How To Spice Up Your Freelancing Resume: Do you find yourself working as a freelancer? If so, you’re not alone.
While the exact number of freelancers is hard to pin down, experts estimate that gig worker make up around 36% of the U.S. economy. While jobs that offer benefits would be nice, freelancing can pay the bills, if nothing else.
There is the potential to make a lot of money by freelancing, however. The key is to have the ultimate freelancing resume.
To help give you a fighting chance in the trying times of today, we’re going to look at exactly what you should include on a freelancer resume. Once you finish reading, you’ll know what you can do to get attract clients.
Read on to learn all about what goes on a freelance resume.
Stick With a Standard Format
Freelancing isn’t like a full-time, traditional job, and because of that, it might seem tempting to get creative with your resume. Try to avoid doing that.
Clients don’t want to have to decipher a wonky resume. They want to be able to look at your resume and get the information they need in a matter of seconds.
Because of that, make sure to stick with a standard resume format. Speak in the third person, don’t go overboard with design elements, and keep things as simple as possible.
Customize Your Resume for Specific Jobs
Yes, it’s exhausting to have to tailor resumes and cover letters to specific jobs, and applying for jobs in of itself is a job (albeit an unpaid one). But remember that clients and employers often sift through hundreds of resumes.
If yours appears to general or non-specific, there’s a good chance it’ll end up in the discard pile as well.
Try saving a few different versions of your resume on your computer to fit general job categories. That makes it easier to edit and update the details when needed.
Don’t Undervalue Your Education
It’s true that your college major matters less and less each year. However, don’t make the mistake of undervaluing your education. Employers still want to see it.
Include an Education section that includes information like relevant courses and certifications. This helps show clients and employers how skilled you are in a particular field.
It can also help timestamp certain skills, showing that you’ve been cultivating them for a long time.
Keep in mind that in most cases, the person looking at your resume doesn’t care about your GPA. They want to see the right skills and experience in and out of the classroom. Most don’t care whether you made Dean’s List.
Quantify Your Achievements
Something that all people with resumes, not just freelancers, should do is quantify their achievements. What does that mean?
Let’s take a look at two example sentences.
- Worked to grow an email subscriber list
- Grew email subscriber list from 300 to 1,000 in two months
The first example is vague. It doesn’t tell recruiters anything about what your actual results were. Maybe you worked hard to grow the email subscriber list but ultimately failed.
On the other hand, the second sentence provides employers with a timestamp and a concrete figure. They’re now much more likely to see that figure and remember your accomplishment.
Link to Your Socials
Most freelancers use their social media accounts more than traditional, full-time workers. Because of that, adding links to them on your resume is always a good idea.
While you don’t have to link to every account, make sure to add the most important ones. For many freelancers, this includes sites like Linkedin and Twitter. Freelance photographers may want to link to their Instagram.
If you have a portfolio or your own website, you also add that. Doing so can help employers recognize that you’re not like the masses of other people applying for a position.
Talk Yourself up
There’s a time and place for modesty. Most of the time, your resume isn’t it. Don’t be afraid to talk yourself up and really sell yourself when writing it.
Worked with any big clients or companies in the past? Make sure to mention them. Have any big connections you feel like bragging about? Don’t be afraid to talk about your relationship with them.
If you’re struggling to keep track of all the client relationships you’ve formed, client relationship management software might be the best tool for you.
Being too humble won’t allow your achievements to shine through.
It’s okay to brag a bit on your resume and cover letter. Doing so is how you get hired for jobs!
Be Unique
Most modern, forward-thinking companies aren’t looking for cookie-cutter candidates. They’re after people that can fill the role and mesh well with company culture.
If you don’t allow your personality to shine through your resume or cover letter, no client or company is going to extend you an invitation to work together.
Try including things like side businesses, passion projects, and anything else that might not seem relevant at first glance. You might end up mentioning the right thing that helps land you the job.
Understand How to Strengthen Your Freelancing Resume
Freelancing is hard, especially when you’re first starting. That’s why strengthening your freelance resume to highlight your background, skills, and experience is so important.
Use this guide to help you do that. By following the points mentioned in this guide, you’ll have no problem creating a freelancer resume that clients love to see.
Do you now have a better idea of how to build a freelancing resume? If you do, make sure to check out the rest of our site for more great content.
