The appropriate CV to getting online jobs: it’s not rocket science

Selling yourself online is significantly different from the traditional way it is done for offline jobs. How we prepare and present our Curriculum Vitaes (CV) and attending interviews has changed to align to the digital world. Don’t get me wrong; the CV is still important, interviews and tests are still considered as a tool to get the right candidate for a particular job or service.

In this post I will share tips on how to sell yourself online as a freelancer. This post is under the assumption that you already have the basic resources that will enable you to get started online. I have written a separate article entitled ‘Freelancing in Africa is a possibility’ on that subject.

You must know what you want to be known for online. However, you can be a generalist commonly known as a ‘virtual assistant’.  You help people do what they are unable to do because they are either too busy to do it or they are incapable of doing it and charge them a fee for that.

I am an experienced freelancer who has worked online since 2014 on fiverr. Before I address the subject topic, I want share some pros and cons of working online to help you decide as to whether you want to go for it or not.

 

Pros

1. You chose what you want to be known for online. It’s not what you did in class but what you enjoy to do that you present in the face of the market.
2. You get exposed to a variety of assignments, making your job interesting.
3. Learning new things as customers guide you on their requirements.
4. Payment rates are in dollars, which is a powerful currency with a global reach.
5. Flexible working hours – you are given time to deliver in multiples of 24 hours, making it a good side hustle option
6. Your hard work is what promotes you, no one can downplay you but your work speaks for you.

Cons

1. You are exposed to working for less than you would want
2. Limited protection on job drop off
3. Time zones may clash and affect your response rate and competence. E.g.
4. Heavy reliance on electricity – computer and connection
5. Bank charges as you get paid in foreign currency
6. Diverse community makes it easy to clash

 

The structure of your online CV

Your CV must aim at demonstrating what you know and what you believe you are capable of doing. It is not much of an interest to know which school and university you went to but what matters is how much assistance you can offer to an employer. It is also about how much you are willing to learn as some jobs require that you follow instructions.

Trust me, this is not rocket science, you can do this. Let me make an example of a zoom meeting host job, which I am currently considering to add on the list of gigs that I can offer on fiverr. You can style your gig in different ways such as Virtual Meeting Moderator, Virtual Assistant for Zoom Meetings, Host Zoom Meetings, etc. You then have to mention your experience with the platform. For example, if I were to market myself I would write the following:

 

Virtual Zoom Meeting Moderator

I have managed at least two paid Zoom account for since 2020. Being the account holder makes me the planner, distributor of links to invitees, set up meeting limitations, manage the cloud recording space, host meetings, moderate, share recorded meeting links and manage subscriptions for the accounts are timely.  I am therefore a resource for planning your meeting yet I can be available in short notice. My experience includes hosting and moderating in international presentation, church meetings, memorial services, executive committee meetings, corporate strategy meeting and making presentations.

You can then package your offer the way you want, that is, how much you charge for specific amounts of time, presentation preparation, sending invites, translation services, cloud recording, etc.

Before I sign off this post, I want to bring your attention to a general service that you can offer called the virtual assistant (VA). There are low hanging fruits under this umbrella. A few of them are listed below:

• Email management
• Calendar management
• Booking appointments
• Following up with Clients/customers
• Blog writing
• Customer support (tools available e.g. zendesk.com)

Do come back for insight on freelancing and empower yourself for that side hustle that you have been thinking about.