A writer resume can mean a job resume for content, copy, UX or technical writing, or a literary CV listing publications, awards and other creative work. Start with the application instructions: the reader may want employment experience, a publication record, selected samples, or a combination.

This guide includes a complete fictional content writer resume, a literary CV outline, and specific ways to present freelance work, ghostwriting and unpublished samples. The central choice is which evidence helps this reader evaluate your writing and responsibilities.

Creative-writing teaching applications may need teaching experience, publications, education and service in an academic CV. Read the criteria before choosing an order: publication credits are only one part of the evidence. A content role may also value a relevant literary credit, and a literary application may ask for professional experience.

The next example uses a job-resume format. The literary CV section later in the guide covers a different way to organize your record.

This fictional September 2025 resume follows Corinne Hadley through six years of writing and editorial work: an editorial-assistant role, two years in-house at a SaaS company, and three years freelance. People, clients, credentials and figures are illustrative. Portfolio addresses are placeholders, not real samples. Use the structure, then replace every detail with your own history.

Put an accessible portfolio link near your contact details. Use a short visible address as well as a working hyperlink, so a printed copy still points to your work. A portfolio page can hold your broader selection; direct links to a few relevant clips save the reader from searching.

Use a few sentences to name your subject area, formats and relevant experience. Replace “creative and detail-oriented writer with a passion for storytelling” with information the reader can evaluate.

For this fictional example: “Content marketing writer with six years of editorial and writing experience. Published 140 articles since September 2022; develops interview-led procurement, fintech and logistics explainers.” A newcomer could name a maintained newsletter, student-publication role or well-defined project instead. You do not need an impressive growth percentage to write a useful summary.

Explain what you wrote, your contribution and the audience or purpose. Add a result when you have a reliable record and permission to disclose it. Ask the client or editor for an approved description; do not claim access to private analytics you cannot inspect.

A useful reporting line defines the measure, page group and period. In the fictional example, sessions to a 42-page cohort rose from 8,000 to 31,000 monthly over ten months. That observation does not isolate writing from promotion, site changes, seasonality or other contributors. Avoid turning “rose after” into “I caused.”

Outputs can stand on their own: interviewed six customers, produced an 18-article help collection, maintained a weekly newsletter, or created a style guide adopted by the editorial team. Publication volume and word counts help explain scope when paired with the format, audience or review process.

Read the posting for the work involved: case studies, landing pages, SEO articles, onboarding copy, API documentation or newsletters. List the relevant formats and tools you have used, then support important skills with a sample, project or experience bullet.

Group tools by purpose where useful: WordPress or Webflow for publishing, GA4 or Search Console for analysis, an SEO suite for research, and a project tracker for coordination. If AI is part of your process, explain the task and your review: “Used AI to propose outline alternatives, then checked sources and rewrote the draft against the editorial brief.” Include time savings only if you measured them. Do not feed confidential client material into a tool without permission.

Keep course completion separate from a current credential. Google’s Skillshop guidance says its covered certifications generally last one year unless the certificate states otherwise. The embedded sample therefore shows a dated illustrative renewal rather than implying that a historical pass remains current.

A literary CV foregrounds creative work and related experience. Select sections for the opportunity and its instructions: a residency, grant, teaching role and festival may request different evidence. A short biography or statement may be requested separately.

Group publications by genre when that helps the reader find relevant work. These sections are options, not a requirement to fill every heading:

Use a consistent credit format: title, journal or press, issue or volume if relevant, and year. Mark accepted but unpublished work as “forthcoming.” A submitted manuscript remains a submission, even if you expect it to be accepted.

Label personal-blog, self-published and commissioned work accurately. Select and group it according to the application’s criteria, rather than implying a publication or review process it did not have.

A self-employed entry can collect several clients without making the reader reconstruct your work history. Use your actual business or professional name, a clear title such as “Freelance Content Writer,” and the dates you operated that practice. Do not extend dates to hide a period when you were not working.

Start with an orientation line: “B2B SaaS and fintech clients; long-form articles, email sequences and customer stories.” Follow it with selected assignments, responsibilities and supported results. Name clients and describe retainers only when you have permission.

A substantial contract can also have its own entry or sub-entry with its actual dates and contract status. For example, a nine-month knowledge-base assignment may deserve more detail than several smaller posts. Choose the structure that makes responsibility and chronology clear.

Describe your actual contribution: ghostwriting, interviewing, drafting, copyediting or final approval. Do not claim the public byline if it belongs to someone else.

Check the agreement and obtain permission before naming a client, sharing a result or offering a sample. A generic client description, rounded metric, private link or redacted document can still reveal restricted information. An approved line might read: “Ghostwrote founder essays for a software client; led interviews and two rounds of revisions.”

If the work cannot be shared, use an approved reference or an independently created, clearly labeled sample that contains no client material. Do not promise an NDA-protected sample on request.

Follow the requested sample count. If none is given, three relevant clips can be a practical starting point; add more when they demonstrate a different useful skill. Each entry should identify the format, outlet or project, your role and a short piece of context.

For a developer-tools role, lead with a relevant technical explainer. For customer storytelling, choose a piece that shows interviewing and synthesis. An illustrative label: “Procurement explainer, 2,300 words; researched and drafted from six buyer interviews.” Include a performance figure only when it is supported and appropriately attributed.

Keep the resume concise and put the full samples in the requested place: a portfolio, direct links or attachments. Test access from a signed-out browser and give the reader a clear way to find each selected piece.

Create a bounded, self-directed sample for the kind of audience you want to write for: a researched explainer, an onboarding sequence or a short documentation set. Label it as an independent sample, not commissioned or published work for the company you are applying to.

Coursework, student publications, volunteer documentation, a personal blog and a maintained newsletter can also show your process and writing. Explain your role and provide the strongest relevant work. You do not need to undertake a large unpaid project to fill a clips section; follow any employer sample request and clarify its scope.

Use the requirements to choose evidence; these roles may need substantially different samples and experience.

Copywriter. Show the audience, channel, message and your contribution to a campaign. If you report an A/B test, define the variants, metric and period. A change in observed conversion is not automatically caused by the copy. Treat email opens cautiously: Apple’s Mail privacy settings can load remote content before a person views a message, so opens are not a direct count of readers.

Technical writer. Describe the product, user, documentation set, review process and publishing workflow. A tutorial, API reference or troubleshooting guide can demonstrate different work. Explain collaboration with engineers and how you checked the instructions.

Screenwriter. Distinguish produced, commissioned, optioned and independently written work. Give the format, production or client credit where permitted, and year. Name the exact competition placement rather than treating a shortlist as a win. Include loglines or representation details when requested and appropriate.

Proofread the header, titles, dates and sample labels as carefully as the bullets. Read the exported document aloud or ask another reader to check it. Spelling and grammar tools can help, but still inspect names, dates, links and factual claims yourself.

Give these four areas a separate pass:

Follow the requested file type. Use clear headings and readable text, then inspect the exported file, links and application fields. Greenhouse’s parsing guidance identifies columns, graphics and other formatting as possible sources of extraction problems.

The displayed sample uses a skills-column layout. Test its reading order after adding your content, or use a simpler single-column version if needed. Selectable text is a useful check, but it does not guarantee that every application system will populate fields correctly. An image-only document can be harder to extract; it is not universally treated as a blank page.

Choose a layout from the resume templates if you want a different starting point. Use a cover letter, when requested, to connect a specific sample and relevant experience to the employer’s writing needs.