Creative Writing Resume: Tips to Build a Creative Writer Resume (Examples Included)

Creative writing is a very specialized skill, and so is building a creative writing resume (or résumé).

Unlike the actual writing, the writing style of the resume does have a formula. This resume guide will lay out a resume format, discuss a few tips, and offer a few examples to get you started.

Additionally, since you don't get hired on a resume alone, I'll also show you a few examples of creative writing portfolios. If you are looking for information on how to show your writing so that most recruiters pay attention, this is the article for you.

Basics of a Creative Writer Resume

I'm a freelance writer who switched over from full-time in 2022. Before that, I've been involved in content creation (mostly writing and editing) full-time since 2017. When I started to write a resume specifically for hiring managers searching for freelancers, here's what went into it:

A professional summary of your work experience

This is what the client will see right after your name on your professional resume. In about 2 to 4 sentences, mention your skills, professional experience, and accolades. This is the client's first introduction to you, so highlight only what is most relevant.

You don't have to detail anything at this point. The resume will contain sections with bullet points that go deeper into your relevant experience in previous roles and skills. Just put your absolute best foot forward.

If you've read the job description, you have some idea what the client wants in their employee. Tweak the resume summary to appeal to those qualities. For example, if they are looking for someone with writing skills and a working knowledge of SEO, start your summary with something like: "SEO writer with 5+ years of experience in the B2B market."

List of skills pertaining to creative writing

Creative writing is a generic term. In the skills section, you qualify the term with the specifics of what you bring to the table. Do you write film or video scripts? Do you create storyboards? Can you create compelling photo stories?

Define the range of your writing skills. Use terms like "beauty content writer," "video game reviewer," "scriptwriter for feature films," etc. Talk about what you specifically have brought to your writing projects. Outside of just writing, clients also look for research skills, an understanding of SEO, the ability to interact with SMEs, and so on.

While your creativity is the very thing that gets you hired, keep the resume as straightforward as possible. You'll have room to be creative on your writing portfolio.

Work experience

This is the lengthiest and most important part of the resume. List all your previous roles and jobs, but don't just leave cold clinical statements. Lead with your achievements at every job: "wrote 50 articles that led to a 40% increase in website traffic within 6 months," for example. Show that your writing experience involved real results and not just throwing words into the digital void.

Statements like this not only reveal your role but also your impact. Don't forget to mention instances of effective collaboration and resourcefulness you may have demonstrated to get the job done.

Creative writers should ideally mention the kind of stories they have worked on. If you're trained other people, put that up front and center. Clearly highlight job titles, employers, job tenures, and duties for each role.

Education & achievements

You still need a college degree to get your foot in the door for most jobs. Mention the degree, especially if it’s in related fields like English, journalism, or some other humanities. Degrees in marketing or communication also go a long way in raising your employability.

Depending on what hiring managers require, you should mention your grades, college/university name/ scholarships, and so on. If you've won any awards, be sure to talk about them too.

Outside of your college degree, consider getting certifications in related courses like SEO, business writing, and industry-specific creative writing.

Bonus tips to create a professional resume that works

Tailor your "writing experience" section to each client

When sending your work history, rearrange it or reword it to appeal to the client at the end of your email. I've offered an example before: play up the skills that directly impact your chances of getting this job. As far as possible, echo some of the words in the job description in your work history.

At the end of the day, every employer is looking for a writer who instantly "gets it." By echoing the language of the job description, you'll encourage positive associations with your resume in their minds.

Proofread your resume

You can't create compelling content with typos all over the place. If your resume is not pristine in its language, you won't even be able to showcase your writing in your portfolio. Your turn will be over immediately.

Before you submit a resume, proofread it three times. Eliminate all spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and formatting inconsistencies. Have a friend proofread after you've done so. The errors will always show up easily for a second pair of eyes.

Always send the resume with the portfolio

Do this even if the clients do not specifically ask for it. Employers want to see where you've worked and then gauge the quality of your content writing. For example, if you are applying for a copywriting position, send your copywriting sample when you apply for the job. Don't wait for the client to email/call back and ask for it.

This might sound like common knowledge, but it was a common mistake I (and quite a few of my peers) made in my early career days.

5 creative writer resume examples for inspiration

Before putting together the best creative writer resume (which I'm sure you will build for yourself), have a look at three examples of what most employers would consider a "perfect resume."

Jessica Clair (resume template)

I picked up this resume template from livecareer.com. It’s similar to my own portfolio and contains all the essential information you need to communicate with the employer. Note that despite carrying a lot of information, it does not look cluttered. That is key.

John Ludwig (writer resume template)

This one is from Resume Builder. It's ideal for job-seekers at the entry level. At that juncture, employers expect you to have a bare-bones resume, so anything over the bare minimum will grab their attention. If you've done any writing in college, make sure to play that up in particular. It's also impressive if you have a portfolio of published writing samples by the time you apply for your first official job.

Unnamed Resume Template for a Creative Content Writer

I sourced this from resumeworded.com. The language contains the exact level of specificity recruiters and hiring managers will expect from good candidates. Feel free to use this as a template and fill in the necessary details.

Bonus: Creative writing portfolio examples to send with your creative writer resume

Chris Shott

Chris Shott is a features writer and digitally skilled editor with more than 10 years of experience, including print and online media. He is currently an editor at Large. His creative writing pieces have been published in Thrillist, Food Republic, Washington City Paper, and New York Observer.

Kelsee Hankins

Kelsee Hankins is a freelance writer and blogger who writes about performing arts, travel, culture, education, personal finance, Midwest living, Indy-related topics, and lifestyle topics.

She owns KBH Arts & Media Group and works with brands to create content that will drive sales. She specializes in written content (blogs, ads, product descriptions, or social media campaigns).

Kelsee creates blog posts, product & property descriptions, newsletters, social media content, sales pages, SEO content revision, and more. She has also worked with non-profits, artists, insurance agencies, accounting firms, real estate agents, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and other bloggers.

Rosebell Kagumire

Rosebell Kagumire is a writer, campaigner, award-winning blogger, pan-African feminist, and multimedia communications strategist.

Currently, she is the editor and curator of AfricanFeminism.com. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Quartz, etc.

She won the Anna Guèye 2018 award for her advocacy for digital democracy, justice, and equality by Africtivistes, a network of African activists. The World Economic Forum recognized her as one of the Young Global Leaders under the age of 40 in 2013 for her advocacy on social justice issues.

In 2012, Rosebell was named as one of Foreign Policy Magazine’s “100 women to follow on Twitter.”

She has also worked as the African communications officer for Women’s Link Worldwide and has also been a Social Media Manager for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Authory: a dedicated portfolio builder that does most of the work

A great resume must be accompanied by an excellent portfolio to showcase your writing samples. You already know how to create your great resume. This section will introduce you to a tool that helps you set up a portfolio to demonstrate your writing. While there are many portfolio builders out there, Authory stands out by building your portfolio for you.

Yes, you read that right.

When you sign up for an Authory account (for free), you get the following:

A self-updating portfolio (no need to keep adding new work manually)

Authory will AUTOMATICALLY import a copy of every bylined piece from every site into its own database. You don't have to track down links to your published work (especially older pieces). As long as you remember the URL of the site where your work exists, Authory will collate all your content for you in one dashboard.

Automated backups (never lose your content, ever)

All the content that Authory imports from different sources is saved permanently. Even if the original website where it's published goes defunct for any reason, you'll always have a copy safely stored on Authory's server. All backups are in the original format — text and/or media. No screenshots.

Continued importing of past and future content (less effort for a 100% updated portfolio)

Once you enter a source, Authory won't just import your existing publications. Anything you publish on the same site (after you've fed its URL into Authory) in the future will also be imported automatically. In other words, Authory will import your past and future content.

Authory also sends email notifications for every new piece it imports, so you'll always know if something you submitted has been published.

Authory has been chosen by quite a few well-known names in my domain, people who could have picked any tool in the world. There's six-time Emmy award winner David Pogue, Steven Levy, Editor at Large at WIRED, and Brian Fung, a Technology Reporter at CNN, to name a few.

Get started with Authory for free and see for yourself what works for you!