The Best Way to Apply for Content Writing Jobs

Create a résumé highlighting your education and portfolio. Use ChatGPT because if you are a beginner, chances are you will make mistakes. The first round of resume screening is the most challenging one, considering the résumés are scanned by AI tools.

In your résumé, it is critical to make it look like you know what you are doing. It is perfectly natural to suffer from impostor syndrome internally, as long as you sell yourself properly.

Note that we are living in an unfair world where freshers are expected to have a decade of experience to be even considered for an entry-level role.

Hence, it is only reasonable if you add a few ‘fake’ experiences to your résumé. These should be untraceable and unverifiable, although the chances of your employer double-checking those references are minimal.

In the rest of this chapter, I’ve shared some additional tips to help you through this.

Prioritize full-time jobs over gigs

You may have seen plenty of videos on social media where folks show how amazing it is to work as a freelance writer. Those videos make it look like full-time job holders make less than gig-hunters.

However, that’s not the full picture.

It is possible that in the short term, you (or anybody) will make good money by working with multiple clients. One of the primary reasons is that you cut out the middlemen. 

But keep in mind that the ultimate objective here is to build a rewarding and fulfilling career.

That demands stability, which can be achieved by securing a full-time job as a content writer.

Yes, it will feel as if you are working more for less pay. At the same time, it will give you a good environment where you can develop your skill set. 

For instance, if you make a critical mistake in a draft as a freelancer, you risk losing the client due to a lack of a legally binding contract. The consequences for full-time writers will be far less severe.

Additionally, the continuous stress of seeking new clients can be challenging, especially if you are a beginner. It’s better to have a certain level of predictability, at least when you are starting out.

Now, there are two options — an agency role or an in-house company role..

If you work in a content marketing/writing agency, you will produce drafts for multiple clients, often coming from different industries. This will increase the breadth of your skills and empower you to write for diverse audiences and platforms.

A company job isn’t bad either. Here, you will learn to create all formats of content and learn the entire spectrum of digital marketing skills.

After you secure a full-time role, you can always do some freelancing on the side.

Post generic crap on LinkedIn

This may come as a surprise, but LinkedIn activity could be beneficial for you.

First, refresh your account. Upload a recent profile picture and update all the relevant information in your profile. Use tools like ChatGPT to optimize it if you feel stuck.

Then, post about content writing, professionalism, digital marketing, and life.

If you are struggling to find topics, write about how difficult it is to find interesting topics to write about. Besides, beginners in this industry can use LinkedIn as a notebook where they summarize the key lessons learned.

This is crucial for attracting the attention of recruiters, particularly freelance agents. It is also common for recruiters from reputable companies to reach out to you with offers.

Finally, engage with your audience. You don’t have to reply to everyone in your comment section, but do give them a like. Also, contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to engage with others’ posts. You can if you want to, though.

Conclusion: Spray and pray

No one wants to hire someone without experience these days. There are plenty of experienced people looking for a job. If you are a beginner, the numbers are definitely stacked against you.

Apply for every job you think you can pull off. Check out the responsibilities, and if you believe you can learn them on the fly in a few weeks, hit apply. This will keep you busy throughout your unemployed days and increase your chances of getting hired.

There is no advantage to being selective. Big brands like Forbes aren’t looking for noobs, just like reputed agencies and businesses.

What’s the worst that could happen?

You’d be rejected?

Aren’t you jobless already?

You have nothing to lose. Apply to as many jobs as you can.

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Next Chapter: Coming soon

Previous Chapter: Build a Content Writing Portfolio

Index (Prologue): What is Content Writing