🧰 "A CV is an essential part of your self-employed toolkit" ✏️
Stand out from the crowd with a shiny CV you're proud of
Let’s talk freelance CVs.
Not stuffy old boring ‘regular’ CVs, but shiny, one-page, sparkling curated CVs that showcase you, your work, your business and your brilliance.
I started CV workshops after a few individual clients asked about CVs and wanted to work on theirs.
They’ve now grown into a big part of what I do, and I’ve become a self-confessed freelance CV evangelist!
But hold on, what is a freelance CV?
A freelance CV is a one-page ‘movie poster’ of you and your work. This is NOT an ‘everything I’ve ever done’ list of jobs. It’s a curated document to showcase what you do to particular clients.
If I’ve got a website, why do I need a CV?
They work hand in hand. If you tell a potential client your URL, they have to choose to click on it. That’s a risk. They might not. You’re telling them to work hard to get to know you. By contrast, a one-page CV that opens in preview is you saying ‘Hey, this is me, I’m easy to get to know and I CARE about what I do’.
A CV is about full time jobs, right?
Nope! A freelance CV is all about projects, clients and testimonials. It’s a mash up of what you do, not a big list. It can have boxes, it can have ‘key clients’ it can have ‘special projects’. It can include, of course, short-term contract work, and previous long-term work, but it’s about saying ‘this is what I can help you with’ not just ‘This is about me’ to a client.
I’m a company owner, not a ‘freelancer for hire’ - do I need a CV?
Affirmative! Why? Well, it’s all about relationships. If you want to get people to know your business, or to perhaps get in touch with journalists or podcast hosts, a CV about you as the company owner is the ideal way to do it.
What about if I have a very specific niche?
All the better! Having a niche means you can really make your CV relevant to potential new clients.
And what if I DON’T have a niche?
No problem - but you might find you end up creating two or more CVs depending on the people you’ll send them to. I have two and a half - one for content writing, one for Freelance Feels and I’m working on one for me as a coach in particular.
If you want to create a CV that stands out from the crowd, I am running workshops this month and also have availability for one on one CV coaching.
WORKSHOPS FOR WRITERS, JOURNALISTS AND COPYWRITERS
Anyone who is a writer, journalist or copywriter knows how competitive and crowded that world is right now. I know, because I still pitch as a writer, too. Standing out in that crowd is hard, but a CV will help. You can attach it to pitches to new editors, send it out with email introductions and perhaps most importantly, you’ll be ahead of the game when those last minute shout outs for shifts appear on social. Instead of scrabbling around to find something to send, you’ll have a shiny CV to fire off and get you to the top of a hiring editor’s inbox.
Next workshop for writers and journos is Thursday Oct 27th 2pm/14.00
Tickets are £35
WORKSHOPS FOR PROFESSIONAL COACHES
Coaching is also a very crowded industry! As a coach, you might want to send your info to anyone from a potential new client to a journalist. Your CV will do that for you in one slick, professional page. You can include testimonials and logos as well as your niche and any media coverage.
Workshops are Friday 14th October 11.30am and Thursday 3rd November 11.30am
Both are for 1.5 hours and tickets are £35 per person
ONE ON ONE CV COACHING
This is the bespoke way to go from no CV to shiny amazing freelance CV! Whatever you do, whatever your ‘freelance’, working one on one focuses on YOU and your CV and how to make your business sound amazing. This is ideal for those who want to hit the ground running with a CV revamp or apply for a last-minute contract or role.
How it works:
You send me your CV and social links in advance so I can see where you’re at
We book a one-hour session where we work one on one, with your CV on the screen, shifting things around in real time.
You then send a rough draft to me afterwards, which I send that back with suggestions and feedback.
You send your CV to new clients and feel the power of CV joy!
Reply to this newsletter to enquire about a session
Come and say hello on LinkedIn where there are lots of lovely CV coaching reviews!
