Clients don't need to see that, do they?
Ep 69: Do freelancers need a CV? (With Jenny Stallard)
Happy Friday!
How was your week? Got any exciting new leads?
If you did get some sparkly new potential projects popping into your inbox, did you consider sending your CV?
(Do you even have one?)
I'll be honest, I thought CVs were something I could leave behind in the corporate world, along with Boots Meal Deals and M&S black opaque tights 🤣.
After all, does a client really care that I got an A in Advanced Higher French? (I did 💅) Or that I play netball at the weekends? (I don't, but you need to put something in the ‘other interests’ section…)
Do clients really need to know our entire career history, or just the parts that are relevant to the problem we’re going to solve for them?
When freelance writer and host of Freelance Feels Jenny Stallard asked if I was up for a chat about CVs, I admit I wasn’t entirely sold. But she changed my mind!
Because I was thinking of CVs: version 1.0.
The underlying goal – to showcase your best bits to someone who might hire you for a project – still stands.
Here are just a few scenarios where a CV might be handy for a freelancer:
for contract work where you’re pitching for a role rather than a project
to give a client a snappy resource to sell your services internally
to summarise your experience and expertise without giving the client the extra work of clickig over to your website
to provide context when you’re pitching yourself for guest expert/PR opportunities.
Sometimes a website does the job. Sometimes you’ll cover this in a proposal. Depending on the service you provide, you could think of this as a portfolio. But sometimes we might benefit from having a handy one-pager to tell the story of who we are and what we can do for clients.
Today’s episode: 69. Do Freelancers need a CV? with Jenny Stallard
On today’s episode of 15 Minute Freelancer, Jenny reframes the traditional notion of CVs and shares:
💡 Why you might be missing a trick by not having a CV that showcases your experience and expertise to clients?
💡 The difference between a portfolio and a CV
💡 What to include and what to leave out
💡 How to decide which projects to include to attract ideal clients
💡 What to do if you don’t have much experience or have gaps in your career history.
Listen here »
🧠 Insight: After this conversation with Jenny, I’ve been thinking about how I can present my work in a more creative way. I’ve got mini case studies that I copy and paste into proposals, but I really need to make some time to write proper case studies. And I love the idea of having short CVs for different purposes. This conversation sparked an idea to create a one-pager that tells my freelancing story in a fun way for new clients. Maybe an old-school ad or a movie poster? Whadya think?
➡️ 15 Minute Action: Think about a creative way to present past projects to new clients. Be sure to explain the transformation that occurred as a result of your input: paint the before and after picture so the reader can imagine what you could do for them. And delete the fluff – each point you include has to earn its place.
🎧 Bonus clip: How to use your CV
Once you’ve got your CV/portfolio/one-pager intro ready to go – it’s time to put it to work. Here’s Jenny’s advice on how to get the most out of your new CV:
Oh, and in case you haven’t had your fill of Jenny and I talking yet, I also appeared as a guest on her podcast, Freelance Feels, where I share my freelancing origin story, why weightlifting is the perfect analogy for building a freelance business, and my biggest challenge as a company of one.
That’s all for this week. Happy freelancing!
Louise xx