How to Write a Resume For a Freelancer
The gig economy has been taking the labor markets by storm. The pandemic created an even more favorable environment for short-term, flexible, and freelance jobs in the world. With mind-boggling technological changes, 9-to-5 jobs are no longer your main or most coveted option.
Statistics show that the number of freelancers in the United States is growing steadily. It is projected to exceed 85 million by 2027, constituting more than 51 percent of the total workforce. In addition to spiking demand, this also means tighter competition.
If you want to stand out in the growing army of freelancers, you absolutely need to have a compelling, eye-catching, and substantive resume. Follow my tips to write one that will land you your dream job.
Match your resume with the required qualifications
Your resume should speak to the required competencies and qualifications. You need to make it clear how you match those. No one will be interested in your groundbreaking achievements if they have nothing to do with the challenges of the advertised position.
It also makes sense to adjust your resume to each and every job advert. Required qualifications and skills will vary from job to job, so you must tailor your content accordingly. This does not mean you must lie about your qualifications; just highlight the ones that are most relevant to a given job role.
Add a summary with your overall goal statement. Make it punchy and snappy so as to make an immediate impression on evaluators.
Find the right template
Proceeding from the above is my next point - find the right template. Do some background research on the company you want to work for to find out what sort of template will be most suitable. Some like it short and sweet; others prefer more details.
There is no dearth of templates you can find online. Scour the internet and select a few that look best. Whichever template you pick, make sure it makes you look professional.
Make it easily readable
Whatever template you pick, it is a must to make your resume easy to read. Don’t overcrowd it with too much information. Single out the key pieces that you absolutely want your prospective employer to notice. Remember that white space is your friend, so strike a good visual balance between empty space and text.
If you are not sure how to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively, learn from the experience of professional writers at Trust My Paper. They do an outstanding job in completing academic essays, theses, term papers, and dissertations to the highest academic standards.
To that end, they use a writing style that puts the message across in the most efficient manner. It is a skill that needs to be perfected on a regular basis.
Focus on achievements rather than responsibilities only
Don’t just write what your responsibilities were in your previous jobs. That does not say anything to the reader about your achievements. Focus on what you were able to accomplish for your employers.
How did you help them earn more or achieve more? Or achieve more with less, for that matter. Did you learn anything new in that job? These are critical pieces of information that will definitely catch the evaluators’ attention.
Use examples, facts, and figures
Be specific in your description. Use simple and clear examples. Add facts and dollar amounts to showcase your success and to explain to the evaluators what value you can bring to their company.
Quantify as much as you can. Given people’s limited attention span, numbers are far easier to digest than any kind of qualitative information in the first 10 seconds or so. This is the critical time spent during which evaluators either pick you or turn you down.
Focus on your skills
Adaptability is an essential skill for any job these days. More so for freelancing opportunities. No one is going to expect you to know everything. We live in an era where, unlike previous generations, access to information and knowledge is no longer an issue. It is all just a few clicks away these days.
What really matters are two things: your skill of processing, analyzing, and using information; and your ability to adapt to changing circumstances. If you have both of these skills, you will be a key contender in any recruitment process.
Contact and portfolio information
Don’t forget to provide your contact and portfolio information in a user-friendly and neat manner. No need to add excessive details, just key pieces to make sure you are easily and conveniently reachable at all times.
You do not need to add your photo. Some people do it, but I personally find it irrelevant and a bit unprofessional. After all, why should your looks matter as long as you have the right skills?
Include keywords
Be smart about how you select and use keywords. Read the job advert carefully to get a handle on the main competencies, and skills recruiters are looking for. When expecting too many applications, many companies use automated software to shortlist applications.
A computer program will decide whether you pass muster or not. It boils down to the right use of keywords to ‘convince’ the program that you are the right pick. Use all your SEO skills to use the kind of keywords that will pass the screening test.
Practice, learn from mistakes, and improve
Every application is an opportunity to learn. Even if you fail to get a job, make sure you get some feedback from the recruiters. Sometimes, that feedback might prove to be more valuable than the job itself. Practice makes perfect, so make sure you improve your resume next time you put in your application.
Final Remarks
Writing a powerful resume is a challenging but rewarding effort. Its quality is directly correlated to your chances of being shortlisted for an interview. Many companies now use automated software to screen applications, so you must be smart about how you frame and word your resume.
You also need to be smart about what you include in it and what you decide to leave out. In any case, you must come up with something that breaks through computer-based screening programs and the assessors’ short attention spans.
About the author
Nicole Garrison is an acclaimed writer and career counselor. After a long and rewarding career with a couple of the leading recruiting companies, she switched to providing consulting services on lucrative career opportunities to both full-time employment seekers and freelancers. Nicole also posts regular reviews of current trends and developments in the gig economy that benefit thousands of freelancers across the globe.