How to Write a Resume When You've Been Freelancing

Freelancing is great until you decide to go back to full-time work and realize your resume looks like a collection of random gigs. No clear employer, no obvious career trajectory, a bunch of short engagements. The challenge isn’t that you lack experience. It’s that your experience doesn’t fit the standard resume format most recruiters expect.

1. Treat Freelancing as a Job (But Be Clear About It)

Instead of listing each individual client as a separate role, consolidate your work under a single “Freelancer” or “Self-Employed” entry. This immediately makes your career history easier to read.

Example:

Self-Employed | Freelance Writer & Editor | 2018 - Present

• Managed all aspects of a freelance writing and editing business, including client acquisition, project management, and content delivery.
• Developed content strategies for clients in tech, healthcare, and education.
• Delivered high-quality work on time and within budget, resulting in repeat business and referrals.

This makes your freelance career look like a coherent role, not a gap you’re trying to hide.

2. Quantify Your Accomplishments

Numbers make freelance experience credible. Without them, “wrote blog posts” could mean anything.

Before:

• Wrote blog posts for a tech company.

After:

• Wrote 10+ blog posts per month for a B2B tech company, contributing to a 25% increase in organic search traffic over 6 months.

Metrics that work for self-employed resumes:

• Revenue generated or managed
• Number of projects completed
• Client count
• Efficiency improvements
• Cost savings for clients

3. Highlight Transferable Skills

Freelancing builds skills most full-time employees don’t develop as quickly: project management, client communication, self-direction, adaptability under deadline pressure. These translate directly to full-time roles.

Specific skills worth calling out:

• Project management: deadlines, budgets, client expectations
• Communication: regular updates, managing revisions, handling difficult feedback
• Problem-solving: diagnosing issues independently
• Time management: juggling multiple clients simultaneously
• Business development: finding and closing new clients

Example: “Managed 15+ concurrent client projects, maintaining clear communication on deliverables and timelines. Proactively flagged scope changes before they became problems.”

4. Customize for Each Application

Don’t send the same resume everywhere. If you’re applying for a marketing manager role, lead with your marketing work. If you’re applying for a technical writing role, lead with your technical documentation projects. The freelance history is flexible, use that to your advantage.

5. Choose the Right Format

Freelancers generally do better with functional or combination resume formats:

• Functional: Organized around skills rather than chronology. Useful if you want to draw attention away from the patchwork of short engagements. Some recruiters are skeptical of pure functional resumes, so use with caution.
• Combination: Merges skills-forward structure with a clear timeline. Usually the better option. You highlight capabilities while still showing when you did the work.

6. Address the “Why Freelance?” Question

Expect this in interviews. Prepare a concise, honest answer that frames freelancing as a deliberate choice, not a fallback.

Example: “I chose freelancing to build a broader skill set across industries and work on projects that directly matched my interests. I gained hands-on experience managing entire project lifecycles independently. Now I’m looking for a role where I can apply that breadth in a more focused, collaborative environment.”

7. Use Your Portfolio

A portfolio is the clearest proof of what you can actually do. Include a link on your resume. Make sure it’s organized, up to date, and highlights work relevant to the jobs you’re applying for.

8. Include Testimonials Where You Can

Client testimonials add credibility. If you have strong LinkedIn recommendations, that’s often enough. A brief quote in your portfolio or an “Available on request” note in your resume can also work.

9. Address Gaps Honestly

If there were stretches between projects, own them briefly. Did you take courses? Travel? Care for family? A short explanation is better than leaving a recruiter to wonder.

10. Proofread

This applies to every resume. Freelancers sometimes carry the (unfair) reputation of being less detail-oriented than in-house professionals. A typo-free, well-formatted resume helps counter that.

Sample Freelance Resume Snippets

Web Developer:

Self-Employed | Freelance Web Developer | 2019 - Present

• Built 20+ responsive websites for small businesses using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.
• Implemented SEO best practices, resulting in an average 40% increase in organic search traffic.
• Provided ongoing maintenance and support, keeping client sites secure and performant.

Graphic Designer:

Freelance Graphic Designer | 2017 - Present

• Created visual identities and marketing materials for 30+ clients, including logos, brochures, and social media assets.
• Increased average client brand awareness by 30% through targeted design work.
• Collaborated with clients to align design to brand voice and target audience.

Virtual Assistant:

Self-Employed | Virtual Assistant | 2020 - Present

• Provided administrative support to 8 concurrent clients, managing schedules, correspondence, and presentations.
• Streamlined administrative workflows, reducing task completion time by 20% for primary clients.

The core principle: present your freelance experience as proof of real skills and real results, not as a list of odd jobs. Recruiters can see the value when you present it clearly.

---

See How Your Resume Stacks Up

Not sure if your resume matches the job? OpenApply analyzes your resume against any job description and tells you exactly what to improve, keywords, skills gaps, and formatting issues. Get actionable feedback in seconds.

Check your resume match →