How does one add self employment to a resume, so that it looks like a professional employment experience? There are a number of ways that people work for themselves in what would otherwise, be termed, self employment. This said, it is most often not the most effective way, so that employers know that the work was professional and actual-instead of just some time off, unemployed. In the following discussion, we examine how to best add self employment to a resume, and how self employment looks to a potential employer in both scenarios.
So, though you may have had a legitimate self employment business, if you cannot show it properly a potential employer probably automatically thinks that you are trying to make your time of unemployment sound more productive. Though this seems unfair, consider this: you are an employer and you get a resume with a period of an applicant’s employment history marked as self employment. It shows no details or proof that this was actually self employment. There is no one to verify it with, as the applicant was employed by him or herself. How are you to know that this period was actually spent with the applicant working for themselves? You don’t.
This said, as an applicant who may have had a very professional and legitimate business working for themselves; must prove that they did in any and every manner possible. You do this by using the following tips to substantiate your claim of self employment:
1.Details
Make sure when stating information about your time of self employment that you include as many details as possible. This means how long you worked for yourself, what your roles and responsibilities were, if you employed a staff, and/or any achievements you can own. Was there a company name? How many clients did you work for? All of this is pertinent to the proof of your self employment.
2.Employment Format
Consider how you would normally include the details of employment on your resume, and treat your period of self employment in the same format. This means including how long you worked for yourself, the location of your business, your title in your business, and the bulleted points of responsibility and tasks beneath these main areas of information.
3.Client List and Accolades
If you can gain permission from some or all of the clients that you worked for, do so-as it shows an employer that you are legitimate and professional. Moreover, if you choose to list clients by name and need, include this information on a separate document. If you are sending in a resume, it is advised to offer the employer this information at their request, and do this in your cover letter; so as not to give too much information for an employer to sift through too early. Secondly, if you can get a comment or two from previous clients about their experience with your work and service to your credit, to list in your resume and/or cover letter-this could also be more than helpful in showing how credible your self employment was.
