If all or a portion of your income is generated via freelancing, you definitely want to highlight this experience on a resume, but a freelance resume can be tricky to create, as it differs somewhat from a traditional resume. At Resume Writing Group, we have a few tips that can help you create a resume that generates interest and wins you new freelance jobs.
Tip 1: Mingle Freelance Work With Other Work Experiences
You probably are wondering how to list freelance work on a resume. In a traditional resume, you would have a section for Work Experience. If you’ve had just one or two freelance experiences, there’s no reason why you can’t mingle those experiences into this section.
Generally, when listing traditional work experience, it might look something like this:
Creative Director | 2018-2020
Smith & Smith Advertising | Chicago, IL
- Created brochures and educational materials for 25+ clients
- Managed team of 12 designers & copywriters
- Organized annual team-building events for 75+ employees
When you add in freelance work experience, it might look something like this:
Design Consultant | February-April, 2017
Marketing Partners, Inc. | Baltimore, MD
- Created content for trade show marketing materials
- Designed visuals and graphics for trade show booths
The only real difference between these two listings is the timeline. For the first one, it is clear that this was a full-time work experience, while the design consultancy job was a short-term gig.
If you have just a few freelance experiences, this can be an option. However, questions might arise regarding your ability to balance your full-time work experience with your freelance work if the freelance work and regular work occurred at the same time.
You can simply explain that you worked on this project on the weekends, and that it did not interfere with your normal work routine. However, a hiring manager might have concerns about your juggling their work along with side gigs, so you might be better off using the next tip.
Tip 2: Create A Section For Freelance Work
If you have quite a bit of freelance work, it’s probably best to simply list these in a separate section. Especially, if these occurred during a time when you were fully employed at another company. You could label this as “Freelance Work” or “Additional Work.”
In this section, you could forgo adding dates, and simply write up a freelance experience as:
Design Consultant
Flower & Leaf Advertising | Seattle, WA
- Designed company logo & letterhead
- Created marketing brochures for trade shows & sales meetings
This looks about the same as the listings in the Work Experience section, but we simply took out the dates. For this particular type of industry, you probably will take along a portfolio to any job interviews, and the quality of your work will probably speak for itself.
Keep in mind, that the hiring manager might still ask you if you completed these jobs while you were employed full-time elsewhere or if it was in between full-time gigs, so be prepared to talk about that during an interview.
Tip 3: All Other Resume Rules Apply
While you might organize a freelance resume a bit differently, the basic rules of resume writing still apply. You will need to ensure that the resume is error-free and features a consistent style throughout the document. You also need to keep the resume to a single page if possible. This means you might have to pick and choose some of your freelance experiences so simply highlight what you believe to be your best work or perhaps your work for more prominent clients.
It can be tricky to create any type of resume, but creating a freelance resume can be particularly difficult. It many cases, it simply might be easier to hire a professional resume writing service. A professional resume writer knows what truly appeals to hiring managers and how to highlight your most important skills and accomplishments, whether you are looking for a full-time position or more freelance work.
Who Should You Hire For Resume Services?
Now, perhaps you have come to this article because you were wondering if you should hire a freelancer or are thinking about hiring a freelancer to create your resume. While there are some decent freelance resume writers out there, we find that they are few and far between.
When you use a professional resume writing service, such as Resume Writing Group, you ensure that you are hiring experienced resume writers. Freelance resume writers might have strong writing skills in general, but that doesn’t mean they understand the nuances of resume writing, which is a bit of an art form.
At Resume Writing Group, we hire only full-time, experienced resume writers. You can even read short bios of each of our writers on our website. Additionally, all of our resumes are backed by a guarantee. If you use our resume and follow our advice but are not hired in 45 days or less, we will refund the cost of your resume and pay you an additional $100.
If you hire someone freelance, resume guarantees don’t really come into play, but we stand behind each of our resumes, and that can bring you some great peace of mind. We also have experience writing resumes for people who do freelance work, and if that applies to you, feel free to contact us at any time for resume services.
In addition to writing resumes for freelancers, we also can provide you with cover letters, LinkedIn profile writing and much more. A strong freelance resume can generate a solid stream of income, so contact us today and let’s get started on your new resume.
