How To List Freelance Work on a Resume

Hello. My name is Chandler, and I am a freelance video editor. And today, I'm gonna be showing you how to effectively showcase your freelance work on your resume. As someone who has been freelancing for the past five years, I know how crucial it is to showcase your freelance work to potential clients or employers. Whether you are a freelance video editor like me or you're working in any other sort of freelancing, I will walk you through the best strategies to make your resume shine.

So let's grab a coffee and get started. 

Okay. I think the first thing that we need to talk about is why listing your freelance work on your resume is actually super important. Let's be real. Freelancing isn't just completing some projects. There is so much that goes into it. It's really about developing transferable skills.

As a freelance video editor, I've developed strong time management skills, client communication skills, and definitely problem solving skills. All of which are highly sought after by employers. Highlighting freelance work on your resume not only helps explain any sort of employment gaps, but also shows the wide variety of expertise that you bring to the table.

Like being able to manage multiple projects at a time, or working across multiple different industries, and always delivering high quality results. Okay. Let's get out of the kitchen. Alright. 

First, let's talk about how to structure your freelance experience. And let's be real. This part is not that complicated and you probably know what I'm about to say. 

Step one. List your role. Clearly state your title for each freelance project that you do, and make sure that it's relevant to the job that you're actually applying for. For example, for me, I have written down a short form video editor. If you were applying for a senior video editor, make sure that your roles reflect that experience.

Step two, you're gonna wanna add dates for those freelance experiences. Listing a start- and an end-date is super important for your clients to see how long you've been working on certain projects, and it's also a great place to show that you can be consistent. 

Step three, include the company. Whether it's an independent creator or a business or even a media outlet, listing your clients adds credibility. Alright. 

Now it's time to get into the details. When detailing your freelance projects, make sure to follow these key steps. Step one, provide a project summary. For each project that you do, make sure that you're summarizing the work. For example, produced, edited, and delivered high quality promotional videos for “xyz company's” social media campaign.

Step two, make sure that you're noting any sort of achievements. And whenever it's possible, make sure that you're adding in measurable results. Things like, we increased our clients engagement by 30%, or delivered videos that helped our clients secure new business opportunities.

Step three, make sure that you highlight any sort of client testimonials. If a client left you a great review on Upwork or on your portfolio, make sure that you add that in. This will absolutely add more weight and more credibility to your resume.

When you're going through updating your resume, make sure that you're using these five best practices. 

Number one, and this could be easily overlooked, is organize your freelance work.

This might sound simple, but make sure that you're grouping similar types of work together to keep your resume looking clean and simple to read. 

Number two, and we actually talked about this before, is make sure that you're tailoring your resume to the job listing. For example, if you were applying to a corporate editing position, highlight projects where you edited together promotional and informational videos. 

Number three, make sure that you're adding your portfolio links. Always make sure that you're linking your Upwork profile or your personal portfolio. This way potential clients have an easy way of looking at the hard work that you have done. 

Number four, make sure that you're using action words and keywords. For me, I make sure that I use specific words like edited, produced, collaborated, delivered. Whatever your industry is, just make sure that you're using the keywords that your industry uses, and make sure that those keywords are matching up with the job listing. 

Number five, quantify your results. I'm saying this again because it really is this important. Make sure that you're putting real results. Use data like ‘increase video engagement by 20x’ or ‘completed x-project seven days ahead of schedule.’ This is a surefire way to show your impact. 

If you're a freelancer who's actually interested in looking for full-time work, consider looking into contract-to-hire positions. As a video editor, I've seen firsthand how freelance opportunities can lead to full-time offers. And make sure that you're researching salary expectations. It can really help you navigate what makes sense for you, whether it makes sense to keep doing freelance work or whether you should be seeking full time opportunities. Platforms like Upwork actually allow you to filter through contract-to-hire positions – allowing you to specify your openness to full-time opportunities. You can do this when you're searching for opportunities on Upwork, but you can also add it to your profile settings as well. 

Alright. To recap, make sure that you are listing your freelance work effectively on your resume by focusing on your roles, dates, achievements, and even sprinkling in a few client testimonials too. Make sure that you're updating your resume with your most recent projects, and feel free to seek professional advice if you need it. And hey, you could even connect with a resume expert on Upwork.

If you found any of these tips helpful or you're interested in more freelancing tips, make sure that you subscribe. We'll see you in the next one.