What will I be doing?

As a resume writer you will interview clients and write resumes and other employment documents for presentation to potential employers. You must develop or have skills in interviewing people as well as writing in commonly accepted resume styles and formats. You can work regular business hours, evenings and weekends or on-call, depending on your commitments and preferences.

There are about 7,500 full-time resume services in the U.S., with many operating from home (as I have).

What will I need to start?

You can start a resume service with a telephone, an answering machine, a computer, basic office supplies and a small advertisement in one or more local newspapers. You should also have reference books that include sample resumes for use as guides and for clients to select from. Quality papers and other supplies are available from local or mail-order stationery suppliers.

Who will my customers be?

Your customers can include anyone who is looking for a job! Clients for your resume service are those needing help analyzing and communicating their marketable skills to employers. Because job seekers usually read the classified ads, advertising in area newspapers can draw many potential clients. Some resume writers interview clients over the telephone and mail completed resumes. Others interview face-to-face.

How much should I charge?

Resume writers typically offer standardized resume packages at set prices. The prices are based on stationery and printing costs plus an hourly rate. Hourly rates for resume writers range from $30 to $50. Depending on your skill and the complexity of the resume, it can take from one hour to several hours to prepare a resume. You can enhance your income by offering additional products or services. Some services mail resumes for their clients. Others also sell booklets on job-getting skills.

How much will I make?

A resume writer keeps about 50 to 60 percent of gross income as salary. A resume service operating 40 hours a week at an hourly rate of $35, and spending 25 percent of that time promoting the business, can earn about $1,000 a week. Net income will be $35,000 to $50,000 a year--at a fun job.

How can I get started?

Contact the Professional Association of Resume Writers (3637 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33704; 800-822-7279) for membership information. PARW offers a certification program, marketing aids and a national convention.

Read The Upstart Guide to Owning and Managing a Resume Service by Dan Ramsey.

Find and hire resume writers to prepare a resume for you. Analyze how you can improve on what they do as you start your own full-time home-based resume service.

The SIC code for resume-writing services is 7338-03.

How can I use computers to increase profits?

I wish I had a computer when I operated a resume service in the early 1980s! Forms were completed by hand, the resume typewritten, and any last-minute changes meant retyping the resume. Today, computer templates streamline the process and make changes easy. In addition, computers make accessing career information online a snap. And web pages can be used to market your services to a wider audience.