What should my résumé say when it comes to freelance?
August 9, 2010 3:25 PM Subscribe
How do I list my (more and more extensive) freelance design work on my résumé in a good way.
I had several full time jobs from 2001—2008. Then I went back to school where I got an internship. Now I've graduated and I've been getting a lot of freelance jobs. This is how I've listed it on my résumé:
Internship 2010
Job 2002—2008
Job 2001—2002
Freelance 2001—2010. Clients include xx,...
My freelance jobs are getting more extensive. Some larger clients, some good experience, some big projects.
Should I continue to put my freelance work down at the bottom all crowded together or is it customary to break it out? But listing all of the projects would be too much.
Should I combine some of the steady clients into something listed as a full-time job? i.e. a lot of little jobs for an album campaign could be given a title and an employer or is this a bad practice?
I had several full time jobs from 2001—2008. Then I went back to school where I got an internship. Now I've graduated and I've been getting a lot of freelance jobs. This is how I've listed it on my résumé:
Internship 2010
Job 2002—2008
Job 2001—2002
Freelance 2001—2010. Clients include xx,...
My freelance jobs are getting more extensive. Some larger clients, some good experience, some big projects.
Should I continue to put my freelance work down at the bottom all crowded together or is it customary to break it out? But listing all of the projects would be too much.
Should I combine some of the steady clients into something listed as a full-time job? i.e. a lot of little jobs for an album campaign could be given a title and an employer or is this a bad practice?
Best answer: First of all, because your freelancing is current, it should be listed before your internship (which, if I read you correctly, is already finished) and your more traditional jobs.
Unless you signed a confidentiality agreement with your freelance clients, or had a pretty clear verbal agreement with them, there is no reason why you couldn't provide some specifics about it. Just don't list all of it, because that could get burdensome.
You could do something like this:
Freelance Designer (to clients such as LeadingEdgeInc., 2001 - present
BigAss Corp., and ReallyImpressiveCompany)
[type of design work you do] on X-to-Y length assignments, providing specialized expertise [or whatever makes your work sound impressive and makes you sound all the more impressive because you're a giant among designers]. Projects completed include:
- fancy schmancy project that helped the client win a prestigious award
- really massive project that lesser designers have failed at
- a project so complicated that it'll knock your socks off
- a project that was really fun and oh-so-very creative
posted by DrGail at 5:29 PM on August 9, 2010
Unless you signed a confidentiality agreement with your freelance clients, or had a pretty clear verbal agreement with them, there is no reason why you couldn't provide some specifics about it. Just don't list all of it, because that could get burdensome.
You could do something like this:
Freelance Designer (to clients such as LeadingEdgeInc., 2001 - present
BigAss Corp., and ReallyImpressiveCompany)
[type of design work you do] on X-to-Y length assignments, providing specialized expertise [or whatever makes your work sound impressive and makes you sound all the more impressive because you're a giant among designers]. Projects completed include:
- fancy schmancy project that helped the client win a prestigious award
- really massive project that lesser designers have failed at
- a project so complicated that it'll knock your socks off
- a project that was really fun and oh-so-very creative
posted by DrGail at 5:29 PM on August 9, 2010
Response by poster: DrGail, thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for: how to spotlight the bigger jobs and clients while not having to laundry list all of them.
posted by Brainy at 6:37 PM on August 9, 2010
posted by Brainy at 6:37 PM on August 9, 2010
DrGail has some good points. However, I'd suggest highlighting some of this stuff in your candidate profile and "Experience Highlights" sections toward the top of the resume first. If you are looking for a "job" and not more freelance/consulting work, some employers will be a bit antsy about seeing your freelance title as the first thing when they scan down the list. So go with a combination resume. I suggest "combination" over functional because it gives you more work history, rather than just a summary. You might want to consider naming your freelance biz and giving yourself a job title, so that you look more "stable" to skittish employers.
posted by acoutu at 9:31 PM on August 9, 2010
posted by acoutu at 9:31 PM on August 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:24 PM on August 9, 2010