Anatomy of a Freelance Resume
At the end of the day, employers just want to see you did SOMETHING
I get most of my content marketing and translation work through word-of-mouth. Often, an employee from an organization emails me to tell me that so-and-so recommended me for X type of work, or they’re former colleagues who know I’m sticking to this freelancing lifestyle and that I always need work. (Side note: Always assume your freelancing friends need the work because it is usually true.) I respond with a brief bio, some writing or translation samples, a link to my LinkedIn profile because I STILL don’t have a website, and info about rates. We negotiate scope and payment. Boom! Gig is mine.
Every once in a while, though, I come across a posting for a freelancing role that requires a resume. These are usually for long-term projects with a set number of hours per week. Since it’s more akin to part-time work than a one-off gig, I understand why they opt for a more traditional process. I’ve applied to a handful of jobs like this recently and, I’m happy to say, even interviewed for a few. Which means my resume must be doing something right????? At least it’s not turning everyone off LOL.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt super confident about my resumes, a document that drains every ounce of creativity I have at the mere thought of it. Given the winding, topsy-turvy nature of my professional trajectory, it’s never really been top of mind. I’ve been using the same template for the past fifteen years, one I copied from a close friend of mine because it looked orderly. I’ve read all the tips: tailor it to the job you want, use action verbs, quantify your accomplishments, highlight the impact you made in your organization, stuff it with keywords to bypass the initial robots, and get it in the hands of an actual human. Some of these are easy to do as a freelancer. Others? I don’t get any stats on whether my web copy increased traffic by X percent or if a social media post I wrote went viral. I don’t care to track it down either.
On the other hand, I’ve worked A LOT. In so many industries and writing/translating an exorbitant amount of documents. I’ve got range, honey! Versatility! One of the few that can say “quick-to-learn” and mean it! That’s what I try to convey in my resume; it looks like it works well enough.
Below you’ll find my latest, effective resume. I updated it for a translation job, but I use a similar one for applying to writing gigs. Scroll below for my reasons for including certain items.
I am sharing my resume under the same conditions I always do:
Don’t ever tell me if you find a typo, EVER. It clearly wasn’t bad enough for the jury/committee/reader/editor, etc. to reject me and it will only serve to haunt me until my dying days.
Do not plagiarize my silly little sentences. It’s not cool and I’ll find out. Especially if you copy+paste it with the typos I do NOT want brought to my attention.