I charge up to $2,000 to rewrite people's résumés. Here's how I turned my HR expertise and side gig into a lucrative career.

• Dawid Wiacek is a résumé writer and coach who got started helping out friends on the side.
• He said when he started taking his work seriously and charging more he saw more success.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dawid Wiacek, a 37-year-old executive career coach and résumé writer and the founder of Career Fixer, who's based in White Plains, New York. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Like most kids, I didn't even know résumé writing was a profession. I ended up in this career entirely by accident.

My first job out of college was as a customer-service representative for a tech startup — specifically, an online job board for executives. I was in my early 20s with no corporate experience, and I was helping managers and senior-level professionals find jobs. But it taught me a lot, and so I started applying those skills by writing résumés on the side for family and friends, often for free.

This initial job was mostly editing, but sometimes it meant rewriting a résumé because the original document I received was a faxed copy, or so outdated and irrelevant that it just made sense to start fresh. Occasionally, I'd have to create a résumé from scratch because someone didn't have one.

Sometimes, I'd charge a nominal fee, maybe $50, that I called my "ice cream money" — since my full-time job covered my main expenses (but barely), this extra money I made from résumé writing would be used for nonessential "extras." I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and I like ice cream, so that's why I chose that phrase, but I didn't spend all of it on ice cream — I would save it up and help pay for things like weekend getaways and special nights out.

People were impressed with the quality of my work, and it not only made people feel better about themselves but actually helped them land job interviews.

I meandered through various HR-adjacent roles after my first job, working at a nonprofit, a startup-recruiting agency, a marketing agency, a large private corporation, and even the government. This diverse experience helps me to this day, since my clients span all industries and functions.

Once you start treating résumé writing seriously, the game changes

When I first started helping people with their résumés, I saw it as a side business or a hobby. By 2015, I realized that I was really good at it, and I didn't want to work for anyone else or have to commute to a job anymore. But with a steady paycheck, I didn't have much incentive to build up a résumé business. I needed a kick in the rear.

So that spring, I quit my job. The risk paid off in the long run because I now own my own business, make my own schedule, and do something I love that's highly rewarding. I also make more money than I did at my full-time job, and I don't usually work full-time hours.

Today, I'm comfortable writing executive résumés and coaching C-suite talent and other professionals. Working with VPs and CEOs is demanding and intense work, but it's highly rewarding.

Here are some of the most important things I've learned about succeeding as a résumé writer:

Don't just spot typos — help people overcome self-doubt

Obviously, writing résumés is about so much more than fixing typos: It's about capturing a person's professional essence and conveying their unique value to the marketplace. That's the part that I enjoy most about the job. In my eyes, being a great résumé writer and being a great career coach are one and the same.

Most of my clients are via word-of-mouth referrals, and clients now come to me for an integrated suite of services. I'm not just a résumé writer — I'm a thought partner in how my clients approach their current job, their next job, and their career as a whole. I'm also a hype man, a salary booster, and a sales strategist.

Having a well-written résumé can actually be a waste of money if your confidence is low, or you lack a clear focus for your job search, or you avoid networking. A résumé is only part of the candidate's professional arsenal. Your attitude, LinkedIn presence, and networking skills are all profoundly important, so I offer services related to these elements in addition to résumé rewrites. Because clients already trusted and liked my work with their résumé, it was a natural step for them to hire me for coaching.

Place a premium on the ROI of your work

It took me a couple of years to build up a solid enough reputation that I could make most of my money from résumé writing, so early on, when I only had a handful of résumé clients, I would also take on adjacent freelance writing work.

Immediately after going full-time, I raised my rates to approximately $100 per resume. $50 for a résumé rewrite wasn't going to cut it for covering my living expenses, especially since it took me five to 10 hours back then to properly rewrite a résumé once I added up the intake call, research, formatting, writing, editing, client emails, and other administrative work.

After that, I started raising my rate every six to 12 months — $200 per résumé, then $500, then $800 — just to see what the market would accept. Nowadays, I charge $1,500 to $2,000 for résumé projects, and that doesn't include other services like LinkedIn or executive coaching. Depending on how much time it takes, I can make anywhere from $300 to $500 per hour for a résumé project.

My coaching rates hover around the same hourly rate, depending on whether it's career coaching or executive coaching. My clients don't ever ask if I spent three hours or 15 hours on their résumé. They're paying for my skills, insights, and the end result.

And people pay. Why? Because if the $400 or even $1,500 investment helps you find a job that pays tens of thousands of dollars a year or helps you land a coveted board position, then the ROI is worth it. Some of my clients are privately wealthy, but others are underpaid and undervalued, and they don't enjoy selling themselves. A compelling, strong résumé does that work for them.

I actually give out most of my advice for free online, including on my LinkedIn profile. But people don't always listen to free advice. Sometimes paying a fitness trainer $100 an hour, or paying a career coach like me $400 an hour, is the only thing that gets results — it introduces a level of pressure and accountability into the mix that forces people to get moving.

Keep your skills and brand sharp

While résumé writing and its affiliated components comes easy to me now, it wasn't always that way. To develop my skill set and get to this point, I've attended numerous conferences (and spoken at a few), read tons of books and countless articles on everything from psychology to talent development, and received numerous certifications related to the field.

I'm also constantly attending webinars and networking with résumé writers and coaching peers to keep my game sharp. I've partnered with small businesses, schools, and institutions, and these partnerships have allowed me to build my brand and attract new clients.

My long-term goal is to be the best career and executive coach that I can be — and résumé writing will likely always be a part of that mix. Résumé writing has allowed me to utilize my broad skills in a way that's wildly fun and helps other people, and I'm so grateful I found this vocation.