by Joe Wallace

Some freelancers make a huge mistake with their resume when trying to land freelance jobs.

They don’t read enough resumes.

It’s the simplest kind of advice. “Read at least 10 other resumes before polishing your own.” Sounds like some kind of folksy, down-home wisdom, doesn’t it?

I never realized just how goofy my own resume was until I started hiring other freelancers and had to sort through 50 or more submissions a week. The sheer volume of bad resumes was unbelievable; I had no idea there were so many people out there who didn’t get it.

But of course, I didn’t either…until I put myself in the position to hire people. And that’s exactly what YOU should do, too. Pretend you have to hire someone for the freelance job you want. Then look at a lot of resumes and resume sites.

Soon, you’ll see the weaknesses in other people’s sales pitch for themselves…and you’ll be comparing yours to theirs and making corrections. Big ones.

Trust me, this technique WORKS. And you didn’t even have to buy a book to learn about it. So many fail to do it, but those who use this little secret go on to land the gigs they want. I can tell you from experience this is true. Gearwire, Motorola, Artisan Creative and many others agree with me, at least where my own resume was concerned.

Bragging? Maybe a bit. But it’s also an indicator of what YOU can do with a little side-by-side comparison.