How to Become a Professional Resume Writer

For this blog, I’d like to reproduce a recent interview that I did with the online job site, Freshgigs.ca. The interview is basically about how I came from being a corporate & commercial lawyer to a professional resume writer in Vancouver. I discuss how resume formats have changed over the years, and recommend some style guidelines when composing a resume. (My advice is that for anyone who is pursuing a non-artistic or non-design career, refrain from using colour in your resume, and keep graphics down to a minimum.)

I tell readers about some of the biggest mistakes I see in people’s resumes, and how to avoid them.

How do I write a compelling a resume if I have minimal work experience?

From college graduates, one of the common questions I get is: how do I write a compelling a resume if I have minimal work experience?

My answer is: “You’ve been in school for most of your life; you’re not supposed to have a work history!” That said, if graduates have any summer work experience or volunteer experience, I tell them to put that in their resume. Try to highlight some valuable skill sets that you’ve picked up from volunteering or summer jobs, and might be of use to your future employer. This can include things like customer service or dealing with customer enquiries, operating a cash register, filing or data entry, office administration, etc. If you have co-op or practicum experience, then describe your job responsibilities and key learnings in specific detail. Highlight key skills that might be of use to a future employer.

Becoming a resume writer

For those of you interested in becoming a resume writer, I share some tips on how to get into the resume writing field, and some of the challenges of being in this line of work. But there are definitely rewards in being a resume writer, so read on!