A freelance resume is a document that freelancers use to showcase their skills, qualifications, and work experience to potential clients. It is similar to a traditional resume but tailored to highlight a freelancer’s ability to work independently and provide services to clients on a project basis.
A freelance resume typically includes the following information:
Contact information: This includes the freelancer’s name, address, phone number, and email address.
Professional summary: This is a brief statement that highlights the freelancer’s skills, qualifications, and experience.
Work experience: This section lists the freelancer’s previous projects and clients, along with a brief description of the work done and the skills utilized.
Skills: This section outlines the freelancer’s areas of expertise and the tools or software they are proficient in.
Education and certifications: This section lists the freelancer’s educational qualifications and any relevant certifications or training.
Portfolio: This is a collection of the freelancer’s best work samples, which demonstrate their skills and abilities.
A well-crafted freelance resume can help a freelancer stand out from the competition and secure new clients and projects.
Entering the industry as a freelancer is very thrilling but also terrifying. As a solo freelancer, there is the freedom to determine working hours, rates, and projects, an issue about the safety net of a monthly paycheck to fall back on. Being a freelancer, the person should be very patient and hardworking.
To find a job as a freelancer, there is a need for a strong freelance resume. Certain things need to be kept in mind when writing a resume as a freelancer. A resume for a freelancer should be flexible and easily adaptable to the different types of projects to apply for.
How to Write Resume as a Freelancer?
The resume as a freelancer illustrates the talents, whether it is the primary source of income or a side hustle. The person can also add freelance work to the resume will help him\her to stand out from the crowd during the interview process.
Almost all types of services that most businesses need can be provided by freelancers. The most common freelancer opportunities include accounting, graphic design, marketing project management, social media manager, teaching, virtual assistants, web design/development, and article writing.
Writing a freelance resume is a difficult task, even if the person has a lot of experience as a self-employ. It’s even more difficult for freelancers working on different projects.
Here are some tips about what should be added to the resume and what is not?
To create an impressive and strong freelancer resume, The person should follow these steps.
A resume that records the work history and Aims in the way that is most likely to get the attention of recruiters.
- Create a resume according to the desired job posting.
- Working template.
- Add all contacts.
- Portfolio information.
- Aims and Objectives.
- Summaries to highlight the most relevant skills.
- All Skills.
To make the best layout:
- Header.
- Professional summary.
- Experience with relevant to the job.
- Relevant work skills.
- Academic record.
- Certifications & Awards.
There are three basic resume formats to choose from:
- Reverse Chronological Resume
- Functional Resume
- Hybrid Resumes
Reverse Chronological Resume:
A reverse chronological resume lists a candidate’s job experiences in chronological order (Last thing first), generally covering the previous five to fifteen years. It is the best format for a freelancer’s resume. It is an experience-centered format of a resume. Mention all the responsibilities in bullet points, all the jobs which person or freelancer has done.
Functional Resume:
A functional type resume also known as the traditional resume is used by two types of persons mainly, one is the entry-level job seeker, and the second the career changer. Keep in mind that this is not the format preferred by recruiters, as most are accustomed to classical chronological orientation. Functional resumes focus on skills and the experience they have acquired, rather than a list of job titles.
Hybrid Resumes:
The hybrid resume is suitable not only for experienced & professional candidates but also for entry-level and career changers. They combine the best of both worlds, most often in a two-row format where one of the contents focuses on your experience and the other on your skills, strengths, and gratified moments.
What should be Included in a Freelance Resume?
Adding freelance work to the resume is slightly different from listing any other position.
There are three common ways experts advise listing freelance jobs on the resume:
- Just list everything, making sure to lump together any small projects as one job listing.
- Only include projects that the freelancer worked on for 3 months or more (in order to keep total line items on your resume to a minimum).
- List every single thing which the person worked on in detail (this takes up a lot of space, but shows that the freelancer done a lot of great work).
Add every detail in the resume, this is not recommended to make a resume of 10 to 15 pages. The client has no time to read all the resumes from start to end.
Focus on the work detail and experience which is required for the job, the person applied for.
Picked which work to showcase, the freelance listings should feature all relevant information including:
- Clients the person has worked for.
- Projects ‘person has completed.
- Results and Review of work.
This may all seem straightforward, but let us break down what to include in each category and what to leave out.
What Should not Include in a Freelance Resume?
- Add details about your work but do not mention confidential information about the client.
- Do not add unnecessarily elaborate language to make the project seem more important or exciting.
- It’s ok to summarize and group projects together to illustrate the big picture of done work. Do not list every single step or a smaller project.
What skills are freelancers Mentioned in the Resume?
When we talk about the skills a person needs for a particular job. The person should come across the phrases ‘hard skills’ and ‘soft skills.
What exactly is the difference between the two?
Hard Skills: teachable, measurable abilities that are crucial for a particular job. These skills can be clearly defined and are often learned rather than natural.
Examples of hard skills:
- Social Media Ads Manager and Marketer
- Expertise using Sketch for a Web Designer
- SEO Marketing.
- Bookkeeping.
- Computer Skills
- Expertise in a Coding Language for a Programmer
- Article Writing
- Ability to build a WordPress Website
- Knowledge of WordPress and Yoast
Soft Skills:
Soft skills are more so personality traits that can assist a person in a particular job. While these are not crucial for a job, they are extremely helpful and can make all the difference between success and failure. It can help the client to understand the freelancer’s personality.
Examples of soft skills:
- Interpersonal Communication
- Teamwork.
- Problem-Solving.
- Time Management.
- Critical Thinking.
- Decision-Making.
- Organizational.
- Controlled Temper
- Critical thinking & Observation
Freelancers need different hard or core skills depending on the field in which they specialize and the service they provide. But when it comes to soft skills, there are particular character traits and skills that will help any freelancer.