more client contact and the more of the project the subcontractor handles, the higher the percentage the subcontract writer receives.

Ask a contracting writer about compensation, and they'd remind you how much more goes into the project than the actual writing of the resume. There is marketing and client acquisition time and costs, selling the client on the project and fee (including determining project scope), getting payment and onboarding the client, conducting the information-gathering process, and managing the project through completion, including project finalization. There's also the risk of chargebacks, which is almost always fully realized by the contracting writer, with the subcontact writer paid regardless.

The author of the question above raises several excellent points. Skilled writing should be compensated well. How much better? I would argue that 30 percent should be the mininum amount, and that should be writing from worksheets with no client contact and no revisions. A project with direct client contact (including conducting the intake session) should be compensated at a higher rate than a ghostwriting opportunity.

But it's never going to be an 85/15 or 80/20 split in favor of the writer. The industry standard for compensating referrals is 15%. That's the "finder's fee" model the original email referred to. But that's very different from subcontracting.

It can be tough to find a qualified (especially a certified) writer who will work on a project for less than $200 (their percentage). At current rates, that means the contracting writer would have to charge $600 (at 35%) to $1000 (at 20%). With the industry average for resumes currently at $500-$600, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

One more point: The author mentioned "especially for only a couple of assignments per month." Many subcontractors only take on a few assignments per week or month. (The industry average for most writers, according to the Resume Writers' Digest Annual Industry Survey  is 1-2 projects per week, or 4-8 projects a month.) Many resume writers pursue subcontract opportunities while they build their own client base, to smooth out the peaks and valleys. Most subcontractors are looking for extra income, experience, and the opportunity to learn how other writers run their businesses and interact with clients. Some subcontract full-time (or as their only work), but that's not the majority of subcontract writers.

Interested in subcontract resume writing? Check out the Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor membership site. Your annual membership includes the "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor" special report (with information for subcontract writers about compensation, project management, and more -- and profiles of other subcontract writers), plus access to the Directory of Subcontract Opportunities, with more than 25 full listings for subcontract writing (with more being added and updated all the time).

Answering the Pricing Question

Ask any new resume writer what's their biggest question and the answer is likely to be related to pricing their services. The most common question I get is: How much should I charge?

You want to make sure you charge enough to be profitable, but you don't want to charge so much that clients can't afford to work with you.

You’ve got the competition to consider, your own skill set, what you perceive to be your skills (yes, this is different from the former for most of us), what your market will pay, your location (not as big of a factor as it was 10 years ago, but still relevant), and a host of other variables. Working it out can feel like a hurdle you can’t quite get past.

One simple calculation is to determine an hourly rate. 

STEP ONE: Estimating Expenses and Income

The first step is to take a look at your estimated expenses. Remember to include your marketing expenses, supplies, rent, utilities, etc. Add your estimated expenses to what you want to make in income. For example, if you want to earn $100,000 a year in your business and you estimate $20,000 in annual expenses, then your income target will be $120,000.

Annual Expenses (Estimate): _____

(plus) Desired Annual Income: _____

(equals) Income Target: _____

STEP TWO: Your Billable Hours and Schedule

Consider how many billable hours you can work each week. This information will help you determine how many clients you can work with each week, and then you can calculate your annual billable hours. (Don't forget to include vacation time into your estimate. For example, if you normally vacation two weeks of the year, then your billable hours will be multiplied by 50 weeks, not 52 weeks.)

Here's an example:

If you have 25 hours available for billing each week, then multiply that by 50 to give you 1,250 billable hours each year. Also consider how much non-billable time you need to spend on your business. (If you're having a hard time estimating billable vs. non-billable time, keep track for a week and then extrapolate it.) You can make adjustments to your plan as you go along, and you can consider outsourcing some of your non-billable tasks as your profits increase.

Billable Hours Per Week _____

(times) Number of Weeks You're Expecting To Work _____

(equals) Total Number of Billable Hours Per Year _____

STEP THREE: Calculating Your Hourly Rate

Business owners charging for their services use several different methods. You might bill by the hour or by the project (but the quote is often based on the anticipated number of hours the project will take, multiplied by the hourly rate).

Calculating your hourly rate is easy, because you have the information you need. Simply divide your "Income Target" (STEP ONE) by the "Total Number of Billable Hours Per Year" (STEP TWO). For example, $120,000 divided by 1,250 billable hours gives you an hourly rate of $96/hour

Income Target _____

(divided by) Total Annual Billable Hours _____

(equals) Hourly Rate _____

Creating a solid pricing structure requires you to do a little more digging. So with your starting number in line, take a look at:

Your Competition. This might take a little detective work, since a lot of resume writers don’t publish their rates online. But if you pay attention to their websites and social media, ask a few discreet questions, and get on their mailing list, you can figure it out.

Be realistic about who, exactly, your competition is, though. Don’t undervalue or over-sell yourself. In other words, make sure you’re comparing yourself to another provider who shares the same skills, market, and track record, rather than simply looking at who you strive to become. 

You can also take a look at statistics from the resume writing industry as a whole. Career industry professionals -- sign up here to receive the current edition of the "Profile of Professional Resume Writers: Who We Are, What We Charge, How We Work."

Your Skills. In some fields, this is easy. There are certifications and educational programs that allow you — by virtue of having achieved them — to charge a certain rate. If you’ve followed this path, then pricing will be easy for you. If not, take a solid look at what you can legitimately claim as a skill.

Look, too, at your track record. Have you proven yourself by helping former clients (and do you have the testimonials and case studies to show for it)? If you do, consider a higher price range than you might have first thought.

Your Market. In the game of setting rates, it’s your market that has the final say. As any first year economy student can tell you, the price of anything lies where what the buyer is willing to pay meets what the seller is willing to accept.

If your goal is to give new college graduates a helping hand and lead them down the path to success, that unfortunately means you can look forward to low paying gigs (unless their parents are paying for your services!). That’s not a bad thing — everyone needs help in a job search — but it does need to be acknowledged. If, on the other hand, your target market is executives, then a higher fee isn’t just warranted — it’s a must. They will expect a higher price, and will not find value in the lowest-cost provider of anything, whether it’s coffee beans or business coaching.

Finally, don’t forget that pricing is never set in stone. It’s flexible. If you find you’re attracting the wrong market (or no market at all) you can always change your rates. Working too hard for not enough return? Raise your rates.

It’s your business. You get to call the shots. 

Resume Writers: Overwhelmed? Start Here.

One of the questions I get most often from my resume writing colleagues is how to manage multiple clients/projects simultaneously.

The Resume Writers' Digest Annual Industry Survey reveals that most resume writers take on two new projects each week -- but that doesn't take into account the projects from previous weeks that are in various stages of being finalized, or resume or LinkedIn updates from previous clients -- not to mention the marketing and business development projects you're likely working on. 

The best way to manage anything is to create a system. When you systemize all the processes that need to be completed, you’ll feel yourself up to be even more creative. Some people balk at the idea of systemizing anything creative but the truth is, it’ll make a huge impact on your work if you do.

• Use a Project Management System. While most resume writers use a simple Excel spreadsheet, you can also consider using a specialized system like Asana.com or Basecamp.com to help you get and keep everything organized. Or use a system like Honor Services. Once you set up a system, you’ll find that you can get far more done in less time. 
• Put It in Your Calendar. Most project management systems can do this for you, but if you want to, you can use Google Calendar as your project management system. Organize everything you need to do and then make it into a to-do list for each workday.
• One Thing at a Time. It’s important to set up your schedule so that you’re doing one thing at a time in the right order. For example, if you're working on writing a career services book, you can order a graphic from your graphic designer for your book cover before you’ve finished the book, so that it’s done when you need it.
• Manage Your Resources. Resources involve human, financial, and technical assets that you have and can use to help you create amazing content for your audience. The better you use what you have at your fingertips, the more successful your creative process will become. 
• Remember Your Goals. Everything you do starts with a goal. If not, then you need to go back to the beginning and create goals for each thing you want to create. Whether it’s a video or a text blog post, you need to have a goal in mind for it. 
• Be Prepared. Everything starts with preparation. You can’t be creative if you have distractions. When it’s time to sit down and get work done, turn off distractions. Shut off your TV and social media. If you work from home -- and most resume writers do!! -- talk to your family and tell them how much time you need uninterrupted. 
• Analyze the Results. Like most things, just doing it doesn’t let you know if you’ve been successful. You need to look at the metrics to find out if you need to make changes or adjust anything within your process to ensure better results. Some things to track: How many new clients you are working with each week (and the revenue from each). How long it takes you to write each resume. How long the "client management" part of the resume process takes.

You can’t sit around and wait for inspiration to hit you. Each day when you get started working, it will help to know what you need to do that day. When you work on things this way, you’ll experience far more success than you would if you had no plan of action to follow. 

Want to Share Your Knowledge With Other Resume Writers?

CALL FOR SPEAKERS!

— Proposals will be accepted through March 6, 2017 — 

Conference date: October 4-6, 2017

Conference location: The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, Lombard, Illinois

Deadline for speaking proposals: March 6, 2017, 10 pm (EST)

The National Résumé Writer’s Association is accepting speaking proposals focusing on best practices and trends in the résumé writing industry for its 20^th anniversary conference. Presenting at the conference is a great way to showcase your expertise and your business and generate interest in your services among potential partners and clients. 

You are invited to submit your proposal online:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NRWA2017CallforSpeakers

(You may wish to download this MS Word version of the Call for Speakers form so you can take time and draft your response before filling out the online submission.)  

NRWA2017ConfCallforSpeakers.doc

NRWA2017ConfCallforSpeakersFAQ.pdf

Please let us know if you have any questions.

About The NRWA

The NRWA is the only nonprofit, member-driven resume writers’ organization in the world. The mission of The NRWA is to increase the visibility of the industry, encourage ethical practices, promote excellence, and raise industry standards through peer marketing and training. The NRWA’s Certification Commission awards the highly sought-after Nationally Certified Resume Writer (NCRW) credential to résumé writers who demonstrate basic résumé knowledge, writing, and strategy.

What is a "Fair" Referral Fee for Resume Writers?

I got a couple of questions from a resume writing colleague today about referral fees, and I wanted to share my answers in today's blog post.

Securing Referrals Special Report

* Can you please advise what is the prescribed fee amount/percentage range that one should offer another career professional for a referral (career service) that would be fair? (Is there any minimum and maximum offered?)

Referral fees are negotiable. 15% is the most common referral fee, but I've seen anywhere from 10-25%. 

One thing to consider when you're deciding what percentage to pay as a referral commission for being sent prospects from a colleague is: What is the QUALITY of the referral? If someone sends a client to you who is pre-qualified and pre-sold (meaning they're a good fit for you and they're ready to buy from you based on what the referring person said), that's worth it.

There's a mathematical way to figure this out, for the most part. You can add up what you're spending (in money and time) each month, and divide it by the number of clients you secure yourself. For example, you might spend 1 hour/week on marketing and $100 on your marketing (website, paid ads, etc.). Let's say you value your time at $75/hour. So that's $75 x 4 = $300/month (time) + $100/month (hard costs) = $400. Let's say you secure 6 new clients/month. So divide $400/6 = $66 (cost to acquire one client).

Let's say that referral partner sends you a client that pays $500/project. Your 20% referral fee would be $100. But remember, unlike your own marketing costs, you only incur this "marketing expense" if you secure the client. With your other marketing costs, you spend $400/month and might get 0 clients out of it. (Or, things might go really well, and you get 10 clients out of it!). But the advantage with referral commissions is you only pay them when you're making money (the other 80%). 

* Are referral fees always required or mandatory? For instance, I offered a referral to a resume writer once for a client that I was not able to take due to other deadlines. However, I did not charge a referral fee upon the client retaining her service. 

No, referral fees are not always required or mandatory. As the referring person, you can always request a referral fee, but it's not mandatory. HOWEVER, thinking of that resume writer, wouldn't you be MORE likely to send clients their way if they HAD sent you a 15% referral commission (even if you hadn't asked for it?) Or even some kind of thank you?

* Are referral fees based on certain factors, or more on the negotiation or agreement between two career professionals what is suitable?

Just like with subcontractor fees, I believe that the more "work" one party does, the higher the compensation should be. For example, subcontract writers who have direct client contact (including conducting intake interviews) should make more than subcontract writers without client contact (and who work from questionnaires). However, because there is no standard in the industry, this isn't always equivalent.

In an "ideal" world, I think it would be:
10% referral fee -- pass along the name of a colleague

15% referral fee -- "normal" amount of selling -- give name/contact info and some information about the resume writer to convince the client they're a good fit

20% referral fee -- going above and beyond -- information about why this resume writer would be a good fit plus introduction of client directly to resume writer

The reason why I generally think referral fees should be 20% and under is that now you're getting into the "subcontract" rates territory. When you'd pay 20% to another writer to create the actual content for the client (again, subcontract fees are generally 20-35%), I think that's the top level. But I have seen some writers who offer 25% referral fees.

In the affiliate marketing world, referral commissions can be up to 75%, but usually these are for set programs (webinars, courses, group programs), not custom services.

If you're looking for more information about eliciting referrals from colleagues, check out this special report:

Securing Referrals: How to Get More Referrals From Other Resume Writers

If you're interested in learning more about subcontracting as a resume writer, check out:

Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor

Tools for Offering Free Webinars for Marketing Your Resume Writing Business

I got this question today from a Bronze member:

I’ve decided to go back to hosting webinars as part of my marketing tool box and have been researching various companies. I found one -- Zoom -- that seems to fit my needs for about $55 a month which is about ½ of what I paid for Go To Webinar. 

However, I’ve spoken to the folks at join.me a couple of times and would like to work with them because of price and just because they are so nice. My problem is that, as you know, they don’t offer registration.

I offer both free and paid webinars using Join.me. I analyzed a lot of different webinar platforms because I'm pretty picky. I wanted something easy for attendees to use (without requiring a download) and no Javascript. Join.me has affordable pricing and good technical support. I like that attendees can use a variety of platforms (desktop/laptop, tablets or phones) to access the calls. I also like that recordings take just one click and they can be directly uploaded to YouTube.

Downsides:

• There is no built-in registration. I use a third-party registration option to handle that (EventBrite is a great option).
• No built-in toll-free number options (most attendees don't care about this, but if you did want a toll-free call-in option, you can use a third-party service)
• It doesn't track who attended versus who didn't, so you can't do follow-up marketing based on who actually was on the call or not.

So how do you let people know about your webinars? I use EventBrite -- here's my affiliate link:
http://www.eventbrite.com/r/rwdigest2

I like EventBrite because it's free if you don't charge for your webinar. If you're using your webinar for marketing, you're probably not charging for it, and EventBrite is great for this.

EventBrite gives you a landing page to provide all your event information, full-service registration (including automated reminder emails) and event promotion (you can integrate your EventBrite event with your Facebook page and EventBrite will also promote the event on their "master list" of events). For paid programs, EventBrite also has a built-in affiliate program so you can reward referrals. (It also allows you to do special discount codes for referral source tracking too.)

If you offer a paid program, EventBrite is still a great, affordable option. You can use EventBrite's built-in payment processor or your own PayPal or Authorize.net payment processing. The EventBrite cost for paid events is 2.5% of the ticket cost plus $.99 (up to $19.95/ticket) if you use your own payment processing.

Add 3% if you use EventBrite's payment processing. I find it's about 5-10% effectively. (That is, if you sell a webinar for $59, your takehome would be between $54.76 (EventBrite: 2.5% is $1.48 plus $.99 = $2.47 plus 3% EventBrite fee = $1.77 = $4.24) and $56.63 (EventBrite: 2.5% is $1.48 plus $.99 = $2.47, plus separate PayPal or Authorize.net fees).  With the example given, that's between 4-7% net.

Why Subcontract?

I've been a professional resume writer since 1996, but in the early 2000s, I decided to supplement my own business marketing with subcontract resume writing. I no longer work as a subcontract resume writer (my own business took off too much for me to continue writing for others), but this is a topic that continues to interest me.

In 2007, my colleague Diana LeGere collaborated with me to write a report on subcontracting, "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor." We just published the fifth edition of the report, and I wanted to address the second biggest question I'm asked by folks considering subcontracting. (I'll do a blog post later about the BIGGEST question, which relates to subcontract writing compensation.)

The second-biggest question 

I get is 

“Why should I subcontract?”

There are a couple of reasons that I give resume writers considering subcontracting.

• You want to supplement the income you're earning from your own resume writing business. Resume writing can be a "feast-and-famine" business. Subcontracting can help fill in the peaks and valleys, giving you the opportunity to stay busy -- and earn some extra money -- when your phone isn't ringing (or your email isn't pinging).
• You're getting started in the business and you want additional experience. Especially when you are new in the business, you need to write more to improve your skills -- and to learn which kinds of clients/projects you don't want to work on! (After 20 years in the business, I specialize in sales, marketing, PR and advertising clients primarily and I do not write technology resumes or military-to-civilian or federal resumes. Live and learn!)
• You are tired of client management hassles. An emerging area of subcontracting is individuals and firms that ONLY subcontract write. Don't like marketing? Just like writing? Subcontracting may be for you! (I can't promise you won't work with any PITA clients, but at least you'll have your contracting writer to help intervene.)
• You can learn how to manage your own resume writing business better. Individuals who employ subcontract writers have figured out many of the systems and processes involved with client management and business operations. You can get a peek into how they work and adopt these practices in your own business.

If you have questions about subcontracting, I'd like to help answer them! I'm offering a free webinar next week as part of the launch of the "Making Money as a Resume Subcontractor" membership site. You can register for the webinar here or check out the MMRS membership site here.

Newsjacking the Presidential Election

In our "Feed the Media" series, Sean and I talked about newsjacking:

The term was coined by author David Meerman Scott.

Today, Adam Zajac of Vocamotive Inc., published a great example of how to newsjack the presidential election coverage -- tying his resume writing services into a current event.

He published "What To Do When Your Resume Needs a Little Work" on Buzzfeed. It features fictionalized resumes for presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Here's the one he wrote for Donald Trump:

© Copyright 2016, Adam Zajac, Vocamotive, Inc.

Here's the one he wrote for Hillary Clinton:

© Copyright 2016, Adam Zajac, Vocamotive, Inc.

He presented both samples as "WHAT NOT TO DO" -- which I think is smart, although I would have gone a step beyond the content and provided some editorial guidance that relates to WHY those are "don'ts" on the resumes -- for example, the dates on the education section, the lack of strong accomplishments, and the presence of the candidate's photos on the resumes.

What makes this article work:

• He doesn't pick a side. He's equally hard on both candidates in the content of the resumes. This wouldn't work if he did it only to satirize Donald Trump, or if he only did Hillary Clinton's resume. In that case, you're only appealing to half your audience, AND you run the risk of alienating potential customers.
• He picked the right time. The right time to newsjack is when the topic is at the top of everyone's mind. You don't float a story about lying on resumes unless there's a story in the news already about someone who lied on their resume. In the same vein, this close to the election is the perfect time to satirize the candidates' qualification.
• It's funny. If you read the resumes, they're pretty spot-on in terms of their parody. He did his research and has the facts right (educational credentials) while making fun of some of their more controversial "qualifications."

The version of the article that is currently up on Buzzfeed is Adam's second attempt. Buzzfeed has a "user-submitted" section, and he originally published a version that included a flier that gave soon-to-be unemployed politicians a discount on their resume services. I thought this was brilliant (and could be the subject of its own article after the election), but you have to remember that the first part of "newsjacking" is news. It's self-promotional without being overly self-focused. You can still promote yourself as a resume writer (and draw attention to yourself/your resume writing business) but without directly selling your services. He had to remove the flier promoting his services in order for the article to be re-published.

Take note: This same concept could be used to create a parody resume for fictional characters, like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

Or, remember, you can newsjack almost any employment-related topic. For more information about David Meerman Scott, check out the fifth edition of his book, "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly."

David Meerman Scott also teaches a course on Newsjacking.

What Does "EVERYTHING" Include?

As you may know, I run a membership site for professional resume writers that provides them with done-for-you content they can use with jobseekers. I offer an "EVERYTHING" membership for new members (or those who may not have been a member since the very beginning). It unlocks the Pass-Along Materials "vault" with more than 50 content packages -- everything your jobseeking clients need to know to help them in their job search. One amazing thing about the EVERYTHING access is that you also get the Pass-Along Materials that aren't available for sale. And, you get access to all the Special Reports too, dating back to 2012.

Here's the full line-up (as of October 2016):
Getting Started With LinkedIn In Your Job Search
Jobseeker's Guide to References
Jobseeker's Guide to Salary Negotiation
Jobseeker's Guide to Online Reputation Management
What To Do Next With Your Resume
LinkedIn Resources Bundle
Jobseeker's Guide to Leaving Your Job
How to Give and Get LinkedIn Recommendations
Position Yourself to Get the Job
Jobseeker's Guide to Applicant Tracking Systems
Brag About It
Jobseeker's Guide to Working With Recruiters
Jobseeker's Guide to Networking Your Way to Your Next Job
Jobseeker's Guide to Virtual Interviews
Jobseeker's Guide to Understanding Employment Law
So, You Got Fired (Or You Think You're About To Get Fired)
Jobseeker's Guide to Developing a Brag Book
LinkedIn Profile Update Delivery Document
Jobseeker's Guide to Getting the Job Offer
Frequently-Asked Questions About Job Offers
Your 2014 Career Roadmap
Jobseeker's Guide to Avoid Getting Ripped Off or Scammed In Your Job Search
How to Answer Six Common Questions Jobseekers Ask Resume Writers
Jobseeker's Guide to Informational Interviews
Jobseeker's Guide to Connecting With a Hiring Manager
Jobseeker's Guide to Creating a 30-60-90 Day Plan
Client Management Forms
Jobseeker's Guide to a Confidential Job Search
What To Do When Your Job Search Isn't Working
What Do Jobseekers Need?
When to Hire a Reference Checking Service
Tweetable Tips
Social Media Audit for Jobseekers
The Social Job Search: Jobseeker's Guide to Developing a Social Media Plan
The Jobseeker's Guide to What To Do After the Job Interview
Jobseeker's Guide to Applicant Tracking Systems
LinkedIn Client Resources Bundle
How to Know When It's Time to Make a Job or Career Change
Developing Your Personal/Professional Development Plan (PDP)
Jobseeker's Guide to a Modern Job Search
Job Search Letters (Letters of Acceptance, Refusal, and Resignation)
Jobseeker's Guide to Cover Letters
Jobseeker's Guide to Comparing Job Offers

PLUS, these Pass-Along Materials content packages that are not available for purchase:
• Job Search Advice: 365+ Ready-to-Go Tweets and Facebook Posts
• The Jobseeker's Guide to Preparing for the Job Interview
• Career Checklists: 100 Tips for Success In Your Job Search
• Resume Critique Form/LinkedIn Critique Form
• Jobseeker's Guide to Working With Your Resume Writer
• Job Search Jump-Start 30-Day Challenge
• Positive Encouragement for Jobseekers -- Tweetable Tips
• Finding a Job During the Holidays AND 7 Things To Get Ready For Your Job Search
• Client Management Forms -- Prospect and Client Communication
• Why You Need a Resume
• LinkedIn 30-Day Challenge
• Client Frequently-Asked Questions
• 2016 Career Planner
• Managing Your Career Brand Ready-To-Go Workshop
• Career Checklists 2: 100 More Tips for Success In Your Job Search

Special Reports:
Resume Writer's Online Marketing Guidebook
Making Money Writing Ebooks
Introduction to Social Media in Your Resume Writing Business
Resume Writer's Guide to Article Marketing
Resume Writer's Guide to Profiting From Speaking: How to Use Teleseminars, Webinars, Workshops, and Seminars to Attract New Clients and Generate Revenue
Feed the Media: How to Get Free Publicity For Your Resume Writing Business
Capture Clients with Content: Use Information to Attract Resume Clients
Ready, Set, Goal: Business Planning and Goal Setting for Resume Writers
Securing Referrals: How to Get Other Resume Writers to Refer to You
Sell Your First Information Product in 72 Hours
Getting LinkedIn With New Resume Clients
There Is Only One of Me
Earning Six Figures as a Resume Writer

The Passive Income Project
Your Mindset Affects Your Money: How Attitude Can Amplify Your Income
Push Past Procrastination
15 Quick and Easy Ways to Get Resume Clients From Facebook
Do You Have a Book In You?
Brand Your Resume Business
Make Your Resume Business Better
Stand Out From The Crowd
Evernote for Everything: How Evernote Can Help You Manage Resume Client Projects, Remember Stuff, and Just Be More Efficient
Power Through Your Projects: Practical Strategies To Get Things Done
Attract Your Ideal Resume Client
Marketing Your Resume Clients With Stories
Writing Better Headlines for LinkedIn and Client Resumes
Membership Site Ideas for Resume Writers
Pricing Your Resume Services for Maximum Profit
Google Hangouts: Create Relationships, Cultivate Revenue, and Collect Referrals
Stepping Stones to Success: Taking Stock, Finding Your Focus, and Creating Your Action Plan
First Call Questions: Questions for Resume Writers to Ask Prospective Clients
What Should I Write About? Tips for Topics for Blog Posts, Articles, and Social Media Content for Resume Writers
Spring Clean Your Resume Business
Easy Ways to Boost Your Credibility As a Resume Writer
Three Systems for Six-Figure Success in Your Resume Writing Business
Follow Your Passion: Discover Your Purpose
Resume Writer's Guide to Selling Premium Packages
Best Year Ever
Telling The Story Of You
Connect With Clients Through Content
What To Write About On Your Website
So, You Want to Write a Book
Resume Writer's Guide to Getting Unstuck
Productivity Hacks for Resume Writers
Newsjack Your Way to New Clients

It's more than $1,000 in content that will help YOU and YOUR CLIENTS.

If you're interested in getting EVERYTHING, or have questions, email me!

Career Professionals: Are You Making These Mistakes With Your Social Media?

On our "Social Media Strategies" call last month, Sean asked me to come up with the "Biggest Mistakes Resume Writers Make On Social Media."

Here is an excerpt of four items from that list of mistakes.

Sean asked me to handle the part about the biggest mistakes that résumé writers make because, again, this is an area that I have not only a lot of interest in -- but I also analyze a lot of what those of us who are posting on social media have done.

Mistake #1: Not Posting EnoughThe first mistake that I have seen is that you’re not posting enough. That’s one of those things that’s a hard thing to handle -- especially when you’re getting started, or you have a small following. You think, “Gosh, is it worth my time and effort to put that content out there, if nobody is reading it?” But the neat thing about social media is it has a huge shelf life. So even things that you have posted months ago or weeks ago you can always resurface that content as your audience continues to grow. Not posting enough is probably the biggest mistake.

Aligned with that is not prescheduling content. I talked before we started the call recording, a lot of us obviously wear a lot of hats, and so I know when I get busy with working with my actual one-to-one resume clients, the stuff that suffers the most is my marketing -- my blogging, my social media posting -- so one of the things that you can do is if you’re finding yourself in a slow period, go ahead and preschedule content. I use Hootsuite -- as well as Facebook’s native ability to preschedule posts -- so that I have content that is out there on a more regular basis, otherwise I look up, and suddenly it has been a week and I haven’t put anything out there. Make sure that you are using your time and scheduling the content ahead of time when you’re not as busy, so that it is out there on a consistent basis.

Consistency in social media is probably one of those things that’s universally not done well. People tend to post a whole bunch of stuff and then they go silent -- and you just don’t want to do that, because Facebook in particular is going to penalize you, if that is the case. If you haven’t had a lot of engagement from your followers in a while, then they (Facebook) take your post out of the news feed -- and that’s what Sean is talking about in terms of organic reach -- the ability for you to reach folks who have raised their hand and said, “Hey, I want to get content from you, related to the job search.”

Mistake #2: Only Posting on Your Facebook Business PageAnother big mistake that I’ve seen — and I’ve seen it on both sides -- I’ve seen it as a mistake when people don’t do it and I’ve seen it be tremendously effective when people do it -- is when you only post on your (Facebook) business page. If one of your goals is to try and grow your Facebook following, one of the ways to do that is to get people who already know, like, and trust you as a human being, to follow your Facebook Business Page. So, cross posting some of that content — although not at the same time — that is also one of the mistakes — posting the same content, either on multiple pages that you manage or on your personal and business page at the same time, don’t do that.

But if you shared a resource over on your Facebook Business Page, then share that on that your personal Facebook page too: “Hey, I just wrote this blog post about the five biggest mistakes people make on their resumes” and put that on your personal profile, because for at least 99 percent of us, we are more likely to have more friends on Facebook than we have followers for our business page. 

One really effective way that you can grow your audience on your Facebook Business Page is to get some of those friends to follow you. I talked about this on the Get Clients Now program for the last couple years, the sources of new clients for established resume writers a lot of times are referrals, and it’s not just referrals from past clients-- it’s people that we interact with on a daily basis.

So, posting content on your Facebook business page and then sharing it on your personal Facebook page, or just sharing information about the work that you’re doing with clients on your personal page. 

I have seen several examples of resume writers who do this successfully — and it can be as simple as celebrating a win for one of your clients. Not naming them by name, not tagging them, but just saying, “just helped an accountant get her first job” if you’re working with someone who is new to the workforce, “helped this client land a $10,000 raise through interview coaching.”

Here's an example:

Celebrating and shouting out the work that your clients are getting in terms of results -- but putting that on your personal Facebook page so that folks know that you’re a resume writer. There are career industry colleagues that you would never know what they do for a living if you just looked at their personal page-- and maybe they are doing that intentionally -- but if it’s your goal to get more fans and followers and engagement and clients and all of those things, that’s a simple way that you can help increase your ability to get your message out.

Mistake #3: Talking AT Your Fans and Followers, and Not WITH Them
Another mistake -- and Sean mentioned this, too -- is the one-way conversation. A lot of times on social media, I’ve seen career industry colleagues who post a lot of stuff -- and then, when people comment on it, they don’t respond back. Just like with Facebook Live, you want to acknowledge when people send you stuff. Monitor your Facebook content to make sure that if people are asking you questions or are saying, “Wow, that’s a great resource” -- just acknowledge them, like their comment -- or, even better, comment back or say, “Hey, thanks for the feedback.”

All of those engagement strategies are going to help your content get organically boosted in people’s Facebook feeds going forward. Don’t look at it as just a one-way conversation; look at how you can encourage engagement. And, like Sean was talking about, with Facebook Live, we talked about having people submit questions. You can do that on your own Facebook page too. “Hey, I am working on a new resource on job interviews. What questions do you have about the job interview?” and then let people submit questions onto that post. It not only gives you better insight into what challenges and struggles people are having, but it also helps you identify particular clients that you might be in the position to help.

Mistake #4: Doing Too Much of One Kind of Content

The other thing is to mix up your content. Another mistake that people make -- and particularly when you’re talking about pre-scheduled content -- is that they focus primarily on text-based posts, because obviously those are the easiest, in terms of creating the content. But you really want to have a mix of text posts, videos, and picture posts. 

I know a lot of you guys use the BeAResumeWriter.com Pass-Along Materials and quote those directly. 

I just saw a perfect example today Sterling Career Concepts took one of the excerpts from a Pass-Along Materials content and made it into a picture post. So she took the text and just put it over a background and shared that content. Look at different ways that you can share the information in terms of not just doing static posts.

These are just FOUR of the mistakes I outlined for career services professionals.

If you're interested in learning what the OTHER mistakes are -- and the other information Sean and I shared in the training about growing your fans and followers, using analytics to get better engagement, and more, check out this special offer!

Get access to the Social Media Strategies training.