Expert Tips to Put Self-Employed Experience on a Resume (With Examples)
Listing your experience running a business on a resume can be tricky. While freelance or entrepreneurial background provides you with some valuable skills for any business, composing a resume may turn into a challenge. Say, you ran a small jewelry store or were an accountant on freelance basis. What is the best way to describe this sort of experience on a resume for a full-time job?
According to the statistic, about 16 million of Americans are self-employed. In today's guide, a writer from our online resume writing service will explain how to describe your experience. Your ability to run a business has provided you with a set of self-employed skills that other applicants probably don't have. Not sure how to present your freelance or business background on a resume? Learn how to add your freelance experience, running a business, or independent contractor work and make it count for employers.
Why You Should List Self-Employment on Your Resume
Including self-employment on your resume shows your initiative, business acument, and are skilled in various areas of running your own business. This provides you with a wider perspective and more skills than someone who has been an employee throughout their career. If you are asking yourself "Should I list self-employment on my resume?" here are the key reasons to include it:
- Cover unemployment gap. Whether you were growing a startup or offering services as an independent specialist, it counts as work experience and deserves being mentioned in your Professional Experience section.
- Showcase valuable soft skills. People who had the experience growing their own business, usually are proactive, flexible, and have strong communication, customer service, and organizational skills. Moreover, they are knowledgeable about various business areas from hiring and operations to marketing and sales, which someone with traditional work history doesn't have.
- Show your unique value proposition. Listing experience as a freelance web developer or a coffee shop owner can distinguish you from the competition. Plus, if your running your own business is in the same niche as your target company, it can give your resume a boost!
- Prove your adaptability. Running your company or freelance business includes adapting to ever-changing environment, managing multiple clients, resolving issues, to keep your own small business afloat. It all proves that you are adaptable and not afraid of challenges.
Employers value experience on your resume, but you need to list it professionally to make it count. Keep reading to learn how to write a self-employed job description that gets the hiring manager interested.
How to Put Self-Employed on a Resume (Step-by-Step Guide)
Wondering how to include the business owner experience or how to present your contract-based roles effectively on a resume? Here is our guide to listing your work as a freelancer or business operator.
1. Use a matching job title
When describing your work history in a resume for independent professionals, don't hide behind the vague "Self-employed" title. Instead, use the title that reflects your responsibilities, such as "Marketing Director", "Consultant", or "Freelance SMM specialist". If possible, adapt the job title for the target job and focus on relevant experience so that you look like someone who is qualified for the role.
If you ran a company, it's a good idea to use the title "Entrepreneur" and add the name of the company alongside so that the format of the job description doesn't differ much from traditional employment.
By using an informative job title, you will catch the recruiter's attention and encourage them to take notice.
2. Add the company name and self-employment type
Your self-employment history should be included in the Work Experience section along with other jobs. Here's how to list self employment on resume and make it informative for employers:
- Include the relevant job title
- Add the company name, if any
- Include the self-employment type, i.e. freelancer, independent contractor, business owner, partner, or consultant.
- Add the city and state (as a freelancer, you may include the location where you live)
- Add months and dates of being self-employed.
This format will communicate the essential details to employer in a nutshell and also will work for your personal brand. You can use the same format when listing side hustles on a resume.
3. Provide the summary of services you offer
The description of your self-employment skills on a resume will be more informative if you add a short snippet introducing your business or services offered. For example, if you ran a shoe store, you might want to specify the business type, profits you've reached and number of employees you supervised. Similarly, if you were a freelance designer, tell what kind of visuals you worked on and the names of clients you worked for. This will help the recruiter better understand how the type of work you did before can be helpful for the company.
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4. Specify your accomplishments
Whether your previous self-employed projects or independent contractor experience aligns with your target career or not, be sure to add accomplishments. Potential employers value accomplishments since they show that the candidate is result-oriented and wants to exceed expectations. For instance, if you worked as a social media manager, your accomplishments might sound like "Grew Facebook subscribers by 3X and increased the involvement by 55% by creating a new advertising campaign".
Do not forget to add figures, percentages and context to each of the accomplishments. By doing so, you make them sound trustworthy and capture the reader's attention. This is important for a resume summary and when listing other jobs as well.
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5. Highlight the skills
As someone with hands-on entrepreneurial experience, you excel at freelance project management and have great entrepreneurship skills. Make sure to emphasize these competencies through specific projects (you may list multiple projects if relevant) and add numbers to boost credibility. Strong customer service skills, interpersonal communication, leadership and supervision, and finance management are also an asset, so don't forget to add them to your Skills section.
Include technical expertise or hard skills relevant for the position you're targeting. For example, if you have been a freelance graphic designer and want to find a more stable traditional job, list any software and tools you used to make your qualifications clear for recruiters.
To make your resume ATS-friendly, adjust your resume skills to every job you're applying for. Include technical competencies, soft skills, and credentials word for word. Not only it will prove your qualifications, but also it will increase your ATS score.
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6. Don't embellish the truth
If you don't have a boss who could confirm your performance, you might be tempted to exaggerate your successes or qualifications on a resume. However, the best career advice is not to do that. A savvy hiring manager will quickly reveal the truth by asking the additional questions during an interview. And even if they don't and you get hired, the fact that you've lied about your qualifications will become obvious. The best strategy is to be honest and focus on the advantages of working independently.
7. Add social proof
As a person who was running a business or doing contract work, you don't have a boss or coworkers who could advocate for you. Yet, you can go the other way. Ask your most loyal clients to give feedback about your work, and add them to your resume as quotes. This original approach to resume writing will definitely grab the attention of hiring managers.
Links to your professional resources such as an online portfolio, personal website, published works or even LinkedIn profile also work well. The main idea is to show your professionalism and demonstrate that others value your work.
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Now that you know how to include entrepreneurial work experience on your resume and how to list contract work, let's move on to specific examples to describe your self-employed capacity.
Examples of Self-Employment on a Resume
Here are the resume for entrepreneurs or freelancers examples and templates you can use to format your own experience:
Freelance work example for resume - Software Developer
Freelance Software Developer
Self-Employed 05/2023 - Present
- Developed and maintained custom software solutions for diverse clients in the US and Canade using Python, Java, and JavaScript.
- Managed client communication, requirements gathering, and project planning, to exceed expectations, and maintained a 95% customer satisfaction rate.
- Increased client efficiency by 25% on average by optimizing code and automating manual processes.
- Sourced new business through freelancing websites and client referrals, and built working relationships to generate repeat business.
Entrepreneur resume example - Business Owner
Founder & CMO
Kenneth Marketing, Austin, TX 10/2022 - 05/2025
- Founded and managed a digital marketing agency offering social media campaign management, advertising, and content creation services to small businesses.
- Developed and executed 45+ marketing campaigns that increased brand awareness by 35% and increased sales by 25% on average.
- Oversaw all business aspects including market research, budgeting, lead generation, and hiring, growing the company revenue by 55% year over year.
Each example resume for independent professionals above lists unique experience, technical skills, and is described with context and figures, which hiring managers appreciate. When writing your resume, make sure to align it with your current career goals and emphasize relevant skills for a successful job hunt.
Self-employed resume summary example
Experienced Accounting Consultant and Small Owner with 5+ years of experience. Skilled in financial analysis, budgeting, tax planning, and business strategy to improve financial performance and drive growth. Proven track record in reducting client taxes by 20% on average through strategic tax planning, building strong client relationships, and deliver measurable results for pharmaceutical clients.
Best Resume Skills to Showcase as a Independent Professional
Listing technical skills is an essential part of writing a self-employed resume. A well-written Skills section instantly draws the attention of the reader, encouraging them to review your application closer. Hard skills prove that your qualifications match the role. On the other hand, transferable skills from independent work can strengthen your application and give you a competitive edge.
Here are the best resume skills for self-employed professionals:
- Technical skills (such as programming languages, industry-specific software, data analysis, laws, and regulations)
- Project management
- Interpersonal skills
- Customer service
- Team leadership
- Entrepreneurship
- Business development
- Budgeting
- Data analysis
- Marketing and sales
- Negotiation
- Time management
- Stakeholder management
- Hiring and training
- Risk management
These professional skills gained from self-employment can give the employer a better picture of your strngths. Remember to show your skills not only as a list but in your work history as well to give examples.
ATS-Friendly Resume Tips for Freelancers and Business Owners
To create an ATS-friendly resume for freelancers or contractors, use simple formatting and add relevant keywords to your resume:
- Use a chronological resume format. Such resumes are ATS-friendly and most employers prefer them.
- Keep formatting simple. Avoid tables, graphs, pictures, and multiple columns, as not all ATS systems process them correctly. If you're not sure how to format your resume, use our free ATS-friendly Google Docs resume templates.
- Use bullets. When formatting self-employment on your resume, use resume bullet points to list job duties and accomplishments.
- Add keywords. Use keywords as they are in the job description. Use them in your resume summary, skills list, and work history.
- Include client testimonials on resume. Add 2-3 testimonials to give potential employers a social proof of your strengths and professional skills.
- Send your resume as a PDF file. It preserves formatting and your resume will open correctly on any device.
Get your resume written by experts
Putting your experience and accomplishments together can be a tedious process. If you want a resume that would truly set you apart, use our resume writing services for self-employed professionals. An experienced or certified professional resume writer can highlight your self-employment, making it a real asset for companies.
At ResumePerk, we will match you with an in-house expert of our resume update service for freelancers who will work one-on-one with you until you are totally satisfied. Plus, we offer affordable cover letter and resume writing services for any wallet. Chat with us to get an additional 20% discount as a first-time client!
FAQ: How to List Self-Employed Experience on a Resume
What is the best job title for self-employed work on a resume?
Use specific titles like "Freelance Consultant", "Business Owner", or "Independent Contractor" instead of simply writing "Self-Employed". This helps hiring managers quickly understand your role and expertise.
Can I list my small business on my resume?
Yes, mention your business name, role, and key achievements. This shows leadership, management, and entrepreneurial experience valuable to employers.
How do I list freelance projects on my resume?
Include freelance projects in your experience section or under a dedicated freelance heading. List clients, scope, and results in bullet points to highlight your achievements.
Should I include client references in my resume?
It's not standard to list them directly. Mention that they are available upon request or link to a portfolio with client testimonials.
Is a portfolio important for self-employed professionals?
Yes, linking to a portfolio with examples of your work can boost credibility and show real-world results to potential employers.
Should I include self-employment on my resume?
Yes, self-employment shows valuable skills and entrepreneurial spirit. Make sure to format it professionally with a clear title and description.
How do I prove self-employed experience to employers?
Provide links to your portfolio, client testimonials, or references. Including measurable achievements and project details also helps validate your experience.
How do I write an ATS-friendly freelance resume?
Use industry keywords, clear job titles, and bullet points. Include relevant skills and achievements to improve your chances with applicant tracking systems (ATS).
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