What if the only thing between you and a killer freelance job was your resume?
In the world of freelance, you have tons of competition for the same jobs. That means you must have a freelance resume that puts you ahead of the competition.
This is especially true if you are going to create an account on freelance marketplace sites like Fiverr or UpWork and Toptal. Sure, a few jobs might trickle in here and there, but if you really want to secure the higher level campaigns, they will likely be asking for references, a portfolio and of course a resume of your expertise and history.
More often then not, the visuals and data provided by an applicant or agency are going to outweigh just making a decision based on costs alone. There are plenty of ways to make sure your brand and work speaks for itself — many of which we are going to be covering today.
Wondering how to boost your freelance resume? Keep reading to discover our top tips!
1. Skills-Based
A traditional resume is typically chronology-based, which means listing jobs in reverse chronological order. However, this makes some freelancers nervous because of the inevitable gaps showing you had no regular work.
One way around this problem is to switch to a skills-based resume. You still selectively include jobs (more on that in a minute), but the resume primarily emphasizes your specific and unique skills.
For a hiring manager looking for a way to solve a problem (or two), such resumes are a breath of fresh air.
2. The Best of the Best
No matter how you organize your resume, you’re not going to include every job you’ve ever held. Instead, you need to include the jobs that have the most potential relevance to a potential employer.
Each job needs a one- or two-sentence summary about your responsibilities. Whenever possible, include specific numbers, such as how many views your articles averaged or the budget of a major project you managed.
This helps quantify your specific role while also helping your application stand out.
3. Using Templates
Traditional wisdom holds that you should customize your resume for each new application. However, writing everything from scratch is a time-consuming endeavor that is likely to drive you crazy.
Our advice? Start using some resume templates. You can still customize key areas, but the template itself will save a ton of time for each resume.
If you don’t know where to get started, you can easily snag from free resume templates from Adobe Spark.
4. The Matching Game
Sometimes, resume advice for freelancers and non-freelancers overlaps. For example, each resume you submit needs to play the “matching game.”
Every job listing is going to throw out certain keywords. And these keywords will cover everything from the company philosophy to the specific requirements of the job you want.
Make sure to pepper your resume with these keywords. It shows that you thoroughly read the job posting and makes it seem like you’re already “speaking the language.”
5. Creating a Logo and Brand Identity
Resumes come in all different shapes and sizes. Some of them are straight text, while others are more colorful and creative.
One way to make your resume and brand instantly stand out from the competition, is to have a professional logo design that represents your work and is also proudly displayed on your resume.
Not only will this make your resume instantly stand out from others, it can also be done at a much lower cost than you might think.
For example, you can find plenty of logo designers on various freelance marketing sites, which often charge in the range of $50-$100 for a nice looking design. The option is also there to look through a wide range of already built designs on the site, and then paying a small fee to purchase and brand the logo as your own.
While looking through these sites and designer profiles, it might also give you some ideas on how to better improve your own freelance resume and profile in the process.
6. What You Can Do for Them
Many resumes include an “Objective” section at the top. Here’s an open secret, though: everyone’s “objective” is basically the same–to get the job and keep the employer happy.
You should replace this section with one that details what you can do for the company. In a few sentences, outline what unique skills and experiences you have and why you will work well with this company.
This is a good section to include company-specific keywords, but try to avoid played-out buzzwords like “guru.”
7. Rank at the Top of Google for Your Name
In addition to having a resume that you can post on freelance and job sites, you will also want to make sure that it’s easy for other potential clients and brands to find your information online as well.
Most companies are going to look up their potential hires in Google before making a final decision. With this in mind, it’s important to make sure you have a website or blog, with your name or brand name as the domain name — and that it preferably is ranking at the top of Google if someone was to search for you.
This makes it easy for anyone to get in touch with you and also see your portfolio and best work online.
After ranking your main site, you should also try and rank your freelancer profile pages, and social media profiles. Since Google puts a lot of emphasis on these social platforms and job sites already, it shouldn’t take much work to start ranking them on the main page of Google for your name.
To learn more about how this SEO method works, click here to read a full guide on the process.
Freelance Resume Tips: The Bottom Line
Now you know how to write a killer freelance resume. But do you know where to find killer freelance jobs?
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