When you’re first starting out as a copywriter—or really any new career—your resume loses its luster. It’s hard to put together a traditional resume without filling it with a ton of non-copywriting experience. And, of course, when you’re trying to attract copywriting clients or hiring managers, you want to put your best foot forward and show what you have to offer to them.
Luckily, you have a couple of different options to create an outstanding resume.
Option 1: Selected Credits Resume
The first option is to eschew a traditional resume in favor of a “Selected Writing Credits” resume. Instead of listing out all the jobs you’ve worked, go back through your years of experience and pull out all the writing work that you’ve done. (This, by the way, is 90% of what a copywriting hiring manager cares about, anyway. The other 10% is split between the fact that you’ve worked somewhere before and that you’re not a complete lunatic.)
When you put it together, in additional to your contact information up top, it should look like this:
XYZ Hospital – Boeing, Vermont
– Created welcome letter for new patients
– Updated monthly newsletter with hospital news and doctor interviews
ABC Cafe – Smithville, Maryland
– Created signage for new breakfast offerings
– Rewrote menu to focus on unique dishes.
And so on and so on. Of course, as much as possible, you should try to have samples of the projects you reference in your Selected Writing Credits resume in your portfolio.
Option 2: Keep Your Current Resume
Now for option 2: Keep your current resume, take out the things that are really irrelevant, and draft a stellar cover letter. I suggest taking out the things that are irrelevant because the hiring manager needs to see that you can tailor your message to your audience. (Ahem: big part of copywriting.)
Then, in your cover letter or email, sell yourself. Let them know what you can bring to the job that no one else can, let them know all the copywriting work and all the copywriting self-study you’ve been doing and let them know a few things that make you particularly excited about this opportunity. (Do your research on the company so you can be detailed and specific.)
Now, one more step: Let’s say that, unfortunately, a hiring manager doesn’t opt to have you come in for an interview. In that case, send that hiring manager a very polite email to ask what they didn’t see in your resume or cover letter that they wanted to. Too little interactive work? No agency experience? Not enough technical writing? If they give you the feedback, thank them profusely and then use it to get that experience/make those improvements and make your resume even better.
Your Turn
How have you optimized your resume when looking for a new job? Let us know in the comments below!
Last Updated on December 6, 2023
As a business professional by trade and now into my 8th year of education, I value a “teacher” that passionately fights to ensure the success of their students. Every single time I read something of yours, I more excited to learn. I know it’s a result of your skill in written communication, and yet I genuinely feel every word!
So, with that being said – I really just wanted to say thank you for being one of the great ones. One of the few whom understand that real success is achieved when you are able to duplicate the same rhythm through others! Bravo!
Hi LaTisha,
Thank you *so* much for taking the time to leave this comment! We work so hard to make everything we put out is useful and actionable, so it means so much to me that that comes through. You’ve made my day. 🙂
Happy New Year!
Nicki
I completely agree with the above comment! I feel a lot of hope and excitement after reading your words; I can see the dream creating itself with each progress I make 🙂
Hi David,
I’m so glad to hear it! Keep taking action, consistently and persistently, and you’ll get where you want to be. 🙂
Thanks for commenting!
Nicki
But, for those of us who’ve come from other professions, does that mean we leave those years to be a question for the hiring manager? I’ve already got some dead years when I was home raising my kids – I’d rather not have more blank years on my resume. I taught music in public school for 5 years and it gave me valuable insight into the education world for writing, even though I didn’t actually “write” for a living.
Hi Anne,
On a selected credits resume, you don’t need to reference when you worked on pieces – think of it more of a list of copywriting projects you’ve worked on. The whole point is to focus on your relevant experience instead of years you’ve spent in other professions or years spent at home with kids. Of course, if they want a full (traditional) resume later, you can give that to them – but it’s always a great idea to start with a selected credits resume to highlight your most relevant experience first.
Thanks for commenting!
Nicki
I joined CCA a few days ago and I’m on board with everything I’ve read so far, but I have one blank spot from this piece:
About how long should one wait between the “sell yourself” email and the follow-up email?
Hi S.J.
Good question! A week is about right. But don’t worry – we’ll cover all of that in the course. 🙂 (Especially in the Client Pitching Masterclass course.)
Thanks for commenting!
Nicki
OMG! This was extremely helpful! I am always learning something new from you! Thank you for all of your tips and advice!!
We’re so glad that you found this helpful! We are thankful we have a platform to share what we’ve learned.