Very few employers will read every word of your resume, even the interesting bit at the end about your motocross and corgi-breeding hobbies. Your job is to make it easy for them to want to read more. Just like a successful ad has a lively headline, your resume should have a well-written, engaging summary at the top to entice the employer. Here are some tips in preparing your resume and portfolio in the best way possible.<\/p>\n
A successful ad goes beyond merely describing the product, instead selling the benefits to the consumer. Your summary should sell the benefits you offer as a freelancer, based on your knowledge of what that employer wants.<\/p>\n
Spend time perfecting the summary — as much time as you spend on the rest of the resume, perhaps. Each time you send your resume out, tweak the summary section so that it offers a good match for the job being offered.<\/p>\n
One of the challenges in building or refreshing your freelance design portfolio is often simply finding your work! Maybe your tearsheets are in that big pile of magazines in the bedroom, and there are three different \u201cPhotos\u201d folders on your hard drive – oh, and then there are the ones that went on your friend\u2019s computer because yours was down – the excuses are endless.<\/p>\n
So one of the first steps in preparing your resume and portfolio is simply putting together a catalog of all the work you\u2019ve done. Start with what you\u2019ve done in the past year, plus any really dramatic or high-profile older projects you want to highlight.<\/p>\n
Scan in anything that\u2019s on paper, and store all the relevant files in one place on your computer. (While you\u2019re at it, establish a regular routine for backups so you don\u2019t lose work.)<\/p>\n
There are many programs available that will let you keep track of graphics and photos in an online catalog. Google\u2019s Picasa is free, and Apple includes iPhoto with every new Mac.<\/p>\n
If your work is writing, programming, or animation, it may be easier to just maintain a spreadsheet with your list of jobs. Include dates, client names, and filenames to help you find a specific piece of work quickly.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not getting interviews when you know you have the experience and talent to do the freelance job, it may be that you\u2019re getting tripped up by simple cover-letter mistakes. Wading through piles of resumes, an employer is likely to reject any that have cover-letter problems. Go over this checklist before you send a cover letter:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Address the hiring manager by name. You can often find the person\u2019s name on the organization\u2019s website. If not, call the company and see if the receptionist will give you the correct name. (Ask him or her to spell it for you!) If you\u2019re not sure of the person\u2019s gender, use the Internet or the phone to confirm that as well.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Get the company\u2019s name right. Spell it the same way it is spelled in the ad. (While you\u2019re at it, spell everything else right.) If you\u2019re sending versions of the same letter to multiple companies, triple-check to be sure your letter to ABC doesn\u2019t get sent to CBS or NBC.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Yes, you really do need to write a separate cover letter — or at least modify your template — for each job. Employers want to know that you want to work specifically for them. Use your cover letter to demonstrate your communication skills and your knowledge of their work. Bonus points if you can name specific things the company does and why you\u2019d like to work with them.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Use one or two brief examples to illustrate the qualities you describe.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Write well. If you don\u2019t do this naturally, have a writer friend help you craft letters that are engaging and highlight your best qualities.<\/p>\n
An employer looking for a full-time worker wants to know what your career path has been up until now, looking for gaps and progressions. An employer hiring a freelancer has just one question: Can you do the job? To answer it, use a format that emphasizes the projects you\u2019ve worked on rather than your titles. It might look something like this:<\/p>\n
Freelance writer<\/strong>, 1999 to present. Projects include:<\/p>\n \u2022 Company of the Year profiles, Chagrin Falls Commercial Scimitar, 2004 to present. Interview executives and produce brief news stories for area\u2019s top 50 companies.<\/p>\n \u2022 Co-author, The Complete Godzilla<\/em><\/strong> (Lizard, 2003).<\/p>\n \u2022 Gardening columnist, Iowa Herbalist Monthly<\/em><\/strong>, 2005 to present.<\/p>\n This format should be roughly chronological, but should also give more detail about the projects that are most closely related to the job you want. Also emphasize any projects for high-profile organizations.<\/p>\n In the case of a remote employer or a job arranged through a freelance bidding site, your only chance to impress an employer is in your initial e-mail.<\/p>\n Compose this e-mail as you would a cover letter. Begin with a real salutation \u2014 \u201cGreetings\u201d or \u201cDear Mr. Lopez\u201d if you have the person\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Use effective selling techniques, emphasizing the specifics of your qualifications for the job, offering examples and focusing on the benefits of hiring you.<\/p>\n Follow the employer\u2019s instructions for applying \u2014 if they want a specific job number in the subject line, for example, don\u2019t leave that out.<\/p>\n Use a professional but clear writing style. Stay away from humor until you know the person. Keep the message to three or four paragraphs \u2014 your goal is to get the person to request your portfolio (or view it online).<\/p>\n Finally, sign it with your full name, business name if you use one, phone number, and e-mail address. Yes, your address is in the headers as well, but having it at the end will help if the recipient prints out or forwards your message.<\/p>\n Before you hit Send, double-check your spelling. Triple-check the URL of your website and the e-mail address of the recipient.<\/p>\n Another key ingredient to preparing your resume and portfolio is to offer testimonials from past clients who have appreciated your work. Whenever a client praises you, thank the person and ask if you can use his or her words in your promotional materials. Often the answer will be \u201cyes.\u201d Write down what was said, and offer to show it to the client for approval before publishing it.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be shy about asking for a testimonial after a successful design job is done. If the client seems reluctant, offer to write the testimonial yourself and let the client approve it. Write something reasonable, highlighting the skills and qualities you exhibited on the job. If you go overboard and proclaim yourself \u201cthe master of all Flash artists\u201d it will sound fake.<\/p>\n When you include a sheet of testimonials with your resume, or put them on your website, be sure to state the person\u2019s full name, title, and organization. This will lend credibility to their praise.<\/p>\n Maybe you\u2019ve already got a website promoting your freelance work. Is it as good as it can be? Does it showcase your best, most recent work? Is the design up-to-date and easy to use?<\/p>\n Janet Green, marketing director for the Greater Des Moines Partnership, suggests going through the same process for yourself that you would for a freelance website client. If you aren\u2019t a web designer by trade, you may want to trade favors with a web designer friend to help you come up with a plan.<\/p>\n Start by refining your needs and objectives. Be specific \u2014 not just \u201cmore money\u201d but \u201cincome of at least $XX,000 a year from freelancing.\u201d<\/p>\n Identify your target audience, and do research to learn as much as you can about these people\u2019s tastes and preferences.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t already have a serviceable domain name, get one that is easy to remember and clearly indicates your name and\/or what you do.<\/p>\n Map out the content that is going to be on your site. Put the most used links \u2014 including, of course, your resume and portfolio \u2014 on the home page.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not a designer, keep it simple. If you are, keep it simple and incredibly visually appealing.<\/p>\n Your portfolio should, above all, be easy to read. Prospective employers are unlikely to put a CD-ROM into their computer to peruse your work, or sit through a Flash presentation on your fabulous branding work so they can get to the advertising stuff they want to know.<\/p>\n Adobe\u2019s Portable Document Format (PDF) provides a way to easily compile a portfolio for publication to the Web or for printing or e-mailing. You may wish to have a standard portfolio ready to go and substitute a few pages here and there to tailor the portfolio to the job.<\/p>\n The best portfolio format for an in-person interview is good old-fashioned paper. Print your PDF on a nice stock in a standard size. Edit your \u201cbook\u201d for each interview, bringing no more than 10 or 12 examples and targeting ___________________________________<\/p>\n Artisan Talent<\/a> is a Digital, Marketing and Creative Staffing Firm placing talent in jobs perfectly matched with their skills all over the US.\u00a0 For available jobs, to submit your resume, or learn more about working with Artisan Talent, contact us here.<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Connect with Us A Summary That Sells Very few employers will read every word of your resume, even the interesting bit at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":107712,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"tpl-article.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-108097","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108097"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141448,"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108097\/revisions\/141448"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisantalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Marketing Yourself in E-Mail<\/h2>\n
Offer Testimonials<\/h2>\n
Refining Your Web Site<\/h2>\n
The Easy-to-Use, Modular Portfolio<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nthem directly to the job at hand.<\/p>\n
\nLinked In<\/a>| Glassdoor<\/a>| Facebook |<\/a> Twitter<\/a> | Instagram <\/a>| Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"