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How To Write a Freelancing Resume (With Tips, Template and Examples)
How To Write a Freelancing Resume (With Tips, Template and Examples)
Updated June 30, 2023
When you freelance, you gain a lot of experience and develop new skills that you can add to your resume. Whether freelancing is your main source of work or an additional element of your career, you can include it on your resume to demonstrate your skills. Learning how to include freelance work on your resume can distinguish yourself from other candidates throughout the hiring process. In this article, we explain how to create a freelance resume with tips and examples.
Explore Freelancer jobs on Indeed
What is a freelancing resume?
A freelancing resume focuses on the experience you gained while self-employed. Even if you freelance part-time in addition to your full-time career, you can include these projects on your resume. Whether you are looking for a permanent role or trying to sign your next freelance contract, your resume should showcase your most hirable skills.
How to create a freelancing resume
Create an effective freelance resume that captures your career history and goals in a way most likely to attracts a recruiter's attention by following these steps:
Model your resume after the desired job description.
Find a template that works.
Add all of your contact and portfolio information.
Use your objective or summary to highlight your most relevant skills.
Describe your skills in detail.
1. Model your resume after the desired job description
You can get the attention of employers by adding keywords from the job description to your resume. Many job descriptions list requirements in order of priority, which you can use as a template to add examples of how you meet the employer's most important criteria. When you review the job description, make a list of skills and qualifications the employer wants to see if you can include them on your resume.
2. Find a template that works
Organize your freelancing resume to best convey your history, be it as a self-employed contractor or otherwise. A traditional resume lists experience in chronological order, but this may not be the best fit for your freelancing work, especially if you have had jobs that overlap or multiple small contracts. Consider a functional format for your resume, which organizes your skills and experience by theme rather than time period.
3. Add all of your contact and portfolio information
Add your contact information at the top of your resume so it's easy to see. List your name, address, phone number and email address. If you have a professional networking platform or website that has samples of your freelance work, include the link with your contact details. That way, recruiters can see your style without needing to send an additional request.
4. Use your objective or summary to highlight your most relevant skills
Below your contact details, consider adding an objective or summary. You can use a career objective to describe your professional goals and show how they align with the business. Add a summary if you have a lot of experience you want to mention. In either your summary or objective, you can describe your best skills or the ones you found in the job description. Keep your summary or objective to one or three sentences.
5. Describe your skills in detail
If you have decided to go for an untraditional resume format, then you may want to consider using an alternative to a standard list of skills. You can use an infographic, rate your levels of expertise or organize your resume by themes in your skills. For example, you can list each skill you have which you then describe by pulling from your work experiences.
Related: How To Transition From Self-Employed to Full-Time Employee
How to list freelance work on your resume
When you work for yourself, it can be helpful to keep an updated list of your projects and pull from it for your resume in the following way:
Remember all the extras.
Prioritize what you want to include.
Leave a little space in between information.
Use facts and figures.
1. Remember all the extras
Freelancing requires a variety of skills that aren't directly related to their work. Freelancers need to manage their own time effectively, market their services to potential clients, communicate clearly about their work, manage their billing and expenses and keep their own financial records. Including these skills on your resume shows recruiters that you have a range of hard and soft skills that you can bring to the role.
2. Prioritize what you want to include
Though you may have worked many contracts and developed a lot of hard and soft skills, you should focus your resume on the most important aspects. Keep your resume to one page of your relevant work and skills, and include a link to your portfolio or profile so recruiters can view all of your experience if they want.
3. Leave a little space in between information
A recruiter might look at a hundred applications in a day, so you want to make yours stand out. Well-spaced text, professional fonts and well-organized information will make your resume visually appealing and help a hiring manager see the most important elements at first glance.
4. Use facts and figures
Try to show a direct link between your work and a positive outcome for your client. Objective figures showing the impact of your work are a great way to demonstrate your skills. For example, a freelance web designer could list, "Used visual design layout skills to improve user functionality, increasing click-through rate by 13%."
Related: Functional Resume Tips and Examples
Tips for creating a freelancing resume
While writing your freelancing resume, follow these tips:
Use action words such as "plan," "won" and "improved" to describe your achievements.
Tailor your resume to the specific job where you are applying.
Research the standard for resumes in your industry for any sector-specific advice.
Focus on your best, most relevant strengths.
List excerpts of positive reviews from previous contracts.
Freelancing resume template
A good starting point in creating a resume is to simply follow an existing template such as the following:
[Name]
[Address]
[Phone number]
[Email address]
[Link to professional networking profile or website]
Objective (or Summary)
[Use two to three short statements to describe your career goals or experience. For a summary, list your achievements and experience, and for a career objective, give an idea of how your professional aspirations could benefit an employer.]
Experience
[Title]
[Company]
[Dates of employment]
[Bullet list of responsibilities]
Qualifications
[List relevant training and qualifications, including details of awarding bodies and when they were completed]
Education
[Degree, diploma or certification]
[School]
[Dates]
[Academic achievements]
Skills
[Use bullet points, ratings or infographics to show your level of expertise in your most relevant skills. If you have chosen a functional design for your resume, your skills section may be more prominent than in a traditional format.]
Hobbies and Interests
[List any hobbies, interests or volunteering opportunities that might show your aptitude in a relevant area.]
To upload the template into Google Docs, go to File > Open > and select the correct downloaded file.
Related: Resume Format Guide (With Tips and Examples)
See your instant resume report on Indeed
Get recommendations for your resume in minutes
Freelancing resume examples
Here are two examples of freelancing resumes in different formats:
Traditional resume
Functional resume
Traditional resume
This is a common format for most resumes:
John Feeney
San Diego, CA
202-555-0191
J.Feeny@email.com
www.JohnFeenyDigital.com
Objective
Methodical and results-oriented social media marketing freelancer seeking an opportunity to leverage exceptional conversion skills in a fast-paced marketing environment.
Experience
Freelance Social Media Marketer
Technocomms Ltd
November 2015–Present
Manage social media accounts, posting across a range of platforms
Generate sharable content to increase interaction with the site
Increased likes and followers by 35% over the first six months
Created a successful campaign that generated a 12% increase in sales
Write and promote a blog with information about issues most likely to appeal to potential customers
Liaise regularly with the marketing team to coordinate campaigns
Social Media Account Manager
Autoside Engineering
July 2011–November 2015
Met regularly with clients to gain an understanding of their culture
Created engaging content for website and shared it on social media
Reviewed website analytics to ascertain the most effective campaign strategies
Monitor competitor activity for opportunities to increase market share
Maintained a working knowledge of social media trends and tools
Qualifications
Professional Certified Marketer designation from the Digital Marketing Association
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Marketing
University of Southern California
September 2007–July 2011
Skills
Time management
Self-motivation
Copywriting
Content curation
Search engine optimization
Project management
Hobbies and interests
Volunteer with a local homeless charity helping them to promote fundraisers and increase awareness of food drives and seasonal donations.
Functional resume
A functional resume focuses on skills and abilities rather than experience:
Kay F. Delaney
Fort McCoy, FL
604-555-0110
KayFDelaney@email.com
www.KayFDelaneySocialMedia.com
Objective
Focused and research-driven freelance writer with SEO and marketing expertise seeking an opportunity to leverage industry knowledge in a role with Cloud Driven Solutions that requires creativity as well as factual accuracy.
Skills
Social media account management: Posting and sharing content across a number of social media platforms for clients, increasing engagement by an average of 14% across all clients.
Content creation: Create infographics, sharable images and other content to increase clients' social media visibility and boost follower numbers.
Blogging: Create and maintain blogs for businesses in a variety of verticals including automotive, retail, finance and current affairs.
Analytics: Monitor and review analytics for clients with informational and transactional websites.
Scheduling: Create and manage social media calendars and campaigns, using seasonal and industry-specific dates to form the basis of strategic marketing plans.
Industry research: Monitoring and reporting on competitor activity, customer trends and the impact of national events on customers' online behavior.
Qualifications
Certificate in Social Media Management from the Florida School of Online Marketing, 2015
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration
University of West Texas
September 2013–July 2017
Experience
Freelance writer
Raiki, Ltd.
2019–2010
Freelance writer
Morgan's Boutique
2019
Copywriter
Mechatronix
2017–2019
Hobbies
Chair of a charitable committee in charge of fundraising for reading materials to promote literacy among underprivileged children.
&Nbsp;
Share:
Is this article helpful?
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The Pros and Cons of Being a College Professor
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Start of main content
Career Guide
Resumes & cover letters
How To Write a Freelancing Resume (With Tips, Template and Examples)
How To Write a Freelancing Resume (With Tips, Template and Examples)
Updated June 30, 2023
When you freelance, you gain a lot of experience and develop new skills that you can add to your resume. Whether freelancing is your main source of work or an additional element of your career, you can include it on your resume to demonstrate your skills. Learning how to include freelance work on your resume can distinguish yourself from other candidates throughout the hiring process. In this article, we explain how to create a freelance resume with tips and examples.
Explore Freelancer jobs on Indeed
What is a freelancing resume?
A freelancing resume focuses on the experience you gained while self-employed. Even if you freelance part-time in addition to your full-time career, you can include these projects on your resume. Whether you are looking for a permanent role or trying to sign your next freelance contract, your resume should showcase your most hirable skills.
How to create a freelancing resume
Create an effective freelance resume that captures your career history and goals in a way most likely to attracts a recruiter's attention by following these steps:
Model your resume after the desired job description.
Find a template that works.
Add all of your contact and portfolio information.
Use your objective or summary to highlight your most relevant skills.
Describe your skills in detail.
1. Model your resume after the desired job description
You can get the attention of employers by adding keywords from the job description to your resume. Many job descriptions list requirements in order of priority, which you can use as a template to add examples of how you meet the employer's most important criteria. When you review the job description, make a list of skills and qualifications the employer wants to see if you can include them on your resume.
2. Find a template that works
Organize your freelancing resume to best convey your history, be it as a self-employed contractor or otherwise. A traditional resume lists experience in chronological order, but this may not be the best fit for your freelancing work, especially if you have had jobs that overlap or multiple small contracts. Consider a functional format for your resume, which organizes your skills and experience by theme rather than time period.
3. Add all of your contact and portfolio information
Add your contact information at the top of your resume so it's easy to see. List your name, address, phone number and email address. If you have a professional networking platform or website that has samples of your freelance work, include the link with your contact details. That way, recruiters can see your style without needing to send an additional request.
4. Use your objective or summary to highlight your most relevant skills
Below your contact details, consider adding an objective or summary. You can use a career objective to describe your professional goals and show how they align with the business. Add a summary if you have a lot of experience you want to mention. In either your summary or objective, you can describe your best skills or the ones you found in the job description. Keep your summary or objective to one or three sentences.
5. Describe your skills in detail
If you have decided to go for an untraditional resume format, then you may want to consider using an alternative to a standard list of skills. You can use an infographic, rate your levels of expertise or organize your resume by themes in your skills. For example, you can list each skill you have which you then describe by pulling from your work experiences.
Related: How To Transition From Self-Employed to Full-Time Employee
How to list freelance work on your resume
When you work for yourself, it can be helpful to keep an updated list of your projects and pull from it for your resume in the following way:
Remember all the extras.
Prioritize what you want to include.
Leave a little space in between information.
Use facts and figures.
1. Remember all the extras
Freelancing requires a variety of skills that aren't directly related to their work. Freelancers need to manage their own time effectively, market their services to potential clients, communicate clearly about their work, manage their billing and expenses and keep their own financial records. Including these skills on your resume shows recruiters that you have a range of hard and soft skills that you can bring to the role.
2. Prioritize what you want to include
Though you may have worked many contracts and developed a lot of hard and soft skills, you should focus your resume on the most important aspects. Keep your resume to one page of your relevant work and skills, and include a link to your portfolio or profile so recruiters can view all of your experience if they want.
3. Leave a little space in between information
A recruiter might look at a hundred applications in a day, so you want to make yours stand out. Well-spaced text, professional fonts and well-organized information will make your resume visually appealing and help a hiring manager see the most important elements at first glance.
4. Use facts and figures
Try to show a direct link between your work and a positive outcome for your client. Objective figures showing the impact of your work are a great way to demonstrate your skills. For example, a freelance web designer could list, "Used visual design layout skills to improve user functionality, increasing click-through rate by 13%."
Related: Functional Resume Tips and Examples
Tips for creating a freelancing resume
While writing your freelancing resume, follow these tips:
Use action words such as "plan," "won" and "improved" to describe your achievements.
Tailor your resume to the specific job where you are applying.
Research the standard for resumes in your industry for any sector-specific advice.
Focus on your best, most relevant strengths.
List excerpts of positive reviews from previous contracts.
Freelancing resume template
A good starting point in creating a resume is to simply follow an existing template such as the following:
[Name]
[Address]
[Phone number]
[Email address]
[Link to professional networking profile or website]
Objective (or Summary)
[Use two to three short statements to describe your career goals or experience. For a summary, list your achievements and experience, and for a career objective, give an idea of how your professional aspirations could benefit an employer.]
Experience
[Title]
[Company]
[Dates of employment]
[Bullet list of responsibilities]
Qualifications
[List relevant training and qualifications, including details of awarding bodies and when they were completed]
Education
[Degree, diploma or certification]
[School]
[Dates]
[Academic achievements]
Skills
[Use bullet points, ratings or infographics to show your level of expertise in your most relevant skills. If you have chosen a functional design for your resume, your skills section may be more prominent than in a traditional format.]
Hobbies and Interests
[List any hobbies, interests or volunteering opportunities that might show your aptitude in a relevant area.]
To upload the template into Google Docs, go to File > Open > and select the correct downloaded file.
Related: Resume Format Guide (With Tips and Examples)
See your instant resume report on Indeed
Get recommendations for your resume in minutes
Freelancing resume examples
Here are two examples of freelancing resumes in different formats:
Traditional resume
Functional resume
Traditional resume
This is a common format for most resumes:
John Feeney
San Diego, CA
202-555-0191
J.Feeny@email.com
www.JohnFeenyDigital.com
Objective
Methodical and results-oriented social media marketing freelancer seeking an opportunity to leverage exceptional conversion skills in a fast-paced marketing environment.
Experience
Freelance Social Media Marketer
Technocomms Ltd
November 2015–Present
Manage social media accounts, posting across a range of platforms
Generate sharable content to increase interaction with the site
Increased likes and followers by 35% over the first six months
Created a successful campaign that generated a 12% increase in sales
Write and promote a blog with information about issues most likely to appeal to potential customers
Liaise regularly with the marketing team to coordinate campaigns
Social Media Account Manager
Autoside Engineering
July 2011–November 2015
Met regularly with clients to gain an understanding of their culture
Created engaging content for website and shared it on social media
Reviewed website analytics to ascertain the most effective campaign strategies
Monitor competitor activity for opportunities to increase market share
Maintained a working knowledge of social media trends and tools
Qualifications
Professional Certified Marketer designation from the Digital Marketing Association
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Marketing
University of Southern California
September 2007–July 2011
Skills
Time management
Self-motivation
Copywriting
Content curation
Search engine optimization
Project management
Hobbies and interests
Volunteer with a local homeless charity helping them to promote fundraisers and increase awareness of food drives and seasonal donations.
Functional resume
A functional resume focuses on skills and abilities rather than experience:
Kay F. Delaney
Fort McCoy, FL
604-555-0110
KayFDelaney@email.com
www.KayFDelaneySocialMedia.com
Objective
Focused and research-driven freelance writer with SEO and marketing expertise seeking an opportunity to leverage industry knowledge in a role with Cloud Driven Solutions that requires creativity as well as factual accuracy.
Skills
Social media account management: Posting and sharing content across a number of social media platforms for clients, increasing engagement by an average of 14% across all clients.
Content creation: Create infographics, sharable images and other content to increase clients' social media visibility and boost follower numbers.
Blogging: Create and maintain blogs for businesses in a variety of verticals including automotive, retail, finance and current affairs.
Analytics: Monitor and review analytics for clients with informational and transactional websites.
Scheduling: Create and manage social media calendars and campaigns, using seasonal and industry-specific dates to form the basis of strategic marketing plans.
Industry research: Monitoring and reporting on competitor activity, customer trends and the impact of national events on customers' online behavior.
Qualifications
Certificate in Social Media Management from the Florida School of Online Marketing, 2015
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration
University of West Texas
September 2013–July 2017
Experience
Freelance writer
Raiki, Ltd.
2019–2010
Freelance writer
Morgan's Boutique
2019
Copywriter
Mechatronix
2017–2019
Hobbies
Chair of a charitable committee in charge of fundraising for reading materials to promote literacy among underprivileged children.
&Nbsp;
Share:
Is this article helpful?
Indeed Career Services
Interview Practice
Practice interviewing with an expert career coach
Resume Services
Get your resume reviewed or rewritten
Indeed Resume
Get noticed by employers
Resume Samples
Kick start your search with templates
Salary Calculator
See your personalized pay range
Company Reviews
Access millions of company reviews
Explore more articles
14 Special Education Degree Jobs Besides Teaching
The Pros and Cons of Being a College Professor
16 Jobs You Can Do With a Liberal Arts Associate Degree
How To Get a Software Engineer Job in 8 Steps (With Tips)
6 Mental Health Jobs (With Salaries and Primary Duties)
7 Types of Jobs in Video Editing (With Salaries)
The US Army vs. the Marines: What's the Difference?
10 Operations Job Titles To Pursue (With Salaries)
25 Careers in Biotechnology To Explore (With Salaries)
Internships for Teenagers: 15 Opportunities To Explore
What Is a Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent?
How To Become an Economist in 5 Steps (And What They Do)
Sign in
Job Seekers
Employers
About
©2024 Indeed
Your Privacy Choices
Accessibility at Indeed
Privacy Center and Ad Choices
Terms of
Category Writing & Translation
Subcategory Article writing
How many words? Between 1,000 and 5,000 words
Is this a project or a position? Project
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Delivery term: Not specified
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