How To Incorporate Freelance Work Into Your Resume

Freelance can be anything from volunteering, paid jobs, or personal projects. These could be in additional to a full time employment, alongside part-time work, or to fill an unemployment gap.

Side activities should be included on resumes because it can still be considered a professional development and can be vital if you have any employment gaps. 

Make It Relevant

When writing the freelance work think: Is it relevant to the company I am applying for and is it relevant to my professional field? 

If the freelance work is not obviously relevant, try and spin it into how relevant it is. Point out skills you acquired through the freelance work and connect it to the role you are applying for. If you’re applying for a graphic design job, write about any design, creative, illustration, or typography freelance experience or projects. If you're looking at a project management role and have been running your own copywriting business, point out how you manage clients, timelines, and your own resources to run your company.

Title it Right

In some worlds, the word "freelance" can have a negative meaning, research what appeals to your employers before writing your resume. Suitable synonyms include self-employed, autonomous professional, or consultant. When you freelance, you're essentially running your own business and wearing all of the hats that come with it. Don't be afraid to give yourself the title that would appear best.

“If you do include the word freelance, be very specific in what type of work you performed and what results you achieved,” says UK Writings resume writer, Helen Ross. If it’s relevant to the role, leave links to videos or websites you have worked on.

Separate Your Freelance Jobs from Your Regular Jobs

Unless you have a large amount of employment gaps put your freelance work in a separate section. Your freelance work should include the work you performed, in which professional field it was in, which companies or organizations you worked with, and the dates it took place.

Make It Accurate

Make sure everything is proofread and accurate. If you are concerned about the formatting of your resume don’t spy away from tools like:

Writing Populist and SimpleGrad - Two of the best grammar resources for proofreading and editing your document.

BigAssignments and Assignment Help  - These editing tools are excellent for turning that resume into an eye catching, well formatted document.  

Via Writing and LetsGoAndLearn  - These websites offer some of the most comprehensive writing guides on the internet.

Pick and Choose the Relevant Projects

There are some freelance work that shouldn’t be incorporated. Free work for friends or family may have allowed you to gain experience, but it can look unprofessional on a resume. If the project didn’t help professional development, it becomes irrelevant. If you don’t know the name of the company or what type of work you were doing, it is best to eliminate it from the resume. 

Create a Company Name

If you were self-employed in the traditional way, you would have a company name. Create a company name to use for your freelance work. You don’t have to go through the lengthy process of setting up a formal, limited company, just craft a name and use it your freelance work descriptions.

Focus on Achievements

The best way to highlight freelance work on a resume is to focus on accomplishments and the value you brought to the project or role. Every detail should be crafted to make you more appealing to your prospective employer.

Use your experience to create a narrative, explaining how valuable you have been to previous companies. Talk numbers and statistics to grab the attention of employers. Talk about how much revenue you brought in and any publicity your project may have garnered.

Ultimately, you should treat freelance work as you would any of other job. Include projects, positions, dates and companies that are relevant to the employers or company you are applying for. Make sure you list relevant skill sets and experiences that will impress your employers and show them your professional growth and entrepreneurship.

This post is by Grace Carter is a content proofreader at Top Canadian Writers and UK writing services reviews, where she manages content quality, reviews and submissions. Also, she proofreads content at Student Writing Services website.