The term “gig work” is becoming more common in our job market, yet the layout of a traditional resume doesn’t always cater to short-term work. Short-term work is valuable, especially right now. Employers are starting to understand that hourly/short-term work is just as valid as a salary/permanent employee. This article will give you some helpful hints for listing contract work on your resume in the most effective way to get your resume noticed by employers.
Label
A common worry job seekers have when listing contract work on their resume is they don’t want to come across as a job-hopper, when the reality is, the opposite is true. The listing of short-term work dates without the clarification of it being a temp position is what might allude to job-hopping. Therefore, make it clear that a position is a temp or contract job. Most employers are familiar with short-term work (“gig work”) in our modern economy. Spell it out for the employers when you list each job in your professional experience section. One more thing to keep in mind is to stay consistent with your wording. Choose whether to label your specific experiences as “contract”, “temporary”, or “temp” and keep this uniform.
Organize
The organization of your resume is extremely important. It is ideal to group all your contract work in one central location, and to make sure that it is in chronological order with your most recent position at the top. Having your positions grouped together will allow employers to quickly scan your contract history and get a grasp for your experiences. List each company you’ve worked for individually. Don’t be afraid to list both the contract firm employing you as well as the specific company you did the work for. If you’ve done multiple projects for one company, you can list all that work under the company’s name.
Tell a Story
In a traditional resume, you might include bullet points for each of your duties and accomplishments, but when incorporating contract work into your resume, it is important to not just list your work. With a temp job, you do not have a long-term position from which to easily create a narrative. It is up to you to be creative and tell a story to whoever is reading your resume. Emphasize your achievements while you were on the job, and provide concrete details about the duties you performed rather than just a short description. Employers are focusing on the value of your work, not the longevity. Furthermore, consider pinpointing what made the job tense or stressful and think of how you responded. This will assist in creating the narrative about your contract position.
Use this template as a guide to fill out contract work on your resume. Per Sé recruiters are experts in career advice. To receive additional help from our team to polish your resume, sign up with us to join our job network.