How to Create a Self-Employed Resume and Impress the Employer

1. How to structure your CV in the best way?
2. How to outline the nature of your work and services in the right way?
3. How to present your portfolio perfectly?
4. Writing a cover letter: step by step
5. Self-employment resume examples
6. Top 5 best appropriate resume templates

Self employed resume. Frequently asked question: does a resume for the self-employed need to be done? Some say that resumes are outdated, especially when it comes to freelance work. The argument is that your website, portfolio, and social media accounts contain enough information to get you hired.

But without a self-employment resume, you may miss out on some profitable offers and lose the opportunity to get a better job. Even if you do not use a self-employment resume, you should have a resume ready in case it is needed. Most resume formats are designed for traditional use. As a result, it can be difficult to fit a freelance career into a traditional resume format.

In this post, you will find the answers to all your questions about the self-employment resume.

How to structure your CV in the best way?

A CV is a detailed description of your working life. It is a descriptive document, which means you can include as many details as you like. For example, in the Additional Education section, you can mention all the courses, conferences, and other professional development activities that you have attended. You can also mention online seminars and webinars. That is, the list can be quite long, and for a CV this is normal.

When you are asked to send a CV, it means that your candidacy is interested in general: where you studied, worked, what you did in different periods of your life, how your biography developed. You do not need to focus on something specific in a resume for self-employed.

The most important aspect of your CV is its structure. It has to be very clear, logical, and practical. How can you achieve such a structure?

Here is an example of what a high-quality CV should look like in terms of structure.

The key points for a self-employment resume include these:

1. Name and surname.
2. Phone number and email. It must be written in an international format, starting with the country code. And of course, you must specify your email. It must be neutral, containing your personal information. Avoid any abbreviated words. Also, note the selection of the mail service. Gmail, as an international service, is best suited for a resume in English. In addition to email, please specify additional contact details; for example, Skype.
3. Just after your name and contact details, give the Career Summary. In this section, you need to answer the questions: Who are you, what do you do and what are your benefits? Not many people add Career Summary to their CV - it will show you to be a competent person who knows how to highlight the main things.
4. Work Experience. Your task here is to reveal your professional experience to the fullest. Bring all the places of work in reverse chronology, which belong to the desired position. Here you should also mention achievements if they are available. Give only specific facts with exact numbers and percentages. Keep in mind that the information can be checked at any time.
   When adding self-employment to your resume, do not write “2015-2020 - freelance, project work.” This is uninformative. It is important to tell about your projects in more detail. An employer wants to know what you have been working on. The employer is looking for an employee for specific tasks and wants to know if you are the right person for the job. Volunteer work can also be an excellent way to fill gaps in employment. Especially if the volunteer position is related to the job for which you are applying.

1. Education. Write here what kind of education you have with the date of the study. If you have more than one level of education, write each in reverse chronology. Write the full name of your educational institution, indicating the department, specialty, and your educational qualification level or degree.
2. Additional information. Here you should specify your personal qualities. Be careful not to praise yourself or, conversely, to be silent about your own merits.  Do not forget that the specified qualities must be suitable for the job vacancy. Also, if you are a member of an organization, just write its name. You should also specify language skills here; namely, all the languages that you already know or are still learning, including your native language. Remember to write down what your level of proficiency is. You can do this by using normal grading: Beginner, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate, or Advanced. In addition, you can add relevant details about computer literacy. Specify all the programs that you are well versed in.

Do not forget about hobbies but be careful in this matter. Do not list a dozen hobbies; specify no more than three main topics of interest. You may also write about achievements if they exist.

How to outline the nature of your work and services in the right way?

In the self-employment resume, it is important to outline the nature of your work and services in the correct way. Limit yourself to one sentence for describing each freelance job on your list. Use keywords that emphasize your skills and experience. All information must be as honest and truthful as possible. Self-employment is known for having ups and downs. Your work can be great for one month and slow the next. If you have any legitimate gaps in employment or a time when you have not been working or doing freelance business, be honest. It is better, to be honest than to make something up. Some specialists recommend that you clarify long gaps right on your resume.

Decide whether or not to list the reasons for these gaps in your resume, and be prepared to talk about it in an interview. You will almost certainly be asked about it. If it has to do with finding a job, explain it.

You can also mention volunteer work. Focus on anything about the job you are applying for. If the job is not a job for which you are applying, you should keep it off your resume.

How to present your portfolio perfectly?

In most cases, the employer will pay more attention to the portfolio and work experience. This is logical. How else can customers assess the quality and professionalism of the future employee? Only by examples of work. A portfolio is a well-thought-out list of works by a certain specialist.

For example, the portfolio of a web designer is an image of sites, banners, and other design products. For creating an ideal portfolio to represent you, consider the following:

• Highlight the areas in which you want to create a portfolio. For example, a copywriter may have the following: commercial offers, texts for websites, naming, slogans, etc.
• For each direction, select your best works and medium quality projects. It is optimal to include in your portfolio 10-20 works in each direction. It means presenting to the client a representation of your skill level.
• Think about the beautiful design of the portfolio.
• Place your portfolio on the internet, a personal website, flash drive, or disk.

Writing a cover letter for self employed resume: step by step

The concept of "cover letter" has recently entered into everyday life in connection with the development of internet technologies. Usually, these are short letters that accompany the main document and contain additional information for the recipient.

The cover letters are read before analyzing the CV itself, so they play a major role in the interpretation and perception of the subsequent information. The letter must be written correctly, so that it will position the reader and distract from critical perception.

The cover letter should have a strict structure. It contains the following:

• Greeting. It must either be personalized or refer to a specific department if the recipient's name is not known.
• The main part. Here, tell me what position you are applying for if you send your CV to the employer. Explain why you were attracted to this job: an interesting product, new functions, or complex tasks. Next, go on to experience and a list of projects that are not described in the self-employment resume, but are useful for this particular job.
• Farewell. This includes duplicated contact details.

These components of the cover letter are standard, obvious, and should not exceed 1-2 sentences and are written strictly from a new paragraph with indent. The style cover letter should be in line with the company's industry and corporate culture.

One more important point: do not duplicate your experience in other words in the cover letter. No one will want to waste extra time reading the same information twice.

Creativity and humor in the letter are appropriate, as long as the company in question is part of the small percentage of employers for whom uniqueness and humor are part of the professional activity.

Self-employment resume examples

You can find a lot of great self-employed resume examples on the internet. But the most important thing is to create a CV so that the employer is immediately interested in you. Do not be afraid to experiment, and be creative.

Here are some self-employment resume samples:

Top 5 best appropriate resume templates

To create your resume better, faster, and less cost-consuming it is recommended to use ready-made templates. You can find them on the TemplateMonster website. Among more than 1000 templates you will certainly find exactly what you need!

Laria Resume Template 

Laria is a beautiful template that is perfect for a self-employed resume. The template is easily customizable in Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word. Minimalist design, suitable structure, and discreet design are the trademarks of the Laria Resume Template. It is this template that stands out among others. This clear resume template contains a nice combination of personalized details and excellent visualization of your skills. In addition, all the elements are fully customizable.

Reven Dark Clean Resume Template

A simple Reven Dark Clean resume really helps the reviewer to focus on the content. This minimalist resume is a great example of how design helps present information about you in the best possible way. The light and clear design will draw attention to your experience and skills. As for the working file it in Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements, and Microsoft Word.

Clean and Modern v02 Resume Template

This is a very beautiful, minimalist template that allows you to add photos to your resume. A resume and a cover letter are included in the file set. It helps to add a more personalized message when you apply. Also, a variety of fonts come with Clean and Modern v02 Resume Template. This helps to create unusual typography in the design.

Anna Resume Template

With clean lines and fillers for all important details, this CV template is an excellent choice for your first application. The Anna Resume Template has fillers that you can replace with your own information. This template includes many important features that ensure a perfect resume creation. All elements in the Anna Resume Template are fully customizable and editable. This template is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft Word.

Kavin Creative Resume Template

Clean, trendy, stylish design and powerful built-in features are just a brief introduction to the Kavin Creative Resume Template. A lot of space in the template is allocated to the sections "Work," "Education," and "Skills" because this is almost everything you need to present yourself. The template is compatible with Adobe: CS3, CS4, CS5.1, CS5.5, CS6, and CC as well as Microsoft Word. Kavin Creative Resume also includes photo placement.

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