The way in which we seek employment as freelancers has changed since the COVID pandemic, yet the credentials debate is still here. Is it worth spending hours of your life polishing a traditional resume, or is a link to your best work sufficient? For people in the world of African freelance writing, it is not always black and white.

This guide breaks down the actual purpose of a freelance writer’s CV, provides tips on resume writing that work in a contemporary world, and explains why your portfolio is actually your greatest asset when it comes to securing high-paying clients.

Is a CV Necessary as a Freelance Writer?

If you have been in the freelance circles recently, you must have heard the most pronounced chant that the CV is dead. In the era of social media presence, the existence of LinkedIn profiles and online portfolios, the thought of having a two-page Word document with your work history is nearly outdated. 

In recent years, the situation of a professional writer is a little more complex. When seeking African freelance writing work, you will discover that some clients would never contemplate requesting a resume, but at the same time, there are other clients, specifically the corporate clients in parts of Africa, who will consider it an indispensable component of the vetting exercise.

Well, then, do you really require a freelance writer’s CV? The answer is simple: Yes, but unlike the type you are thinking of. 

Portfolio vs. the CV: Knowing the Difference.

Before commencing to structure your work history, you should know the various functions these two documents perform. 

A portfolio is a collection of your successes. It demonstrates to a client precisely what you can create. When a client desires to know whether you can create a high-converting landing page for a fintech application, they visit your portfolio. It is the appearance and the feel of your capability.

A freelance writer’s CV, on the other hand, is an overview of your professional experience. It narrates your experience, your education, and your dependability. A portfolio demonstrates your ability to write, whereas a CV reflects your ability to work. It confirms that you have worked in long-term positions, have responsibilities to handle, and have a history that informs your writing.

The Necessity Freelance Writer’s CV

There are special situations where a well-structured resume is a must to succeed in freelance writing as an African. Some include: 

Corporate and B2B Clients

When you apply to a big company, like a bank or a telecommunications company, they follow a more common onboarding process. Their HR program may actually fail to even accept your application without a document to attach. In such situations, your CV is an obligation, yet a formal one.

White-Label Agency Work

A great deal of freelancers start with marketing agencies. Such agencies will maintain a list of freelancers. In cases where they make a pitch to their own customers, they will exclude the bios or resumes of the personnel who will be working on the project. Already possessing a one-page freelance writer CV that is crisp and well edited makes you appear so very organised and easy to deal with.

High-Level Consulting

The more specialized you are, the more you have to need a freelance writer CV. At this stage, customers would like to be aware of your professional background. They also would like to know that you have been on the business side of the matter, and a properly arranged resume is the most appropriate place to demonstrate that.

The CV Advice for a Freelance Writer

In case you are planning to make a CV, do not use the template that you utilized in 2015 when you were getting your first office job. A freelancer’s resume must be dynamic and results-oriented. 

The following are some of the resume tips that could make you shine:

• Result Not Duty: Do not state what you did, as a writer of a technological company, but rather what you have achieved, as a marketer of a fintech company, by using the help of SEO-optimized posts.
• Showcase Your Specialization: When you have a legal writing or medical copy in mind, make it very visible on the very first page. 
• Add Your Tech Stack: Some clients will likely be asking about whether you can work in a CMS (such as WordPress or Ghost), whether you can collaborate with AI tools, or whether you can work in Notion. List these tools clearly.
• The Living Resume: Your resume does not have to be a piece of dead paper. Insert links to your LinkedIn account, your online portfolio, and your best-selling live articles.

How to Market Your Credentials without a Resume

LinkedIn: Your LinkedIn resume is a live resume. When you make the best of your About page to share your professional narrative and the Featured page to display your best work, you will have plenty of clients who do not even have to request a resume. They have already regarded all they need.

Your Personal Website: The last power move is a personal brand site. When you are sending a client to your website, make sure they go to a professional layout, a curated portfolio, and a Services page; the necessity of a CV is often zeroed out. The credential is the site. It demonstrates that you have committed to your business and you are not moving.

 Pitching: At times, a personalized, detailed pitch is more effective than a CV. When you can demonstrate to a client that you know their particular areas of pain and can give them a couple of pertinent links to work that you have done in their exact niche, then you have given them some proof of work that a resume cannot reach.

Conclusion

Do you disregard a freelance writer’s CV? You shouldn’t; the best way is to have a CV alongside any other type you embrace. Nevertheless, have a clean, up-to-date, one-page CV in your Google Drive, so that you can send it at any time, on the spur of the moment.

Think of your CV as a closer. On the majority of occasions, your portfolio and your pitch will work hard. However, to those high-value, corporate, or agency clients who have not lost the value of tradition, that polished CV indicates that you are a professional who is aware of the rules of the game. Learn more in our freelance community!