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Friday May 06, 2005

Freelance Marketplace Critique of the Week: 5.6.05

You've posted your mini-bios at the MB Freelance Marketplace in hopes of snagging a great freelance - or full-time - gig. Good for you! 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 Chris Smith, whose profile begins with:

effdedorn-thumb-thudmb-sdfsdfulmb-thumb-thumb.jpgCreative, flexible, and reliable writer/photographer with credits ranging from Rolling Stone to the Journal of Visual Anthropology. With three books on American culture, a graduate degree in social science, and experience stretching from combat correspondent to wildlife photographer, I'm equally at home interviewing Condoleezza Rice or photographing Hawaii's best beaches (though given the choice...).

Jane says,

After feeling a little bit like Simon on the scandalous "American Idol," I finally have something good to say in one of these critiques. I like what you've done, Chris. I am drawn in by your opener and am compelled to read on. I only have a few suggestions for you. All the way at the bottom, under "other," you list a lot of interesting, mainstream publications (Billboard, The Village Voice, Time Out New York). I'd like you to move some of these names up so that they appear under "Other Work History." The closer these names are to the top, the better. In addition, I'm a little concerned about putting photography samples as part of your editorial profile. If you want to be a freelance photographer, I suggest creating another profile under the "photography category." Add some additional writing pieces instead. Kudos to Chris!

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), holla at the Marketplace people.


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