Is it advisable to write your own resume?

Joe asks: I'm a marketing professional and a competent and creative writer, yet every attempt I have ever made at writing my own resume has fallen flat. (The resumes I have written for clients seem to have resulted in some pretty decent job offers...)

Is it possible to be so close to your own experience, and so lacking in knowledge of what others might consider important that you may not be competent to write your own resume? A few points of clarification in terms of what really motivated me to ask the question in the first place:

1. I have been out of the job market for about 12 years during which time I have been running a full service marketing/PR/advertising consultancy. I've gained tons of experience and kept very current, but I am a bit baffled about how to position myself.

2. Maybe it's because I'm a Gemini, or perhaps it was just to stay sane but I've always tried to be competent in a lot of different areas; a generalist more than a specialist. Others could either view that as an advantage or a lack of focus.

3. I consider myself a competent and seasoned professional but I am getting a little long in the tooth. Is age bias something I will have to contend with or will most companies appreciate maturity and experience?

4. I haven't really needed a resume for a long time, but I do have one and have attempted to keep it updated. The thing is, my LinkedIn profile really does a much better job of communicating who I am and what I am all about.

In answer:
Should you write your own CV./Resume - depends! The only true answer is that everyone owns their own CV/Resume.

The question is answered in combination by - can you write; can you market (its a bit more about structure choice and emphasis in the case of CV/Resume writing); do you know what skills you have/don't have/are required in the market which you don't recognise you have; and can you objectively put that all together in a document?

In a quick audit, you clearly have skills 1 and 2, but I suspect you are too close to you to accomplish 3 which is highly detrimental in achieving the final winning result.

Before suggesting you might like to think later about starting a part-time job as a CV/Resume writer (you have the right skills base), you need a bit of external help in the form of a career coach over a CV/Resume writer. I'd say one hour of a chat with a professional over a phone would help you to resolve the skills and projection question for you to highly competently write your own CV/Resume.

You have been quite open in your question and clarification points Joe, and placing you will be fairly easy - that's a great set of skills you have, that are highly desired in the market place. You just need someone at present to act as an objective and clarifying wall in that middle stage to help you achieve employment.

If I can help you any further, please just ask - and Good Luck!