How To Make a Freelancer Resume

Key sections to include in a freelancer resume

Freelancer resumes are unique, but they still typically stick to the same, traditional structure. Let’s take a closer look at the main elements, including the header, summary, work experience, education, and skills.

Header

Your resume header is a centralized location where the hiring manager checks for contact details, including: 

• Full name
• Job title
• Phone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn URL
• Portfolio link

Here’s a quick freelancer resume example of contact details:

For freelancers, we recommend you add a link to your portfolio in your contact details. This gives hiring managers direct, immediate access to your work samples. If they’re recruiting for a freelance role, they may even be used to scanning resumes for a portfolio link. This ensures yours is prominent and easy to find.

Resume summary or objective

This is a brief description of your professional aspirations and accomplishments. Often, recruiters skim-read this section to decide whether or not they’ll read more of your resume, so it’s vital to put impressive achievements in it.

This is even more important for freelancers. Recruiters may underestimate freelance professionals, so it’s essential to wow them with an impressive resume summary.

Here’s a quick example summary for a freelance writer:

For more realistic examples of resume summaries and objectives, browse our large collection of resume samples.

Work experience

While freelance work is different than traditional work, the work experience section is largely the same. Provide your most impressive projects and achievements, using measurable metrics to show their tangible impact on businesses.

Add two to four of your best clients or gigs, starting with your job title, then adding the company name, location, and date of employment. Here’s an example:

Education

We encourage you to add any and all education you have in a straightforward, concise way. Simply provide your degree, the institution you received it, and your graduation date. Here’s a quick example:

Remember, not all freelancers have typical education, as many of them pursued the career because of a hobby or interest. If this applies to you, simply remove the Education section and put a greater focus on your projects and achievements.

Hard & soft skills

“Freelancer” is a broad term, so we can’t give exact examples, but we can provide general guidance for all freelance professionals.

Freelancers benefit greatly from displaying transferable skills. Identify your core competencies and areas of specialization and showcase them prominently in your resume. This helps employers connect their needs to your skills easily, even if you don’t have specific, traditional experience.

For example, an influencer who has personally built their brand would have the right skills to perform in a marketing role. You can display this by highlighting:

• How many visits your site gets per month
• How many followers you’ve accumulated in the past year
• How you measure the performance and metrics of your social media
• The strategies you’ve implemented to increase views, shares, and subscribers

Don’t get discouraged if your freelancer resume doesn’t look exactly like a traditional resume. You know you have what it takes to impress the employer; you just need to speak the right language so they understand your expertise.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to showcase freelancer essentials, including adaptability, autonomy, and time management skills.

Optional sections

These sections aren’t crucial but add extra value to your resume. Typical optional sections include volunteer work, languages, and hobbies and interests, but our favorite for freelancers is a Links or Portfolio section.

Create a header in your resume, just like you were about to list volunteer work or hobbies, and include a bullet list of links beneath it. This is a fast, actionable way to direct hiring managers straight to published articles, website copy, or company logos you’ve designed.

Try modifying one of our resume templates by adding a “Portfolio” section to quickly build a freelancer resume.

Tips for writing a freelancer resume

You’ve covered the essentials, but be sure to note the following top tips to get the most out of your freelancer resume and stand out from the crowd.

Use a creative resume

A creative resume uses unique formatting, colors, and visuals to showcase your professional achievements. Examples include video resumes, resumes with infographics, and even resumes printed on different materials, such as a seamstress embroidering a resume on cloth.

Creative resumes can reflect your unique personality, style, and brand while maintaining a professional tone and format. This is a powerful way to enhance and spread your personal brand.

Want to learn more? Read our guide on how to build a creative resume.

Utilize references and past clients

Every professional uses references, but they’re essential for freelancers. Recruiters are more accustomed to seeing traditional work history, so they might not know whether to trust a freelancer's resume. 

However, they can feel assured by speaking with professionals who have worked with you. This can be in the form of testimonials or reference phone numbers and email addresses.

You can also list the names of companies you’ve worked for in your resume objective or summary. For example, a freelance writer might add: “Wrote high-ranking content for Forbes, Salesforce, and Hubspot.”

Keep your resume updated

Freelancers change often and rapidly complete projects, so ensure you keep your resume regularly updated. Traditional employees may only need to occasionally tweak achievements or employment dates, but freelancers must update their summary, professional projects, contact information, and portfolio to make a positive, relevant impression on potential clients or employers.

Highlight your unique skills on a freelancer resume

It might be intimidating at first, but learning how to write a resume as a freelancer isn’t difficult. It requires many of the same elements as a traditional resume but with consideration for your personal branding and different skill sets.

Remember our top freelancer resume tips:

• Include links to your website or portfolio
• Focus on your transferable skills
• Emphasize your adaptability and flexibility
• Leverage a creative resume
• Use references and testimonials

Motivated? Eager to get started? Build a freelancer resume in minutes using CVwizard’s resume maker.