Do you have any ideas on how to add self employed to resume? Are you supposed to create a different section for it? How relevant is your freelance gig to the job that you are eyeing? Should you even consider including it at all? I know you have too many questions about this. And leaving your freelancing job makes you have a rather incomplete resume. This means you end up not getting the stable job that you are applying for.

If this is the scenario that you are dealing with right now, read on Love is All Colors to find out how to go around such a situation…

How to put self employed on resume

Being self-employed means you don’t work for a specific employer. Its simply being your own boss. Is freelancing the same as self-employment? Pretty much yes. Basically, it all boils down to how an individual wants to define his or her business. There are those who feel like ‘freelancer’ sounds less serious than self-employed. But the main difference is that most freelancers are employed on a contract basis.

The thing is, after years of being a freelancer, you need to add self-employment experience to your resume! If you don’t, your resume will end up having some unexplained employment gaps in your work history. And this is the main reason why self-employment is a great inclusion to your resume. Here are other reasons why you need to have a self employed resume…

Benefits of self-employment or freelance resume

One thing is that such resumes highlight some great competencies and skills that a person possesses that most employers look for. Below are a few of them…

Self and time management skills

It shows that you are keen about your professional life and about bettering your personal life. Basically, you are a person who values their work and even in the case where you are not formally employed by a specific company, individual or organization, you still go out there and continue working through adversity. This shows initiative, self-direction and the ability to work independently with minimum supervision. It shows the capability to competently manage all of the daily activities in a timely manner in order to see projects to completion.

Project Management skills

Alone? In a team? It doesn’t matter. Being in self-employment shows that you have the ability to get the job done. You can get information and put it into use. This also shows that you can partner and collaborate with people in order to bring a freelancing project to completion.

Planning and decision-making skills

This is another quality that most freelancers possess. They can visualize, plan, prioritize set goals as well as make decisions. The thing is your freelance resume shows that you are responsible for making decisions as an individual.

Leadership and networking skills

Whether you are your own boss or you have a group of employees to assist you being in self-employment proves that you can create lasting business relationships. You can basically lead people towards achieving a specific goal because even in freelancing, you are working for yourself as well as guiding and steering people in order to make that buck you are looking for.

Interpersonal Skills

In order to secure and maintain any contract, you need to cultivate relationships with vendors, partners, and clients. This means this is not an issue for you. It also shows that you are also a great negotiator.

Passion for growth and development

In order to compete in the freelance world say writing, you need to have a  freelance writer resume that shows continuous self-growth and development in the writing field.

Creativity

A freelance writer resume or freelance web developer resume for instance,  also show how creative and visioning one is as one is required to at least add the scope of work they have done when looking for freelancing gigs. Plus one is always initiating new and more creative activities in order to secure work for themselves. It shows you are constantly developing and coming up with new ideas.

You constantly initiate new activities to garner new work opportunities for yourself. You develop, maintain, and synthesize ideas.

 Adding self-employment to a resume

Well, here are of the general directives on how to put self employed on resume:

1. Put a functional job title that clearly shows the nature of your freelance or self-employed work

The whole idea is to treat this work experience break from official employment as other independent contractors would do on their resumes. First off, give yourself a title that captures the nature of the work you did when being on self-employment. So don’t use self-employment for that gap. Instead put things like Fashion Designer, Freelance writer, Software Development Consultant or Contractor for… These descriptions will instantly capture the eyes of the HR people and give them an idea of what your field of expertise is.

2. Add a company name

Most people on self-employment or in consultancy usually have registred business names to add professionalism and make them more competitive when searching for work. So just as you would add a company name when looking for business opportunities consider proving a company name that captures your line of work. This, however, depends on the level of your freelancing or consulting business. But if the company name is there, then add it to your resume.

3. List long-term freelance jobs as normal jobs

Add job titles for the and dates so that they stand out and attract more attention. When you do this, it will also make it easier to give a description of the job experience. Check out self employed resume sample.

3. Give a summary of the services offered

After the job title and the client’s name, including the type of work performed as a freelancer and also the scope. If they were more than one company that you did work for, mention them and remember to add the dates and the industries. Remember to include key accomplishments and achievements. Your duties need to appear impressive.

4.Create a section for freelance projects and bullet points to highlight important projects or clients

If you have done so many projects over time, then the way to include these is to create a section in your resume. Putting every different project might mean that you may end up with a 20-page resume which no one will read. So in this section, but the most impressive projects. Specify the duration of the projects too.

If for instance, you did some noteworthy projects that demonstrate your marketable skills make sure they well presented in bullet points in order to highlight their relevance to the job you are applying for. Plus, mention big organizations that you have done for. Most recruiters get impressed by these. Big clients mean better work and competitiveness and excellency in work.

Then after that, mention in passing other projects you have participated in…

5. Add references

One of the main problems with self-employment on a resume is that half the time, one cannot prove the work they did or the services offered. Make sure you add some references that show the partners, companies or investors you collaborated with.

6. Exclude any irrelevant information.

The best way on how to add self employed to resume is to omit irrelevant information. The thing with freelance work is that there are lots of tasks involved. Are they relevant to the job you are applying for? Not all of them will be. So make sure the information you provide remains relevant otherwise you will end up being declined the offer.

Well, now that you have your resume ready, here is an article on self-improvement measures you can take to a more confident you. All the best.