MBToolBox
Tuesday Apr 26, 2005

Freelance Marketplace Critique of the Week: 4.26.05

You've posted your mini-bios at the MB Freelance Marketplace in hopes of snagging a great freelance - or full-time - gig. Nice job. 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 goes to Meredith Daniels, whose profile begins:

effdedorn-thumb-thudmb-thumb-thulmb-thumb.bmpBlessed and sometimes cursed with the superpower of "morphing," I am a versatile writer who has worked with local hard news to light, celebrity scum reports for WFAN's Don Imus. I hold a degree in journalism with a concentration in broadcast, so much of my experience lies in radio and television and the entertainment industry. I have freelanced as a comedy writer for various high-profile New York radio shows. My recent work has been in the newspaper industry -- writing more serious features on nature, health and real estate. Aside from my college degree and 10 years media experience, I am also certified as a Personal Trainer. While not an expert on exercise physiology, I am certainly familiar with basic technique, fitness trends, etc. I look forward to writing for print, broadcast or electronic media.

According to Jane:

Call me crazy but I don't think opening up by saying that you have worked on "celebrity scum reports" is really the best way to position oneself. In looking at your attached samples, I see that you are diverse. I just think you are selling yourself short in your profile. Your attached pieces show me that you have covered health, media, business and nature for one of the biggest papers in the largest metropolis in the country. Don't you think that this sounds a bit more impressive than what you currently have in your profile? I also feel, in general, that your opening overview sounds more like a dating bio. What's the point in putting the fitness stuff in? If it's because you'd like to cover the fitness genre, well, then say so. Tie it up in a nice, neat package so that the reader understands exactly what you can do for them not what you are "look forward to doing."

If you are interested in having your listing critiqued, send a note to the folks at the Marketplace.


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