How To Put Freelance Work on a Resume: Tips, Examples, and More!

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Self-employment work or the gig economy is notably blooming during the pandemic. 

Forbes concludes that, over one-third, or 59 million Americans, were registered as freelancers.

Since freelancing takes more of the American workforce, one might ask how to do a freelance resume in a format that accentuates your skills rather than suppress them?

Putting self-employment on your resume can be a hustle, but tricky as it seems, freelance work is work just like any other. 

And, in many instances, freelance projects can easily help you score your dream job. If you are wondering how to write a resume with your freelance projects and skills in it, keep on reading.

Reasons To List Freelance Work on a Resume

The reason why you should incorporate freelancing as a job in a resume is simple—freelancing is also a job! 

Yes, freelancers are self-employed, but that doesn’t mean that the job they do is any less valuable than an office one. 

Being a freelancer means you:

• Have management skills
• Focus on your professional development
• Use your talent to make an income
• Know how to organize your time

These are also viable skills worth pointing out when presenting yourself before an employer. 

Also, you should add freelancing projects if you did them parallel to your regular full-time job. This way, freelancing projects will point out your professional engagement in more fields than one. 

Including freelance projects in your resume also shows that you’re interested in developing your skills and that you are always after the next great professional challenge. 

Finally, resumes must be linear. So, another reason to include freelance in a resume is that it can fill up any gap between jobs.

WhatTo Include as Freelance Work?

Since adding freelance as your job on a resume can be tricky, experts advise 3 DOs and3 DONT’s when you’re looking to highlight your freelance skills on your resume.

The 3 DOs!

Here are some tips you should follow if you want to put self-employment on your resume:

• Long-termed Projects Only—Make sure to include only the projects you worked on for longer than 3 months. The reason why experts give this rule is that it shows that even though you are a freelancer in part, you are still working with reliable and ongoing clients.
• Pack Smaller Projects—When it comes to the projects you’ve worked on for less than 3 months or on a one-time basis, pack them up in the freelance resume to save space. Every job you did is important to include. Otherwise, you are leaving a work gap in your resume. Group your smaller projects to show off your skills, even concerning short-term projects.
• Elaborate Your Duties—To best present your freelance skills on your resume, experts advise you to explain these in detail and provide some examples if needed, depending on the type of job at hand. 

After completing these basics, you should also add:

• The freelance clients you worked for
• Your finished projects
• What you’ve learned through the projects

Once done, make sure to include anything else that adds value to your resume. Still, don’t be pretentious, as it’s a major red flag in the eyes of employers.

The 3 DON’Ts!

When it comes to a well-structured resume, there are 3 DON’Ts experts highly advise against including in a resume.

• Sharing client’s personal information—Sharing personal information received from the client is illegal in most cases, and you may end up in a spot of hot water for it. Also, it shows that you cannot be trusted as a professional. Apart from having excellent skills, what employers see in their future employees is someone they can rely on. Doing this will make sure your resume ends up in the trash pile. 
• Don’t Elaborate on the Small Steps—Remember, you mustn’t become pretentious, and it’s a thin line between self-assured and overly confident.
  Always be short and precise when explaining your previous duties and ensure everything is neatly explained without self-praise.
• Don’t Share Your Income—In business, there is some information that should remain classified. One is sharing the income you earned on all your previous projects. Talking earnings is not the wisest move you can make as it makes you money-centric. But, if you feel you deserve higher pay, just say so. 

Freelance Projects

The tips we’ve mentioned above are closely related to the gigs or projects you want to obtain that are homogeneous with the freelance you did previously. 

So, the big question is what are the projects that have nothing to do with the current desired job duties you’re applying for but could still actually be relevant to your resume?

For such instances, experts advise that every freelance work is valuable to feature in a resume, regardless of the industry. 

Sometimes, it’s the effort and skills that count, not just the job position. Therefore, when it comes to tricky projects, experts encourage you to put everything in the resume and elaborate on it accordingly, so you score bonus points with your employer. 

Example of Freelance Work on a Resume

Below, we will go over an example how not to list freelance work on a resume. Why? Because it features the desired freelance project section but does not do a very good job with it. 

The problem with this resume is that there is far too much explaining. 

And, even if you are a freelancer, you don’t need to call yourself self-employed.

Talking about the more structural part of the resume, experts explain that, when describing your previous experience, it’s essential to detail the success you achieved with your project, something this resume has missed. 

We can see that failed to point out the benefits of the SEO analysis he performed. 

He also failed to offer verification information of the four major clients online. 

When explaining previous experiences, start from your most recent experience and work your way backwards. 

This is an example how to list put freelance work or projects on a resume and doing it the right way:

The details, dates, information, references, the timestamps are all there and gives your Freelance resume section a whole different level of appeal. Your successes are quantified with stats and numbers, making them more relevant and impressive. 

The Bottom Line? 

All in all, crafting a solid freelance resume section can be a make-it-or-break-it experience.

But, with the right resources, information, and structure at hand, a freelance section in your resume will only make it that more professional and job application-worthy! 

Why not try one of our many, free professional resume templates and perfectly integrate your self-employment on resume today. 

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