Many writers who break out into freelance roles limit themselves to writing for newspapers, magazines, and similar publications. But the jobs available for writers are HUGE and span across many different niches. And, thanks to the internet it’s become easier and easier to find these type of jobs.
One often over looked job is writing resumes.
The still-tough economy means that having a clean, concise and well written resume is of utmost importance for job-seekers. This also means that good resume writers are in-demand!
If you think this type of job might be a good fit for you here’s how to become a resume writer with Talent Inc.
Who is Talent Inc.?
Talent Inc. was founded in 2014 as a spin-off of a former Universum Global Company. The company is dedicated to helping individuals with their personal brands.
They employ around 500 professional writers and own two resume writing companies: TopResume and CV Now.
The Skills You Need to Qualify
If you want to work as a resume writer for Talent Inc. and its other brands there are a set of skills you must have.
Required Experience:
- You must have writing experience in human resources, recruitment or an associated field
- You need to be proficient in Microsoft Word (And own a copy of Microsoft Word)
Required Skills:
- Excellent with customer support
- Have outstanding writing and editing skills
- A desire to learn
- A positive attitude
- The ability to abide by strict deadlines and work under pressure
Pay and Hours for Resume Writers at Talent Inc
When you work for Talent, Inc. there are no set hours. Instead you work on a per-project basis with tight deadlines. You’ll be writing resumes, CV’s and LinkedIn Profiles.
According to GlassDoor the pay is around $19-$21 per hour. However, I’ve found many conflicting reviews. It appears that the pay for each individual resume is $18 – $25 per project. Therefore the hourly rate you earn will be dependent upon how quickly you can complete an individual project.
While some (usually more experienced writers) might earn $19-$21 per hour others report their hourly wage only amounts to around $7.
It’s also important to note that you’re hired as an independent contractor when you work with Talent Inc. so you will be responsible for paying your own taxes.
How to Put in an Application
You can view the available Talent Inc. jobs here. From this list you can select “resume writer” or check out any of the other positions you may be interested in. (Most other positions are not work from home.) You’ll then be able to submit your application online.
Other Ways to Earn Money Writing
If you’re looking for other ways to make a living writing I recommend writing for online publications or blogs. I have a blog post here that breaks down my step-by-step process for finding freelance writing jobs.
If you’re looking for even more help building a solid freelance writing career I recommend taking a look at Holly Johnson’s Earn More Writing Course. Holly is a freelance superstar earning more than $200k per year from writing!
You can also check out this post for a big list of work from home jobs (writing related and not.)
Photo Credit: paylessimages
Hey, Alexa! I agree this is often an overlooked writing opportunity. There is such demand, especially from those who have been out of the workforce for awhile and aren’t sure how to cover it properly in their resume. If you know how to spin unique situations, you may have quite the niche.
Definitely!
I want resume writing project am a 4 star writer and now i want to expand my business.
Alexa, ditto. In college we were taught resume’ writing. Since then – meaning many years – I have glanced at some well put together, with fading backgrounds, glossed up. Real beauts! I totally do not know where to start now; other than templates.
You and those babies have a great day,
Ramona
Thank you Ramona 🙂
DON’T DO IT.
This is the worst company I have ever, ever worked for in my 20-year work history (and I’m an independent contractor, so I’ve worked with a LOT of companies). That pay rate is a joke. Perhaps that’s what their full time employees make at the office in New York, but the writers are not full time. The pay per project is abysmal, even if you can complete it quickly (I now get a minimum $175/resume when clients hire me directly), and if you’re going to to do a good job, there’s no way it’s only going to take an hour to do a resume for someone who has held more than one or two jobs. The problem with Glassdoor is that you aren’t able to list your “per project” pay so there is no adequate way for writers to reflect the low, low pay. I know this; I tried.
Furthermore, resume writers end up providing a ton of technical and customer support to clients. Talent Inc is set up so that writers play middleman between Talent Inc’s team and the clients. It eats up a TON of time, and writers aren’t compensated for this extra effort…yet they’re REQUIRED to respond to all client messages within 24 hours, essentially forcing them into these other roles.
The management is a mess, the abuse that writers endure is terrible (not provided with resources, conflicting information between email communications and the “Knowledge Base” that serves as the employee handbook, etc). The full-time staff is condescending, writers are viewed as commodities, and the overall atmosphere is a total shit show.
You can make more starting up a profile on Fiverr or Upwork. JUST SAY NO.
Plus, I should add that the company is super shady. They lie to clients by saying that all of the resume writers are CPRW certified (I wasn’t, and I’m still not) AND they tell clients they’ll be paired with a resume writer in their field. I wrote resumes for scientists, admin assistants, nurses, teachers, HR directors, salespeople, supply chain managers, librarians, and everything in between. Spoiler alert: I’m not in any of those fields. I’m a writer. The clients can get really ugly when they realize you don’t know the jargon for their field. There are a lot of unpleasant interactions because of this. (Now, when clients hire me directly, I’m upfront about my experience. I tell them I’m not an expert in their field, but I *am* an expert in telling a story via resume, formatting it for ATS compatability, and highlighting their skills. I tell them it’s going to be a collaborative expert that combines our expertise. They understand that and are cool with it because they have realistic expectations and haven’t been lied to.)
So…that’s another reason to put this one on the “AVOID” list. If you need to make money at home, watch the Inbox Dollars TV channel while you fold laundry and don’t ever go to the grocery store without updating your Ibotta offers. You’ll have a much more pleasant experience than you would with Talent Inc, and with fewer headaches.
Oh! And how about all the times that writers are directly encouraged to LIE to clients. There are a lot of international jobs, and the clients are given the impression that they’re working with a writer from their country. So, for instance, you’re supposed to use UK English when communicating with a British or Indian client (never mind that Talent Inc doesn’t train its writers on UK English). It’s nuts. Writers periodically receive shaming emails berating them for things like not adjusting the page size for a UK document (the first time this happened, I didn’t even know that the UK uses different paper size…because nobody told me). The lack of training and the unrealistic expectations are above and beyond.
AND. Writers are supposed to conceal the fact that they use templates, so writers are required to do things like scrub all identifying information (such as date of file creation) before submitting drafts.
Basically, it’s all a big scam that screws both the clients and the writers. I am very glad to no longer be a part of it, but I feel terrible that I was party to deceiving so many clients who paid literally hundreds of dollars for this terrible service.
Clients, hire a resume writer directly. You’ll pay the same price and have a much better experience…
Dear Ellie,
Can you please help me with the registration process?
Good Day
I am interested in becoming a remote CV Writer and would like more information please.
I have in excess of 20 years within the Recruitment environment in South Africa, mostly at Executive and Senior Management level.