By Mary Jo King, NCRW, NCOPE
Do a gut check right now and ask yourself, “What’s stopping me from trying for my NCRW?”
After all, you’ve heard about the advantages. The Nationally Certified Resume Writer (NCRW) credential means instant prestige for resume writers, branding you as the best of the best. It’s a smart business decision that will ramp up your visibility and your earnings.
Yet you’ve heard from the skeptics, too; those told by someone, somewhere, sometime that the NCRW process is too difficult and the graders too strict for all but an elite few to earn the certification. The real statistics may surprise you. In the last two years:
- 74% of those who took the exam passed it
- 90% of candidates passed the exam on their first attempt
Excellent grammar and punctuation skills are essential, of course, but everything else you need to know is in the NCRW Study Guide. So, how do you begin?
- Download the free NCRW Study Guide, available on demand to all NRWA members. Learn it well. Its 43 pages will make you a better writer even if you never sit for your exam.
- Buy a copy of The Gregg Reference Manual by William A. Sabin. As a meticulous writer, you need this tome regardless of your certification intent.
- Assess your current skill set. The certification process begins with a sample submission, where you will find yourself among the 27% deemed ready to proceed to the exam—or not.
- If you’re not ready, the NRWA offers many resources to help you get there, including the much lauded Writing Excellence Certification Preparation Program.
Expect to practice and study hard. Expect a rigorous process. Expect to succeed. And when you do, you’ll have more confidence in your advice and your product. Your clients will find success sooner. You’ll close more sales, command higher rates, enjoy better client relations, and receive more referrals.
You can do it—and you’ll love what the NCRW does for you!
Mary Jo has volunteered for the NRWA since 2012 and served as president in 2018. She currently chairs the Advisory Board, serves on the Certification Commission and Public Image Committees, and operates Alliance Resume and Writing Service as a solopreneur. You can find her on LinkedIn and at Alliance Resume and Writing Service.
