1. What led you to writing resumes? Do you have a background that made you an ideal fit for the industry?
I would like to start off by thanking you for this opportunity to be interviewed. To answer your first question, I have been looking for a business opportunity in writing for quite some time. I really enjoy writing. I have done some research were I can really make money with writing and I found out that business writing, especially resume writing, is where the money is at. I cannot believe how big the demand is. I’ve been a security officer for a little over 12 years and all I do is write. I really enjoy my job, but I always knew that there was a better alternative.
2. How long have you been in the industry? Would you recommend it to others? Why?
I just started writing resumes, but I am already getting clients. It’s really an easy sell. People automatically understand that having a well written resume is a must in any job venture. I would definitely recommend doing this to anyone who is interested in writing for a living. There’s very little over head to start also the learning curve is relatively low.
3. What is the single best tool you recommend for building client relations? Building your business? Improve efficiency?
Word of mouth! Single best tool to getting new business. I cannot believe how fast the word spreads. At first I thought that word of mouth doesn’t work, or you have to be somewhat of a celebrity for people to contact you for business. That is the farthest from the truth; people just have to be comfortable with you, and having their friends tell them about you helps overcome this barrier.
4. If you could share one learning experience/great lesson, what would it be?
The best lesson I learned was to be confident. If you just do what you’re supposed to do, which is to get your name out there, the business will come. This is the equation that I use every day to motivate myself. It’s never let me down.
5. Looking back, what would you have done differently? Done the same?
What I have done differently was to have a different mentality towards people. If you understand how people work, then things become a whole lot easier. What I would do the same is to keep marketing my business, especially through the social media sites. It’s amazing how many people you can reach through these sites.
6. What advice would you give someone just entering the resume-writing industry?
The best advice I can give is this: learn how to be a better people-person. This to me is a learned skill. Just learning how to contact people and talk to people in a happy friendly manner is not always easy but it really pays off royally in the end.
7. How do you see our industry transforming over the next 12 months? 5 years? What do you think resume writers need to know in order to survive?
I don’t think the industry is going to change that much over the next 5 to 10 years. The major change I see is maybe that resumes are going to be more interactive. But, those are more geared toward the higher-level positions. To survive in the industry you are going to need to really know what the hiring managers are looking for to help your client get that job.
