College Money

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People are always looking for college student money making ideas and this blog is full of them. One idea that a friend of mine came up with is making money writing resumes for all the people she knows that are graduating from college and entering the job market. This is how she spent her summer basically milking this money making idea.

Having a professional resume or CV is critical for today’s job hunters.  With the struggling economy and high unemployment rates there is more competition for jobs than ever before.  A professionally written resume increases the chances of getting an interview.  Recruiters say hiring is based 70% on presentation and 30% on education/skills of applicant.  Summer is a good time for college students to make money doing this because of all the people that graduate around the summer months.

Remember presentation – 70% of landing the job; strut your stuff!  So here’s how you can make the most of this college student money making idea writing killer resumes for other college students and others. First, if you’re not good at writing a good resume, well, this is the time when you could learn.  Also, there are all kinds of  resume generators that you can use to just crank out amazing resumes. You should also learn how to write amazing cover letters to go along with the resumes that you’ll be writing for people. And at the very least, you can use a cover letter generator for this too, like my friend did.

To get your business going, you should make several sample resumes and laminate them letting clients see what they are paying for and allow them to choose different layouts and fonts.  Check out this site http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101043371033.aspx for basic and occupation specific resume/CV templates.  Offer a choice of resume paper.  Papers come in a variety of textures such as linen, parchment, and bamboo; colors are equally as important traditional choices include white, ivory, grey, and blue-grey.

How much can you earn generating resumes will vary on your location, do a little research for specific costs in your area.  Here are some ideas to get you going.  A $50 package includes a basic resume printed and delivered in plastic cover with a cover letter; all items saved to a CD so owner can update as needed.  A $75 package contains an occupation-specific resume printed and delivered in a plastic cover, a cover letter, a thank you letter, a reference list, and all items saved to CD.  The $100 package is the previous package plus a one page executive summary/biography.  An additional service you may choose to offer for an additional fee or incorporate into your package prices is to post the resume to online job sites for the client, a few examples www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com, and www.headhunters.com.

You will want to promote your business; the most common ways of doing so would be using fliers or brochures, business cards, and word of mouth advertising.  You can print out the fliers and business cards from your PC –the necessary stationary is available at office supply stores.  Invest in advertising by having fliers and cards printed for you; people give professional materials more consideration.

Hang fliers at the student union, bulletin boards around campus, and place on windshields of parked cars; post your flier on bulletin boards at local businesses in the community which you live.  Try running ads in the local or college newspaper, use free online classifieds like www.classifieds.myspace.com, www.webclassifieds.us, and www.craigslist.org to increase your target market.  If you want to globally expand your service area, there are online freelance services you can join (some charge a fee) to scout out resume writing opportunities.  Some of the freelance communities I am familiar with are http://jobs.freelanceswitch.com, www.guru.com, and www.getafreelancer.com.

To further attract clients, offer student discounts.  Referral plans are a great resource as well; you pay people a small token, say $5, for each referral that turns into a paying customer.  There are lots of college student money making ideas that you can come up with and this is just one of them. All you need to do is get your creative juices flowing and I ‘m sure you can come up with some ideas of your own.

College Student Money Making Ideas for YOU!5.051