How to package them for editing work
When I tell people I help academics become editors and coaches, they always ask the same question.
“But don’t you need training for that? Don’t you need a certificate or something?”
I understand why they ask. We’ve been conditioned to think that every new thing requires formal credentials. But when I started my editing business, I learned that we already know how to do this.
The resume I didn’t want to write
After I left academia, I spent months applying to non-academic jobs. I kept getting rejected or told I was “overqualified,” which is just a polite way of saying they had no idea what to do with a PhD.
Then I decided to try freelance editing and found that the first thing I needed to do was write a one-page resume.
One page.
I sat there staring at the blank document thinking, how am I supposed to fit 15 years of academic work onto one page? And more importantly, what even goes on there?
I knew I couldn’t list every publication or describe my dissertation research. I couldn’t explain the theoretical framework of my work.
And, none of that mattered for what I was trying to do.
What academic editing agencies actually want to see in a resume
I had to start from scratch and actually think about what editing agencies and presses wanted to see.
And what they wanted was simple:
- Do you have a terminal degree?
- Have you worked with student writing?
- Have you given feedback on research?
- Can you edit clearly and on deadline?
That’s it.
So I wrote down that I’d taught writing-intensive courses. I noted how many students I’d supervised. I mentioned peer review work for journals. I highlighted that I’d co-authored a book and worked with a professional editor.
It wasn’t impressive in an academic sense. It was just factual.
But when I sent it out to editing agencies, they hired me because I’d been doing the work already.
Which of your academic skills are marketable?
In my webinars, I walk everyone through this exact process. And the first thing I tell people is: you already have the experience.
You’ve been:
- editing your colleagues’ papers
- giving feedback on grant applications
- mentoring students through their writing process
- reviewing manuscripts for journals.
That’s editing work, coaching work, and importantly, that’s what people pay for.
The only difference is you’ve been calling it “service” or “collegiality” or “mentoring.”
But those are just academic words for professional skills that have value outside the university.
How to talk about your academic experience on your resume
Here’s what I tell members of my coaching program when they’re writing their resumes:
Don’t say “I have extensive experience with academic writing.”
Say “I’ve taught 12 writing-intensive courses over 6 years.”
Don’t say “I regularly provide feedback to colleagues.”
Say “I’ve edited 15+ journal articles and book chapters for publication.”
Don’t say “I mentor graduate students.”
Say “I’ve supervised 8 doctoral students through their dissertation process.”
You’re not making anything up. You’re just being specific about work you’ve actually done, which makes you hireable.
How I reframed my academic skills and landed editing jobs
I sent my one-page resume to maybe 30 editing agencies and academic presses.
I started getting hired by agencies. Nearly everyone who follows this process ends up getting hired, and it often happens within a couple of weeks.
After a couple of years of freelancing for agencies and presses, I got to the point where I matched my previous faculty salary, but I was working just 25 to 30 hours a week instead of seven days a week.
All because I finally recognized that what I’d been doing for free in academia was actually a marketable skill.
The shift you need to make to become an academic editor
You don’t need more training, credentials, or to become something you’re not.
You just need to recognize what you already do and learn how to talk about it in a way that makes sense outside academia.
And once you can do that, once you can write about it clearly, the rest is just logistics. If you’re stuck trying to figure out how to translate your academic experience into something people will hire you for, get my free video series where I share my story and walk you through exactly how to get started editing or coaching.