As usual, I ventured into some random world of making money using what I know. I know resumes; I’ve rewritten mine for many jobs. I decided to make money writing physician resumes on Upwork and can now charge $1,000 to write one.
Physician Resumes
Our resumes are complicated because our pedigree and experiences are critical, while some things are self-explanatory and silly to include in a resume.
You can’t apply for a physician leadership position without highlighting your leadership skills and listing a few supervisors as references.
Physician resumes, or CVs, also are populated into HR software and must meet certain criteria for ease of use.
Finally, a proper physician resume isn’t much without a LinkedIn profile. Some use Doximity, but I’m not a fan.
Making Money Writing Physician Resumes
How much can you charge? I started low at around $300 and got a few on the line. But it’s hard to update a physician’s resume which is 15 years old.
I increased my prices on Fiverr to $500 and another $500 for the Linkedin profile, which seems to have been my sweet spot.
It wasn’t without headaches. A hospital president had me write his resume, and I sent it to him for review and asked for revisions. He replied that it sucked and it was unprofessional of me to ask extra to have his Linkedin profile updated.
No sweat. These are normal miscommunications in the sales world and nothing to take personally. I even offered him a full refund, but instead of taking me up on it, he reported my gig to Upwork and had the gig canceled.
You can’t do much about that, but you can better communicate your product and services to avoid confusion. I send the physician customer an exact breakdown of what I will deliver before proceeding with their order.
Halfway through the delivery deadline, I send the client a rough draft of the physician’s resume to ensure we are on the same page. Great, now we can proceed. Most confusion can be prevented this way.
How Much to Charge for Writing Physician Resumes
I would break it down into how many hours you need to edit the work.
Those interested in this service are likely disorganized and not the best communicators. Keep that in mind when calculating your time.
$150 per hour seems a reasonable start. It’s quite unlikely for you to have to spend more than 4.5 hours on a resume.
Charge Extra for Addons
I charge extra for add-ons. A standard resume should be 3 pages. Anything extra will cost more.
Some will have 35 articles they have authored and wants that hyperlinked to their physician resume. That’s extra.
I charge extra to create a beautiful, unique LinkedIn profile. I’m rather pleased with myself when I create these – they turn out quite professional.
Cover letters and interview prep are great add-ons to offer.
Which Software to Use for Resume Writing
If you use Google Drive, you can use some of the resume templates. They are too clunky for me, but there is the advantage of having an editable document and being able to download a pdf version of it.
Canva can create stunning resumes, but it has a learning curve. I also use to create other media for my websites and consulting services.
Cake Resume will take your resume to another level. And everyone loves to hold a well-organized resume in their hand. It might be a little excessive for a physician, but it will definitely make you stand out in a good way.
The Ideal Physician Resume Anatomy
Few decision-makers are excited to hold a 35-page resume in their hand or scroll through to find which medical school you attended and which year you actually started out as an attending.
Main Resume
The main resume should be 1-3 pages. There is nothing wrong with listing a section of published work referencing “supplemental resume available upon request.”
The main resume should have your medical school clearly listed. If there is any break in work, then that should be highlighted.
And sorry, few will care about the animal rescue work you did in high school or the patient transport work you did while waiting for medical school interviews.
State licenses and DEAs and their expiration dates are important to have.
Supplemental Resume
The supplemental resume is where you can throw in your “fun activities,” and all the work you have published, and which research poster presentation you attended.
If there have been any major negative marks on your professional record, they should go into your supplemental resume.
Should it be included? It should be listed if the HR or compliance department can find it.
Cover Letter
Every job should have a unique resume built. It’s tedious, but I’ve talked about how I whip out a basic resume on Linkedin.
The cover letter is where you introduce yourself and really make yourself shine. It’s a narrative of why you should get this job.
It’s not the place to be shy, reserved, or humble. Nor is it necessary to be boastful or cocky.
If you post research studies, you can list them on Linkedin and have a live link.
I have created resumes for physicians where I couldn’t find the research studies they listed. Only to be told that they didn’t actually publish it … don’t do that!
Check out the following related articles I’ve written in the past.