One of my subcontractors recently asked me if she could add my client’s name to her resume, since she’d been doing work for them on my behalf. "No problem," I replied. "But why are you sending out a resume to solicit consulting work?"
My friend often sends her resume to prospective clients. If that works for her, fair enough. But I never send my resume when I’m trying to land a client.
Why? When I’m trying to land a deal, I’m acting as a business. I’m not an employee. I happily point prospective clients to a custom-written bio, my website, testimonials and references. These tools serve a similar purpose, but they’re not the same as a resume.
You don’t ask your hairdresser, plumber or mechanic for a resume. And you don’t ask your banker or accountant for a resume. So don’t act like a prospective employee when you’re trying to land a deal.
Do you use your resume for consulting work?
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As an engineering consultant (for a medium sized engineering consulting company) we almost always sent out proposals that included 1 page resumes of people that were likely to work on the project.
I can see doing that, under the guise of a company. But including resumes in a proposal is a lot different from sending your resume out to “apply” for a consulting job.