Ever wonder how your client agreement/contract would stand up against others in the resume industry?

Since there are a few resume writers who make the terms of use public, this allows you to do a bit of comparison against what they include in your service contract. This way, you can discover any loopholes in the contract you provide your clients. Sound good? Just a reminder, if you purchased my book on starting a resume business, there’s a section on client contracts on page 69, which includes many sample contract clauses.

So, what should your service contract include exactly? Below are a few components to consider.

5 Suggestions of What Should Be Included in Your Service Contract

1. Payment terms … outlining your payment terms ensures your clients understand the financial commitment of using your service. For example, a service contract should outline what you expect for payment and when. It’s common for resume writers to expect 100% of payment upfront, while others accept 50% upfront with the remaining 50% due before releasing the first resume draft.

2. Responsibility for editing … the challenge with any client project is fact-checking. Every number, percentage, skill, and achievement written within a resume needs to be verified. Including a line item within your contract that indicates the client is solely responsible for all proofreading and information accuracy will give you some peace of mind as a resume writer.

3. Length the project remains “active” after delivering the resume draft … don’t allow clients to sit on a resume draft for 6 months and then return expecting some additional revisions. Ensure to specify how long a lack of contact on the part of the client constitutes a final draft. All revisions requested beyond that timeline will incur a charge.

4. Outline any guarantees you offer … this could be a satisfaction guarantee or a money-back guarantee. Of course, the challenge with any money-back guarantee is that you will at some point be asked to return a client’s money. “Oh, that will never happen to me. Every single client I’ve ever worked with has been tickled with my service.” My only response to that is, EVERY RESUME WRITER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS INDUSTRY HAS HAD A DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER. Be prepared. In today’s economy, there are many creeps out there looking for a free ride in life. And the longer you stay in business, the better the odds are that you will eventually run across one of them.

5. Change in project scope … outline what happens if the client changes their mind about the focus of his job search. There’s a huge difference between writing a resume for a client who is targeting a position similar to what he is doing now and writing a resume for a client who is now focused on a complete career change. Be sure to include in your contract that the project quote is based on client discussions to the point of contract issuance, so should the client change the scope of the project in any way, the quoted amount may change.

Here are a Few Contracts/Contract Terms to Compare

Example#1: http://www.resumeprofessionalwriters.com/project_agreement.php

Example#2: http://resumesnow.hypermart.net/terms.htm

Example#3: http://resumesguaranteed.com/TERMS&20OF%20USE.doc

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