Best Tips to Write a Freelance Resume

"Best Most freelance jobs may not need you to have a professional resume; however, many long-term projects or high-paying work may require you to do so. When we talk about copywriting, virtual assistance, professional designing and public relations, a well-written resume is always considered as a plus point for a freelancer. A resume helps you to showcase your potential, and employers can narrow down their selections to the funnel. Although freelancing has its own benefits, a professional resume will get you when you want to switch to full-time staffing work from a freelance lifestyle. Every company will need you to submit a professionally updated resume that they may use it to pass along to their clients. Whether you are a website developer, graphic designer, voice-over artist or a content writer; your standard resume should emphasise on your skill set, your previous work experience, your client pool, your achievements on worthy projects and your qualifications. The only thing that will differentiate your resume is how you decide to write it up. Hence your choice of making it a good resume or a great resume will get you hired or passed over. Your skills in writing and designing can increase your chances to get the job; after all, your resume is the best thing to show off your work. Craft a spectacular resume, make it top notch and let it reflect your skills and your personality because many freelancers can get many short-term, task-based jobs. However, only those freelancers who capture the minds of their clients’ can have some good long-term gigs in hand. Below are 13 tips that you can consider when writing a resume as a freelancer!

Precise & Brief Data

Experts recommend limiting the resume to two pages. This makes it easy to read at first glance. Employers will screen and filter it to make a short list of candidates. Moreover, use third person language because it’s not about you as a person; it’s about your skills and experience. HR managers have a clear idea for their requirements; if you can make your resume transparent with creativity, no one can stop you to get hired.  

Design Sections Well 

A neat and organised resume always works. Presentation matters in every aspect of a professional resume. A well-designed resume will clear sections, and a high-resolution professional photo is enough to give the employer the idea to match your personality to the vacant position. Use a good texture white paper printed against black ink if you are sending a hard copy.  

Format, Headings & Fonts are Important

You don’t need to add a lot of creative flairs, just stick to the basics and focus on simplicity. Avoid the use of bold and bright format heading and fancy fonts. Grammarly and Academist Help are best tools to help you write in formal tone. Design for clarity with consistency, keep aligned headings with margins and same line spacing for the whole context. Stick to universally-accepted fonts. Make fonts look neat, appealing, and are easy on the eye. "Your

Content is the King

Start your resume with career objectives; modify your content according to the applied job. Clear goals help the employer to get a reason to hire you. Avoid personal information, such as your marital status. Also, your contact information should include your physical address, your email address, and your phone number.  

Highlight Outstanding Achievements

Your achievement section is the heart of your resume. Mention relevant milestones that portray you as a competent professional. Tag them with your skillset as an exceptional work. Specify your niche. Create a resume that showcases your skills rather than being a chronological one.  

Educational Credentials 

Include each and every relevant degree and course certifications that you have completed. Please don’t include your grades if not asked. Companies like to see measurable results, so try to include work statistics. Your educational credentials will take you to the interview while your skills and expertise will get you the job. So don’t underestimate the power of educational add-ons. Use them wisely!  

Quantitative Information is Useful

Present yourself as effective sales strategist. Mention your specifications with accomplishments in numeric. For example; don’t state that you have written product descriptions for a client, instead; you can say that you have written 200 high-quality product descriptions for a culinary seasonal catalogue client on Amazon. Also, you have written a product promotional press release for a client that was emailed to 20,000 customers and increased their sales by 22%. Again, you only want to mention accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are applying for.  

Jargons are Dangerous

Choice of words plays an essential role in making your content clear and effective. Strive to deliver information clear and straightforward. Jargons are useful to impress newbies; however, an employer would instead prefer to read a resume with simple language. Don’t take the risk to confuse your potential employer with fancy words.

Customisable for Every Job

Make your resume flexible enough to mold it for a different type of jobs within the same niche. Recruiters often have a pile of resumes to fill a single position; those who do not acknowledge the company’s needs are excluded from the final round. Hence, to gain the attention of a hiring manager, make sure that your resume includes experience and skills that are relevant to the job requirements.   It is not essential to include every social media account to link your own. However, it is imperative to add links to your websites, blogs, and industry-specific portfolios. For example; Dribbble, Behance, eBlogger, Medium, Github, Upwork are some reputable platforms to showcase your work. If you have worked for large corporations, mention them in your resume and include a link to their website as well unless you have signed an NDA. Adding recognisable names will add authentication to your resume. Also, it will demonstrate your service level, client dealing, time management, and reliability to your profile. Your portfolio gives you an opportunity to shine, so don’t be afraid to showcase your talent.  

Keyword is the Key

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a crucial component to get you to the top of search results. Like other things competing online, your resume has no exception. Many companies use different freelance platforms, job sites, and automated software to filter resume searches for relevant keywords. It is best to include your possible job title as a keyword to make sure your resume shows up.

Call to Action (CTA)

A hiring manager may not bother to look for the resources you provide them. This is why we recommend you to include links to your desired websites or portfolio with a quick call to action. Check your references, and give them room to ask for more information if needed. Also, never include multiple CTA as it will give your resume an impression of spam.  

Proofread is Essential

You always need to self-edit your work. However, an additional pair of the eye may be helpful. Check by yourself first for grammatical mistakes, punctuations, tenses errors, and formatting. Double check typos and misspells. Exclude extra spacing and repeated words. After that, get feedback from a friend, mentor, or a professional. See how the content flows. By all of this, you will create a cohesive masterpiece.  

Conclusion

Crafting a mistake-free resume is the key that helps you to land your desirable jobs. Hence, when the next time you are applying for a work, consider the above 13 tips to make sure your resume stands out.   Author Bio: Stella Lincoln is an editor and senior freelance content developer at Australian Master. Stella has 12 years’ experience in content writing for reputable websites and large-sized organisations. She is a Certified Market Research Professional (CMRP) and holds a master degree in advanced English. She runs her own co-working firm as well and also is a marketing tutor at Crowd Writer.

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