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.

Today's critique belongs to Jessica Copen, whose profile begins,

More than 15 years experience developing award-winning public relations and marketing communications campaigns. A big city mayor, attorneys, senior corporate executives, politicians, educators are among my present and past clients. My services include media relations, integrated marketing communications, website development, speechwriting, ghostwriting and editing.

A widely-published writer, my articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, UCLA Law Magazine, American Bar Association Journal, Playboy, Illinois Politics, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Reader, Today's Chicago Woman, Travel My Way, Emigrant, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Politics and others.

Jane says,

Jessica, I'm not sure what kind of business you are looking to secure with your profile. You start off by talking about your 15 years' experience developing PR and communications campaigns. Are you looking to generate incremental business for JessCopen Communications with this profile? If so, I suggest putting your profile in a different category - the "Publicity/Marketing/Advertising" section, vs. "Editorial." If, however, you are looking to secure freelance writing assignments, your profile needs to be rewritten to appeal to an Editor. In this case, the last paragraph in your overview should be expanded upon and your editorial strengths and skills should be the singular focus of your "Overview." Usually Editors aren't too interested in knowing about your successes in marketing and PR. They want to know what topics you cover editorially and where you have been published. So, my suggestion to you is to figure out what your goal is in posting your profile in the Mediabistro.com "FM Marketplace" and create a killer profile that directly targets that market. Oh, and if it's editorial assignments you are looking for, make sure you attach clips of articles you have had published. 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.