INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Writer positions are at a 9% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 143,200 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 12,200 to 155,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Writer jobs was $67,120 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $35,880, and the highest 10% more than $133,460.
Our conclusion? The Writer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top writer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A writer resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your writer resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Worked with 10+ clients, anything from ghostwriting to Academic Writing.
- Established long-term relations with clients, ensuring on-going work
- Wrote 40+ articles, essays, papers, etc.
- Underwrote home loan mortgage applications according to bank and federal guidelines
- Maintained customer quality review scores of 94% for 12 months
- Consistently exceeded production goals by 40%
- Wrote the copy of 30+ advertising campaigns, 5 of which got awards
- Worked for 20+ different clients such as Slack, Dropbox and Instagram
- Established a new department in the agency dedicated on training and development of the new copywriters and designers
- Сценарии за TVC;
- Сценарии за радио реклами;
- Идеи за хедлайни, слогани и визии;
- Превод и адаптация на рекламни текстове ;
- Редактиране на текстове;
- Концепции за механики
- Reviewed and approved property listings provided by bank
- Reported and rectified any discrepancies in documents
- Coordinated with team to provide feedback to managers in order to improve productivity
- Received three employee of the month awards for exceeding targets while maintaining quality
- Wrote the copy of 30+ advertising campaigns, 5 of which got awards
- Worked for 20+ different clients such as Slack, Dropbox and Eleven
- Established a new department in the agency dedicated on training and development of the new copywriters and designers
- Professional networking with HR Thought Leaders and engaging with influencers in the industry.
- On-the-job training for Illustrator
- Building in-depth knowledge about Recruitment and hiring Process. Construction of Content based on human resource sourcing and talent search with Contextual Intelligence technology.
- Summarized medical device performance data and wrote risk versus benefits conclusions for products based on clinical research, peer review publications, risk management files and post-market data.
- Led 3 writers delivering procedures, resolutions and editing to Clinical Evaluation Summaries for Zimmer's product lines including reconstruction, trauma, and biologics.
- Advised multiple teams developing clinical performance documents evaluating design inputs and user needs from design history files process validation and medical device gap closure.
- Responsible for conducting literature searches of peer review publications and review of Clinical Evaluation Reports and Clinical Study Protocols.
- Vital team member for clinical study site visits collecting and analyzing data for trial compliance and Corrective Action/Preventative Action (CAPA) Investigation.
- Surpassed all weekly goals and completed FDA remediation one week before project deadline.
- Writing different types of copy depending on its purpose regards target customers.
- Collaborating with creative teams to produce relevant copy for ad campaigns.
- Editing and rewriting copy written by other members.
- Learned from award-winning specialists and developed creative team management skills.
- Сценарии за TVC;
- Сценарии за радио реклами;
- Идеи за хедлайни, слогани и визии;
- Превод и адаптация на рекламни текстове ;
- Редактиране на текстове;
- Концепции за механики
- Providing underwriting and pricing services for all captive programs contracted with Risk Services, LLC
- Assisting in the design and development of pricing models
- Analyzed and designed facultative & treaty reinsurance programs
- Wrote the copy of 30+ advertising campaigns, 5 of which got awards
- Worked for 20+ different clients such as Slack, Dropbox and Eleven
- Established a new department in the agency dedicated on training and development of the new copywriters and designers
- I worked on big projects, learned how to make presentations like a pro, talk to clients and prioritize my tasks
- I learned the importance of punctuality
- I became great at meeting deadlines
- I started paying extraordinary attention to detail
- Enforced safety standards and provided guidance on facility procedures, practices, and policies
- Responsible for writing permits onsite for confined spaces, hot work, and critical lifts
- Walked down system packages and verified isolation points per P&ID's
PRO TIP
Check the Writer job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action verbs for your writer resume
Recommended reads.":
Taking Control of Your Writer Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you’re capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top skills for your writer resume
Illustrator
Copywriting
SEO
Onboarding
Community Management
Self confidence
Creativity
Humor
Innovation
Storytelling
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Recommended reads:
Writer Resume Header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your writer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Writer resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
A writer resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: A strong writer resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Recommended reads.":
Creating an impressive education section for your writer resume
The education section: checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top Certifications for Your Writer Resume
Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer
Ex-Wall Street Journal Editor Teaches How To Write With Confidence, Style & Impact
7 Lessons on Writing for Becoming a Standout Writer
Tested Techniques for Fast Writing Skills Improvement
COMPLETE Creative Writing - All Genres - THE FULL COURSE!
Learn to write engaging Fiction, Poetry, Drama, & Creative Non-Fiction and become the successful writer you want to be
Tech Writers Master Class
Learn professional writing skills that will help you advance in your career
Productivity Hacks for Writers (Writing Mastery)
Simple strategies and proven techniques to be more productive and get the most out of every writing day
Recommended reads"
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Writer. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
A professional format for your writer resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Writer resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Writer resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Writer resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft Writer resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Additional sections for your writer resume
After drafting the required sections of your Writer resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your writer resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Writer resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great writer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
