I like to check out the search terms that bring readers to this blog, and I’ve noticed that the question of how to show your freelance writing jobs on a resume comes up often. Showing your freelance work on a resume can be a bit challenging, especially if you are doing ghost writing and don’t want to reveal your clients’ names. Some clients would prefer not to reveal that they hire freelancers to work for them and so you need to find a way to tell a prospective client about your freelance writing experience without revealing too much information.
Listing Freelance Writing Jobs on Your Resume
The Employment section of my freelance writer resume has a combination of jobs where I worked for companies as an employee as well as a description of the kinds of work I have done since I started working for myself. Listing past employers is pretty straightforward; I include the company name and location, as well as the job title. Then I list what my responsibilities were when I held that position.
When I list my freelance writing jobs, it’s a bit different. Instead of listing an employer’s name, I use “Freelance Writer (Self-employed)” instead. I indicate the year that I started freelancing and the fact that this is my present employment situation.
In the description, I list the types of work that I have done (SEO articles, copy writing, ebooks, etc.), as well as the types of topics that I have written about. Many of these types of projects are ghostwriting gigs, and I don’t share the clients’ names on my resume. I have other gigs where I get a byline, and I do list client names on my resume for those ones.
How do you set up the employment section of your freelance writer resume?