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If you have ever wondered how to turn your expertise into an extra $500 or $1,000 a month, I want to put an idea in front of you. Maybe you have played with it before, or maybe it has never crossed your mind: resume writing. Income will vary, but I have seen how real this path can be, because I built my business on it.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series for anyone who wants to become a resume writer. Today is the foundation: my story, what the work really involves, how to choose your niche, the book that shaped me, and the questions to ask yourself before you begin.
How I Got Here
In 2019, I started working as a college and career specialist, helping high school students with resumes, internships, and interviews. But my resume story started well before that.
I was finishing my bachelor's degree in business with a human resources management concentration, and I wanted to get into HR quickly. It was not as quick as I hoped. My job search took about six months. During that time I read, wrote, rewrote, and studied the strategy behind what makes a resume get an employer's attention. That was hurdle one. Hurdle two was figuring out why I struggled in interviews, so I watched hours of YouTube to learn the conversational side of interviewing.
I had no idea God was using that season to prepare a side hustle for me.
Later, I had to step away from my role because of family needs and a long commute, and my car stopped working right around the same time. It was not the tidy career move you would put in a book, but I had no choice, and it turned into a blessing because it gave me room to think. While browsing job postings on Indeed, I came across one for a resume writer and decided to apply. That connection led to a few months of mentorship. Through her I learned how to get clients, how to price, and how to structure a resume for someone else's career. The arrangement eventually ended, but the education stayed with me.
I will be honest: my first resumes were not my best. But those clients still landed jobs, and that is when I got serious about learning the craft.
Your Experience Is Your Advantage
Many people assume resume writing means starting from scratch. It does not. You are already carrying most of what you need.
Think about your own job searches, the resumes you have written, and the interviews you have been through. Every one of those taught you something about what gets attention and what gets ignored. Then look at your field. If you work in HR, social work, sales, IT, or cybersecurity, you already know the language, the keywords, and what hiring managers in that space care about. Pair that industry knowledge with your own job search experience, and you have the start of a business.
That combination matters more than most beginners realize. Anyone can learn to format a document. Not everyone can look at a client's experience and know which parts a hiring manager in that industry will actually care about.
What a Resume Writer Really Does
Before you go further, understand what you would be selling. A resume writer is not a typist. The document is the final product, but the real work happens before you write a single line.
You are listening for the story behind the job titles. You are figuring out what the client did, what problems they solved, and what changed because they were there. You are deciding what to highlight and what to leave out, because a resume that includes everything says nothing. And you are making sure the finished document works for both an applicant tracking system and a human reader.
In other words, you are a strategist who writes. If that excites you, keep reading. If you only enjoy the formatting part, this may be harder than you expect.
Choose Your Niche Early
If I could go back, this is the first thing I would do differently. I played with a niche in the beginning, but I kept thinking, "What if I miss out on clients?" Then I heard someone in this space explain why a niche helps: people know exactly where to go when they need what you do.
A niche does not mean you turn everyone else away. It means you attract the clients who are the best fit for you.
Start with what you already know. Early on, I loved writing for sales, human resources, and customer service because those were industries I had worked in. As I grew, I found that tech and cybersecurity resumes were the ones I enjoyed most. Your niche may evolve too. If you are writing general resumes right now, pay attention to which ones you enjoy and which ones drain you. Your energy is data.
Here are a few questions to help you find yours:
- Which industries have you worked in, and do you still understand their language?
- Which resumes do you enjoy working on the most?
- Which type of client would you be excited to hear from on a Monday morning?
A niche also makes your marketing easier. When you know who you serve, your blog posts, LinkedIn content, Pinterest pins, and TikTok or Instagram videos all get easier to write, and the right people can find you.
Get the Foundation Right
Your experience matters, but so does learning from people who have gone down this road and done it well. Blog posts like this one help, and so do the books that shaped other writers.
When I started, I had nobody to hand me a framework, so I went looking for one. I bought The Resume Writing Guide: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Creating a Winning Resume by Lisa McGrimmon. It became foundational for me. It taught me the why behind a resume, the strategy behind it, and how to assess a client's experience so I could position them well. I did not have it all figured out at first, but this book gave me something solid to build on with every client.
Get the workbook here: The Resume Writing Guide: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Creating a Winning Resume by Lisa McGrimmon
If you are serious about this, get the book, read it, and do the exercises. Do not just skim it. Use it the way I did: write a practice resume for yourself or someone you know, then go back and see what you would change.
Ask Yourself Why
Before you invest time and money, ask what draws you to this work. Most resume writers I know started because they truly love helping job seekers get unstuck and find a position. It is rewarding. There is nothing like hearing that someone finally got the interview they had been waiting for.
It can also be draining. When I was researching in the beginning, I read a blog from another career professional who said the same thing: people will pull on your expertise constantly, and you will have to learn boundaries. Some clients will follow your guidance and thrive. Others will hear the same advice and not act on it. You cannot control that, and you have to be at peace with it.
If your why is only the money, the hard weeks will be harder. If your why is helping people, the money becomes a fair exchange for the value you provide.
Should You Get Certified?
You do not need a certification to start. But if you see resume writing as a business you want to grow, I recommend making it part of your goals. Get certified when you have gained some experience and have the funds for it.
I will be transparent: resume writing was a side hustle for me for years. I was always working in the career space and I had my MBA, so I was not sure I wanted to do this long term, and I did not pursue a certification early. If I had known how far this would go, I would have. Two well-known options are PARWCC and NRWA, so look into both, compare the requirements and costs, and see which fits your goals.
Start With a Test Client
You do not need a big launch to begin. Find one person you know who is job searching in your industry and ask, "Can I write your resume, and can we see how it does?" Be upfront that you are building your skills. That honesty protects the relationship and the reputation you are trying to build.
Treat that one project like a real client project. Talk with them about their experience, write the resume, and ask for feedback afterward. Did they get interviews? Did the recruiter mention anything? One real project will teach you more than another week of reading.
Your Part 1 Checklist
- Pick your niche. Who will you serve, based on what you already know?
- Get your resource. Start with the workbook above and do the exercises.
- Check your why. Be honest about the rewards and the drain.
- Put certification on your goal list. You do not need it to start.
- Test it. Write one resume for one person and see what happens.
What's Next
In Part 2, I will walk you through setting up your business: licensing, your service agreement, how to price, and what to do when someone asks for your work for free. Check out: Part 2: How to Set Up and Price Your Resume Writing Business
Subscribe to the blog so you do not miss it. And if you are a resume writer, or thinking about becoming one, tell me in the comments what you want to learn first.
Talk soon,
TaNiya
Helping professionals clarify their value, strengthen their positioning, and move with strategy in their job search
Website: www.taniyaclayton.com | https://beacons.ai/tclayton
Email: careerservices@taniyaclayton.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taniyaclayton
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