Why lying about your skills will never work

[donnovan86]

35 minutes ago, smashradio said:

I got the number from the F-1 filing mentioning march 2019 as a month with aprox. 255k "active sellers".

I see, nowadays due to the pandemic I can only assume the number is much higher. Although I guess it depends what they see as an active seller. A person that sells one gig per year might be seen as active... but they are far from that. Regardless, I can see more and more competitors, and the number of gigs in Articles and Blog Posts is triple what it was before the pandemic!

[smashradio]

7 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I see, nowadays due to the pandemic I can only assume the number is much higher. Although I guess it depends what they see as an active seller. A person that sells one gig per year might be seen as active... but they are far from that. Regardless, I can see more and more competitors, and the number of gigs in Articles and Blog Posts is triple what it was before the pandemic!

I don't doubt it. During the pandemic, everyone with a computer signed up for Fiverr in some countries, it seems. It was a desperate time and people did anything to get food on the table. Unfortunately – and this might seem cynical – I don't think Fiverr as a business made the right decision when they kept the door open the way they did. They didn't raise the bar to ensure a safe, trustworthy marketplace. 

[melanielm]

15 hours ago, newsmike said:

I am starting to think that the 20% we pay Fiverr should include search and destroy on this type of crap.  It makes Fiverr and it's sellers (us) a joke. 

Absolutely. 100% agree. Any action to expunge these types of sellers from the system will go a long way to boost Fiverr's reputation. I see so very many people elsewhere tell others to avoid Fiverr at all costs because it is full of scammers, liars, and unskilled people.

To add to the OP, copying someone else's gig description will not make you a skilled professional either. In fact, it makes you a thief. I find 10+ plagiarists every time I search for my gig descriptions here.

[donnovan86]

32 minutes ago, melanielm said:

avoid Fiverr at all costs because it is full of scammers, liars, and unskilled people

Then again, a buyer that performs some due dilligence and studies the market can easily find those rotten trees and ignore them. I do agree, removing those accounts will go a long way, but we know that will never happen as long as it's free to create a Fiverr account.

[fiveroptic1]

16 hours ago, newsmike said:

Plus my SM got "promoted" this week, and I got handed off to a new one in Tel Aviv, ....  Plus she has been on every email, and not bothered to respond to any,

Sounds as though we've got the same one! 

[dannykojima1]

10 hours ago, vickieito said:

@dannykojima1, You can submit a buyer's request by clicking on the "Post a Request" button on your main buyer's page. Or by clicking on your profile picture (this is also where you "Manage a Request.") The forum seems to be full of sellers asking about how to get buyer's requests, so it may be easier just to refer to the Help Center for tips:

https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360050062693-Buyer-Request-Tips

 

Oh, thank you so much Vickieito!

[dannykojima1]

10 hours ago, nomuffinsforyou said:

I saw your profile, your art is so good!! Thank you for giving your tips on how you practice drawing anatomy! Bit off-topic: maybe you can teach me some tips on painting as well? >u< 

Art is very difficult to get commissions I think, you have to be confident and good at what you do. If your art is bad no one will come to you 😞 If you lie about your skill people can REALLY tell it. If you post your art in other social media and you lie about your skill, people will really come after you and prevent you from ever making art again

Aww you're welcome, nomuffinsforyou! Of course, drawing human anatomy is the hardest part if you have never try human figure drawing before, beside creating animal art. Character design concept art is really fun to create when you're not doing commission work for the clients, because you a chance to sharpen your creative artistic skills in drawing. I would suggest find some good portrait art you like, and practice drawing a portrait using gesture technique. I always use gesture drawing when start out sketching from head to shoulder before draw a face.

It's not hard to get a commission once you have the skills in art, you can share your art on ArtStation and Deviant Art all you wants. But of course, you may receive a commission a lot faster on Artstation from the indie or the AAA Games. Most artists I knew on Facebook are still work as a 3D character designer at Activision and Ubisoft on Assassin's Creed project. It really depend on your style how you create which will catch the game or film company attention. You will be lucky to be the person to receive a job proposal from these company on Artstation such: Walt Disney, Warner Brother, Activision, Ubisoft, EA Games and many other big company out there depend how they browse around your art portfolio on Artstation and, of course Deviant Art as well.

As you mentioned "If you lie about your skill", I have seen that a lot around Facebook 9 years ago, when some guy post bunch of 3D Star Trek artwork on his Facebook, and everyone was so impressed by his work. Then someone came to me and accused the guy (who posting Star Trek art) of plagiarism. He also said when the TV producer sent the guy a job proposal to design a new Star Trek spaceship if he could designed one similar to the one he posted on his Facebook. Unfortunately the guy couldn't do it. Then they realized guy was plagiarism and all the 3D space art wasn't his original work. He actually took from someone else and shared it on Facebook. I was shocked when they told me this.

Since you brought up teaching drawing tips, of course, I can give you some tips on how to paint realistic skins and texture colors and portrait drawing. And I will post a link of my speed drawing YouTube video on my Fiverr profile status and see if Fiverr allow me share a link of my speed-drawing video.

[melanielm]

4 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

Then again, a buyer that performs some due dilligence and studies the market can easily find those rotten trees and ignore them. I do agree, removing those accounts will go a long way, but we know that will never happen as long as it's free to create a Fiverr account.

Oh, absolutely. I'm not at all fond of the negative reputation. It would help all of us for Fiverr to be the shining beacon of excellence we all know it can be.

Edited June 2, 2022 by melanielm
I used an emoji. What was I thinking?

[williambryan392]

20 hours ago, mariashtelle1 said:

Yep, they also changed my SSM and the replies I received from a new person were not better than CSs copy pasted replies. I even cancelled my last scheduled call because I felt meh after those responses

My first SSM really wasn't great. He'd been at Fiverr a couple of months when I was assigned to him after getting on the program.

In February I told him my goals for the year on Fiverr were to make TRS and have a 5 figure revenue month.

He told me not to aim so high, it wasn't going to happen, and to consider doing other things apart from Fiverr (which I already do).

He left after 6 months at Fiverr.

My new success manager has been brilliant by comparrison. I've hit one of these goals, and getting close to the second.

It really is luck of the draw re SSMs.

If you're not getting value then you should definitely change. I'm sure it also sends a flag to Fiverr re that SSM if sellers are requesting a change.

 

[frank_d]

On 6/2/2022 at 1:18 PM, smashradio said:

Somehow, I doubt it will happen, yet @frank_d has promised us something that will deal with a lot of the issues on Fiverr. He's keeping us on our toes about it. I bet he enjoys himself doing it, too, don't you, Frank? I can picture you with a smug smile, sipping red wine and doing an evil laugh every time someone asks about it on the forum. 😄 

 

 

 

[vickieito]

On 6/2/2022 at 4:46 AM, smashradio said:

In my view, the number one reason why a new buyer isn't making it, is because they lie about their skills...If you wish to go into freelancing and have any kind of success, you better be honest about your skills. And your limitations. 

On 6/2/2022 at 9:28 AM, mariashtelle1 said:

Worst part that a lot of them are not even lying, they really believe that pressing three buttons to remove background makes them “photoshop exparts” and “digital marketers” after they took 5 min course on how to publish FB ad. 

I don't know why, but I've been mulling over both of your comments for the last few days. I've certainly been guilty of taking the "fake it 'till you make it" or a "try it and see if you can do it" approach. Or "take a course and post a gig" approach.

For almost every one of my gigs, I never really had paid experiences outside of Fiverr to do the services that I offer. So every order was a test on whether I could really do the service that I was offering or not. I've been very lucky because so far I've been successful, and I can now say that I'm proficient at what I do. However in the beginning, I couldn't say that.

I'll be honest that I've accepted many orders that I did not know if I could deliver and luckily I could...after MANY, MANY hours of going overboard on the efforts (because I refuse to deliver subpar work or anything less than excellent).

So this makes me wonder, am I in the same category of "liars" that are saturating the Fiverr marketplace, but have just been a lucky liar that can actually perform well and keep my buyers happy?

[williambryan392]

Interesting points @vickieito!

I certainly don't think you need to have paid clients away from fiverr to be a credible / good fiverr seller.

If the buyer is happy, then great, you did a good job.

The only caveat depends on what they are buying....

With a piece of art, a background removal, or a video animation for example a buyer can judge for themselves, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A business plan on the other hand, the buyer doesn't know what makes a good business plan (generally speaking) and is why they've reached out to a 'professional'.

I've had so, so many rubbish plans brought to me by people that were surprised when I explained they weren't any good. This really annoys me because people trust the seller. The same with LinkedIn and CVs which I know we both sell. Some sellers sell rubbish (I'm not suggesting you or I do sell rubbish) and the buyer doesn't know until it's too late, if ever.

Another example...

If someone says they're a good chef, and they give me a meal, I can judge for myself if I'm happy with their work.

If someone says they're a good doctor, and they give me a diagnosis, prognosis and treatment program, I can't judge for myself until perhaps it's too late.

There's no harm in the chef practicing their trade without prior experience / training / skills.

There's an immense amount of harm in the doctor practicing their trade without prior experience / training / skills.

Hope that makes sense!

Edited June 5, 2022 by williambryan392

[miiila]

46 minutes ago, vickieito said:

I've accepted many orders that I did not know if I could deliver and luckily I could...after MANY, MANY hours of going overboard on the efforts (because I refuse to deliver subpar work or anything less than excellent).

So this makes me wonder, am I in the same category of "liars" that are saturating the Fiverr marketplace, but have just been a lucky liar that can actually perform well and keep my buyers happy?

Sounds like the learning by doing approach, and as long as the outcome is fine, and buyers are getting what they pay for, I don't see a real problem with it, everyone needs to start at some point.

The question of have you been a liar, depends on the specifics, from my point of view. If your Gig, or you, don't claim to be working in that field for x years, or have some non-existent university grade posted on your profile, or anything like that, a buyer shouldn't, and probably most also won't expect that you have, if they come here and buy from a seller without such credentials on their profile. They can see all kinds of profiles, with or without such things, and decide whether to contact/buy from someone with or without.

And many come here, exactly because they want to buy from someone who does a good job but isn't out of their budget comfort zone, and are absolutely fine buying from someone who does not have a university degree in this and twenty years of experience in that, and if you don't deliver anything less than excellent, that should be enough for many people who do buy from a seller with a profile/Gigs like yours.
You also do sound as if you may not know, but pretty much know, after all, if that makes sense, while I think those "liars" some people talk about, are mostly people who either exactly know that they do deliver subpar work, or absolutely lack the ability to know it, and the self-reflection, and the skills to quickly learn what they don't know.

I sometimes get people who ask if I can do things that aren't advertised in my Gigs, or if I have experience with a specific niche, or a specific tool they use, or so, at times even things that don't have anything whatsoever to do with my Gigs. Sometimes, I decline, even if I know I can do it well or well enough. Sometimes, if I'm reasonably sure I can do it, and want to do it, I'll tell it like it is, that I have no, or little, or some experience with X, but that I don't think it will be a problem. I'm not pushy at all, and will often tell them something like "if you're looking for someone who's specialized in X, maybe see if you can find someone first, you still can come back, if you can't". If the person wants to hire me for the job then, great; if not, also great. 

How would you feel about your profile, Gigs, communication, work and deliveries, if you weren't you but a buyer, would you call that Vickie person a liar?

Tsumari, as long as your Gigs and profile don't lie, and you don't lie to customers in communication, and they get what they bought, and an excellent result, even if you spend many many (unpaid) hours on something that someone with more experience may have done in fifteen minutes, I don't see an issue, and don't see the lie.

[smashradio]

4 hours ago, vickieito said:

So this makes me wonder, am I in the same category of "liars" that are saturating the Fiverr marketplace, but have just been a lucky liar that can actually perform well and keep my buyers happy?

Here's the thing: Most of these liars and pretenders will market themselves as "experts" or "specialists". That's the first lie. They will also promise to do something they can't. 

I wonder: when you came back to Fiverr after a couple of years – with a plan this time around –did you know, at least to yourself, that you had the skills required to perform the services you would sell? 

You don't have to be an expert to sell on Fiverr. But you have to be an expert to market yourself as one. That's the difference.

I have no formal training as a voice over actor (I never went to school for it!). In fact, I'm self taught. I had work lots of prior work experience, so I knew I could do it well. 

I'm also a self taught translator, and I've worked as a journalist for years without ever going to school for it. 

So you don't really need any formal education or prior experience to be good at something. 

I think the core of the issue is self-deceit. The pretenders fool themselves, just as much as they try to fool the buyers. 

4 hours ago, vickieito said:

I'll be honest that I've accepted many orders that I did not know if I could deliver and luckily I could...after MANY, MANY hours of going overboard on the efforts (because I refuse to deliver subpar work or anything less than excellent).

So this makes me wonder, am I in the same category of "liars" that are saturating the Fiverr marketplace, but have just been a lucky liar that can actually perform well and keep my buyers happy?

You went overboard with your efforts. You refuse to deliver subpar work. Maybe you shouldn't have accepted those orders until you've learned the trade, but then again, I've accepted voice over jobs as Santa Claus, even though I usually don't offer character voices, because I'm not very good at them, to be honest. All though I do a killer Goofy laugh!

I informed the buyer that character voices isn't something I excel at, pointed out that it's in my gig FAQ, and offered a cancellation. But I also said that I'd be happy to try, and if they liked it, they could keep it. If not, we could cancel the order. The client ended up loving it, and I'm now their yearly Santa Claus. I'm still no good at it, but they liked it, so I guess I'm in the clear. My point: I was honest about my limitations and didn't promise something I couldn't keep. 

4 hours ago, williambryan392 said:

With a piece of art, a background removal, or a video animation for example a buyer can judge for themselves, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A business plan on the other hand, the buyer doesn't know what makes a good business plan (generally speaking) and is why they've reached out to a 'professional'.

I'll add to this, that as a translator, my clients are often from other countries. They don't know if the translation is any good. Far too often, they will come to me with a document they bought from some cheap translator on Fiverr, and ask me to just "confirm" if it's good. 

They usually end up ordering from me when I highlight all the mistakes/clearly Google translated content. 

When I do, they will go "Oh, but he said he was native!" or "She promised me a manual translation!". 

So yes - you might be able to get away with certain things/niches, but frankly, I don't care if you can "get away with it". It's just like those people with fake university degrees. Even if you can get away with it, it's unethical. 

The other day, I checked out a couple of web designer gigs on Fiverr (helping out forum members). One of them had the typical "I'm expart web developer with much long experience". He offered to "customize wix templates". That has nothing to do with "web development". Also, the guy was probably 16 years of age.

Now that's a pretender. A liar. 

The other one had something akin to "I'm a web design intern at a large agency here in *Country*. As a side project, I create websites for my clients using WordPress.".

He was honest. An intern. Cool! Still learning, but he wouldn't get that spot at his agency if he was completely useless. 

 

[catwriter]

5 hours ago, williambryan392 said:

There's no harm in the chef practicing their trade without prior experience / training / skills.

Unless you're ordering fugu.

[williambryan392]

1 minute ago, catwriter said:

Unless you're ordering fugu.

Yeah you're right 🤦‍♂️ 🐡

The chef analogy is not the best!

 

[vickieito]

On 6/5/2022 at 9:30 PM, williambryan392 said:

If someone says they're a good chef, and they give me a meal, I can judge for myself if I'm happy with their work.

If someone says they're a good doctor, and they give me a diagnosis, prognosis and treatment program, I can't judge for myself until perhaps it's too late.

There's no harm in the chef practicing their trade without prior experience / training / skills.

There's an immense amount of harm in the doctor practicing their trade without prior experience / training / skills.

Hope that makes sense!

On 6/6/2022 at 2:51 AM, catwriter said:

Unless you're ordering fugu.

Well said @catwriter! 😂 

Jokes aside, I do like the points @williambryan392 brought up regarding the risk levels associated with the type of services that we offer. I do consider my resume writing gig one of my higher-risk gigs. I'm very lucky that I get a lot of post-order feedback from my buyers. They usually share with me screenshots from employers stating that they were impressed with the quality of my cover letters and resumes. It's also nice when they tell me my CVs helped them land a job. So it's these unsolicited post-order feedback that have really given me confidence in my abilities.

On 6/5/2022 at 10:43 PM, miiila said:

I think those "liars" some people talk about, are mostly people who either exactly know that they do deliver subpar work, or absolutely lack the ability to know it, and the self-reflection, and the skills to quickly learn what they don't know.

On 6/6/2022 at 1:48 AM, smashradio said:

Here's the thing: Most of these liars and pretenders will market themselves as "experts" or "specialists". That's the first lie. They will also promise to do something they can't. 

Thanks! I like both of your definitions of "liar."

On 6/5/2022 at 10:43 PM, miiila said:

I sometimes get people who ask if I can do things that aren't advertised in my Gigs, or if I have experience with a specific niche, or a specific tool they use, or so, at times even things that don't have anything whatsoever to do with my Gigs. ... if I'm reasonably sure I can do it, and want to do it, I'll tell it like it is, that I have no, or little, or some experience with X, but that I don't think it will be a problem. I'm not pushy at all, and will often tell them something like "if you're looking for someone who's specialized in X, maybe see if you can find someone first, you still can come back, if you can't". If the person wants to hire me for the job then, great; if not, also great. 

On 6/6/2022 at 1:48 AM, smashradio said:

I informed the buyer that character voices isn't something I excel at, pointed out that it's in my gig FAQ, and offered a cancellation. But I also said that I'd be happy to try, and if they liked it, they could keep it. If not, we could cancel the order. The client ended up loving it, and I'm now their yearly Santa Claus. I'm still no good at it, but they liked it, so I guess I'm in the clear. My point: I was honest about my limitations and didn't promise something I couldn't keep. 

This is how I've gotten most of my current business (through people asking me to do things that aren't specifically advertised in my gigs). I'm glad that my approach is similar to both of yours. I'm honest about my limitations and experience levels and direct them to look for "experts" on Fiverr. If they still want to try out my services and are willing to let me try it out, then I'll give them a custom order.

On 6/6/2022 at 1:48 AM, smashradio said:

You don't have to be an expert to sell on Fiverr. ... I have no formal training as a voice over actor (I never went to school for it!). In fact, I'm self taught. I had work lots of prior work experience, so I knew I could do it well. 

I'm also a self taught translator, and I've worked as a journalist for years without ever going to school for it. 

So you don't really need any formal education or prior experience to be good at something. ...

You went overboard with your efforts. You refuse to deliver subpar work. Maybe you shouldn't have accepted those orders until you've learned the trade, but then again, I've accepted voice over jobs as Santa Claus, even though I usually don't offer character voices, because I'm not very good at them, to be honest. All though I do a killer Goofy laugh!

Thanks @smashradio! It's inspiring to hear that you don't have any formal training either but have been able to prove yourself in the Fiverr marketplace.

... I'd love to hear your character voices!

On 6/5/2022 at 10:43 PM, miiila said:

as long as your Gigs and profile don't lie, and you don't lie to customers in communication, and they get what they bought, and an excellent result, even if you spend many many (unpaid) hours on something that someone with more experience may have done in fifteen minutes, I don't see an issue, and don't see the lie.

Thanks for all your comments, @miiila! This makes me feel better about myself. I think my recent "mulling" has been a result of imposter syndrome kicking in. I'm not sure why those feelings have come in right now, but I'll try to ignore them and focus my energies on more productive things, such as building my business and learning as much as I can. Thanks for all your help!

[smashradio]

10 hours ago, vickieito said:

 

Thanks @smashradio! It's inspiring to hear that you don't have any formal training either but have been able to prove yourself in the Fiverr marketplace.

... I'd love to hear your character voices!

 

Maybe some day 😄 But not day. Probably not tomorrow. 

A lot of sellers have little to no formal training. That doesn't mean you're not good at what you do.

I think the issue is 18-year-old guys in certain countries who have been told that they can just make an account on Fiverr and they will get rich.

There are so many "Get rich quick" guides for Fiverr out there, mostly tailored towards people in developing countries where opportunities are few and far between.

They likely went to a school where they didn't have access to computers (or some Windows XP laptop shared by the entire class, at best).

They come from countries where being a fully educated doctor will net you a few hundred per month.

For most of their lives, they had the entire family to support them. They had programmes helping them from the international community. They are used to getting things handed to them.

So they go on Fiverr, write "Am expart marketing engineer consulttint forr u pro pro pro pro", add a thumbnail they stole from some other seller who did the same before them, and sit back, waiting for the orders to come in. 

It's a vicious circle perpetuated by the "gurus" who promise riches online by doing as little as possible. 

That's your "liars". Not a sincere seller who says to herself, "Hey, I'm actually rather good at writing. Maybe I'll try putting those skills to good use!". The liar, on the other hand, has no skills. At least, no relevant skills. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by smashradio

[williambryan392]

11 hours ago, vickieito said:

I'm very lucky that I get a lot of post-order feedback from my buyers. They usually share with me screenshots from employers stating that they were impressed with the quality of my cover letters and resumes.

The proof is in the pudding! 

All you've done is put your skills to use, test, and be proven correct- that you can provide a quality service. Nothing wrong with that, and in fact it should be commended. Sellers providing rubbish that buyers depend on and don't know better about are the problem.

On a separate but connected note, I do wonder where some of these services land on the ethical spectrum. I raised this once about ghost writing and was slightly torn apart.

Now, to be clear and as you know I do offer LinkedIn, cover letter and CV writing services myself. So it's definitely not something I do believe is unethical, but I do sometimes wonder if it could be considered to be. (I like a little debate!)

Shouldn't a CV, profile or letter be the work of the applicant if the prospective employer is going to judge them by it?

Aren't we effectively completing part of the application process for them? Is that right...?

Like I say I'm not saying it's not ethical, and I'm not going to stop offering it, but I'm just wondering if it could be considered to be.

Thoughts...?

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by williambryan392

[theratypist]

34 minutes ago, williambryan392 said:

Thoughts...?

They still have to ace themselves in the interview.. should there be one. And if everyone's being honest with all the skills and services content wise of said resume, then you're just maximizing their talent. Highlighting what needs to shine.

Haha anyway, those services are fairly popular and its made a lot of people $$$. 

https://www.fiverr.com/news/charmaine-pennyhoarder

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/teacher-made-7-figures-in-sales-from-resume-writing-fiverr-side-hustle.html

[williambryan392]

6 minutes ago, theratypist said:

Highlighting what needs to shine

Great point well made.

[theratypist]

11 minutes ago, williambryan392 said:

Great point well made.

Curious though, have you encountered "difficult" cases? 😅 Haha I was about to say hopeless but I didn't want to assume anything too drastic. For the most part, I would assume people seeking such services should have some strong skillsets or some degree of self awareness.

[williambryan392]

8 minutes ago, theratypist said:

"difficult" cases

I had one that wanted me to actively lie on their LinkedIn, to say they were employed at companies that they weren't employed at, say they had done stuff they hadn't. CS were understanding and cancelled the order.

[smashradio]

1 hour ago, williambryan392 said:

Shouldn't a CV, profile or letter be the work of the applicant if the prospective employer is going to judge them by it?

Aren't we effectively completing part of the application process for them? Is that right...?

Like I say I'm not saying it's not ethical, and I'm not going to stop offering it, but I'm just wondering if it could be considered to be.

Thoughts...?

I would say it depends. Is the candidate applying for a job as a writer? Or a job that requires them to be great at writing? 

If so, I'd say it's a borderline case, not unlike academic work. 

If I was a boss, and I found out that an applicant didn't write their own CV, I would disregard the individual right then and there. 

That said, I believe it should be up to the applicant, not the writer. You've been hired to do a job. If the applicant chooses to use your services to misrepresent themselves, that's on them. 

Let's say I'm applying for a job as a receptionist. The job requires me to speak fluent English. It also requires me to have excellent customer service skills and previous experience. I have all of these things in order. What I'm lacking, is the skill of writing a great CV. The information on the CV is true. I'm not misrepresenting my skills. Yet, I never had to write a proper CV before, because my last job was given to me by my dad, who was the boss at that company. So I need some help putting it together in a way that will get the attention of this new employer. 

I see no ethical issues with that, whatsoever. 

But let's say I'm applying to a job as a job consultant at the municipality. Part of my job will be to guide job seekers on how to write effective CVs. But because I know nothing about writing a great CV, I hire you to do it for me. 

That's unethical. 

 

[vickieito]

13 hours ago, williambryan392 said:

Shouldn't a CV, profile or letter be the work of the applicant if the prospective employer is going to judge them by it?

11 hours ago, smashradio said:

I would say it depends.

I agree with @smashradio. It depends on the applicant's intent for having the CV written.

If it's to deceive, then yes, it is wrong.

If they are qualified in every point, but struggle with writing the resume and (as @smashradio mentions) the "information on the CV is true," then as @theratypist mentions, we're just "highlighting what needs to shine."

I, for one, hate writing my own resume. I love writing resumes for others and have a knack for highlighting their best skills and attributes but when it comes to my own, it's a real pain. I don't like saying what I can do, I want to show it. I believe my work should speak for itself. That's why I love working on Fiverr, I don't have to share my resume. Unfortunately for many of my clients, they have to go through this self-promotion process to get a job and I feel their pain.

I like to see the resume as the applicant's "first impression." Like a business card or suit, applicants usually pay a professional to get it done. Business cards printed off a home computer could look tacky. And a homemade business suit might make candidates look like Raggedy Ann and Andy. So job applicants pay a professional printer and tailor to make a good first impression on their future employer. A professional resume shouldn't be any different.

12 hours ago, theratypist said:

those services are fairly popular and its made a lot of people $$$. 

https://www.fiverr.com/news/charmaine-pennyhoarder

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/teacher-made-7-figures-in-sales-from-resume-writing-fiverr-side-hustle.html

I remember that article about Charmaine! Both are really great stories. I'm sure they inspired many people to start working on the platform!

12 hours ago, theratypist said:

Curious though, have you encountered "difficult" cases? 😅 

12 hours ago, williambryan392 said:

I had one that wanted me to actively lie on their LinkedIn

I had that too! The buyer gave me all her information and I created a resume. She absolutely loved the resume, but started to say she felt "nervous." After probing, I found out that she had lied about her education and degree because she thought it would look better. Luckily she agreed with me when I told her it was best to be honest, so we quickly updated the resume with the correct information.

My most "difficult" case was writing a resume for someone trying to transition into the adult entertainment industry. I could not, for the life of me, find keywords by web research. All I found were graphic images and videos that I didn't want to see. I ended up declining the job and blocking the buyer (twice under two accounts!) for flooding my inbox with hours of explicit language and stories even when I repeatedly asked the buyer to stop.

Another fun one, was a client who sent me her bio in Swedish and I used Google translate and chat sessions to understand the client's previous roles. I gathered all the details first before taking on the order, so I knew I could easily create a resume for this client.

Edited June 9, 2022 by vickieito