Freelance Resume Example

This comprehensive guide will give you all the tools you need to craft a freelance resume that positions you strongly against other candidates. Freelancer resumes are crucial when applying for long-term contracts or projects posted on job boards. They’re also useful to have when marketing yourself and trying to get short-term gigs from individual clients.

The article will take you through the key steps of creating a resume that presents your key skills, qualities and career achievements in a format that your clients favor. It will also help you tailor your resume according to your unique skills and experience level. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your freelancer resume.

Main elements of a freelance resume

The key sections to include in a freelance resume are similar to those for any role or profession. If you're lacking relevant work experience, you might choose to add sections that showcase your skill set earlier than in a traditional resume layout. These sections might include projects, education, hobbies and interests, skills and other optional sections.

A freelancer resume allows you to exhibit all of your relevant experience and accomplishments in one place. You’ll have a record of past projects when you need to show someone what you’ve done and be able to prove to potential clients that you’re an authority in your field. The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:

Header and Personal Information

A freelance resume header contains your name and contact information. Add your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Include your address or location, but avoid adding any other personal information. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the URL to your header so the client can get a better understanding of your work history and experience. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Make sure the email address you list in your header is professional-looking and doesn't contain any inappropriate content such as nicknames or unsuitable language. Opt for an email address based on your name or company, or a combination of both. Finally, check your contact details before sending your resume, to ensure everything's up-to-date.

Resume Summary

Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in your freelancer projects. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the project description and highlights some of the key skills required for the specific freelancer gig you're going for.

A good resume summary is short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description, with evidence to back it up. It will also help the reader to form their first impressions of you by providing an insight into your personality and unique qualities. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for freelancer jobs below.

Conversely, a bad resume summary (like above) might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate.

Hard and Soft Skills

Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a freelancer role. Skills such as project management or time management are particularly useful for freelancer jobs.

For example, you may be great at writing scripts for educational videos that garner lots of views on social media but less adept at ghostwriting novels that keep readers wanting more. Knowing your core competencies will help you market your services to the right clients and land more jobs.

Again, include any skills that match those listed in the job description. Focus particularly on technical skills required for freelancer projects and transferable skills that show your qualities as a freelancer.

Showcasing hard skills on your freelance resume

In your hard skills list, include any specific abilities related to the project you're applying for. These could be technical skills or industry knowledge that showcases your expertise in your chosen profession. Furthermore, it's important to show these skills in a freelance resume as they provide a strong indication of your experience in the sector. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.

Below, you can see how to build the section to highlight your valuable hard skills for your freelancer resume:

Listing soft skills on your freelance resume

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a freelancer project. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. Indeed, without soft skills, you may struggle to adapt to freelancer roles or meet the standards expected of you. So make sure you include several key soft skills on your resume. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.

Your soft skills section should make the most of your unique personal qualities and strengths, while also reflecting the requirements laid out in the job description. See below for some examples of useful soft skills for a freelancer resume.

Education

The education section provides space to list your highest and most recent academic achievements that are relevant to the projects you're taking on as a freelancer.

Include any qualifications relevant to the role. For each, add the name and level of the diploma, the institution name, its location and your dates of study. You could also add one or two bullet points to draw attention to your grades if they were particularly good, as well as any specialist subjects you studied. This will help the client understand your knowledge and special skills better.

Membership or leadership of any societies, clubs or causes while studying can also make a positive impression on hiring managers. Consider adding these to your education section for more insight into how you used your time as a student.

Certifications

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These might be licenses that show you're qualified to use a certain tool, or certifications that give you the edge over candidates with otherwise similar career history. Therefore, add any professional licenses or certifications, along with valid dates that show they're still valid.

Below you can find several examples of certifications for a freelancer resume:

Employment History

Next, list your relevant employment history and any key achievements that show you're suitable for this freelancer position. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant projects you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

Add some bullet points under each job entry, explaining your achievements in the role, so the reader can see how you contributed towards success for the client's company. Provide evidence of your impact and make sure each point addresses a requirement listed in the job description.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a freelancer resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

In the example above, you'll see a less effective resume work experience section. It fails to address skills and achievements that relate directly to the job description. Falling back on clichés, vague descriptions and basic responsibilities, rather than showing the impact you made, is likely to disengage the reader.

Portfolios

As numerous resume articles point out, those looking to hire freelancers will want to see the outcomes of your past projects and work. One of the best ways to show them off is through a portfolio. Here are the two key things to keep in mind as you begin crafting a portfolio to accompany your freelancer resume.

1. Include links: If you haven’t already, consider building an online portfolio. You can do this through a dedicated portfolio-building tool, a customized website, or a professional social media profile such as LinkedIn. It’s important to be able to show potential clients examples of finished projects so they understand the kind of work you’re capable of producing and what they can expect when they work with you. Once you’ve created your online portfolio, include a link to it in your resume header and in your cover letter to let clients view your work.
2. Highlight your achievements: Your freelancer portfolio is also a way to underscore specific achievements. If any of your work has won awards or been featured in publications, make sure to mention that fact. You can also include any positive ROI your clients have shared with you, such as a marketing campaign that increased sales or a video that garnered thousands of views.

Optional Resume Sections

In addition to the core sections of a freelancer resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Pick from the optional sections below to help show the employer you have the skills and experience for the job.

Volunteering

If you're lacking relevant freelancer work experience, volunteer work can help to show you still have the relevant skills. Add your volunteer job title or role, the name of the organization, its location and the dates you were involved.

References

References aren't a standard freelance resume section, but clients do sometimes ask for them. Check the job advert and only include them if requested. Add two or three professional references, and be sure to approach each referee before you include them.

Best action words for your freelance resume

Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Choose from the list of words below to increase the impact of your work experience section.

Jobseeker's resume templates were created by careers experts to help you produce a professional resume in minutes. You can also find cover letter templates to complete an eye-catching job application that gets you noticed.

Example of a freelance resume

The freelance resume example below incorporates all the information from above into a full-designed resume template, so you can see how a final resume will look:

Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. When drafting your freelance resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.

Follow these guidelines to create the best ATS-friendly resume:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the project description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Use simple, concise language to keep your resume to a maximum of one to two pages in length. This will make it easier for ATS software to read.

Key points for your freelance resume

If you want to catch the eye of employers and recruiters, you need a professional resume that showcases your best skills and career achievements. Select a resume format that suits your experience levels and the job you're applying for, and make sure you tailor your resume for each application. Use language that emphasizes your adaptability and flexibility throughout, and don’t forget to add elements of your personal brand in your contact information, professional summary, and portfolio.

Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. Whether you're a junior or senior candidate, a professional cover letter can help to grab the attention of the employer. Jobseeker's cover letter examples were created by careers experts to provide useful tips and ideas for your cover letter.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications