Freelance Marketplace Critique of the Week: 7.11.05
You’ve posted your mini-bios at the MB Freelance Marketplace in hopes of snagging a great freelance – or full-time – gig. But, are you completely satisfied with your listing? Do you think you’ve described your accomplishments, specialties and skills in the best possible light? Let’s check in with our expert, Jane Ashen Turkewitz, the premiere resume writer for MediaBistro, in our weekly segment where a real Marketplace profile, just like yours, is critiqued to give its owner insight on how to make it even more effective. As a former media recruiter, Jane has reviewed thousands of resumes and has successfully placed candidates at Time Inc., Hearst, Hachette, Primedia and other major media companies. Turkewitz has written hundreds of resumes for writers, editors, publishers, sales executives, marketers, graphic designers, business managers, technology executives, public relations professionals and others.
The critique of the week belongs to Ben Delaney, whose profile starts with:
Call me with your tough technology assignments. With over 200 magazine articles in print, mostly on technology and its impact, I am good at talking with engineers and translating jargon into plain English. I have addressed advanced visualization technologies, virtual reality, simulation, the impact of technology on society, medical technology, art and technology, the impact of the internet, terrorism, and many other topics. I know how to work on deadline and I know how to explain difficult concepts simply, but without condescending. I love challenges and am considered a very good researcher. Let’s talk.
Jane says,
Ben, your profile looks really good. Of course, I wouldn’t pick you if that’s ALL I had to say. So, here are a few suggestions. I think you should add something in your “Overview” that pertains to the fact that you have been interviewed as a technology expert by other media and that you have been a speaker at a multitude of prestigious tech events. Please use this information instead of: “I love challenges and am considered a very good researcher. Let’s talk.” Those last two lines look like they belong in a profile on Match.com. Let’s get something interesting and unique about you in here instead.
I’m not sure you should have “carpenter and motorcycle mechanic” in the “Technical Skills” area. Focus on the skills that matter in the world of journalism. Take out “all the usual stuff” under “Equipment,” as I’m not sure what that means. “Usual” for you may be very different then “usual” for me. If you want to keep some personality in your profile, I have to admit, I think what you put under “Foreign Language Skills” is hilarious. Good luck!
If you’d like your profile critiqued by Jane (and really, if you took the time to create one you should have the best one possible), drop a line to the Marketplace people.
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