How To Put Gig Work on Your Resume

One of the first steps in looking for work is developing your resume. After all, your resume is what determines if you get a call to come in for an interview or not.

While resume writing comes with its own set of challenges, a new conundrum has appeared: how to put gig work and side hustles on your resume. Here are a few suggestions from our experienced recruiters on how to properly list this type of work on your resume:

Label Gig Work and Temp Jobs as Such

There’s nothing wrong with listing temporary work as temporary, as long as you are consistent throughout your entire resume. Pick a term (for example: ‘temporary,’ ‘gig work,’ or ‘contract’) and stick with it.

Using appropriate lables provides a positive reason as to why you have so many jobs listed. Jumping from gig to gig shows your willingness to work and solid employment strategy, rather than an inability to keep a single job.

Utilize a Functional Format

A functional resume format highlights key skills, accomplishments, and qualifications by grouping them together at the top of your resume, regardless of when or where they occurred in your career.

This lets you to list your knowledge, skills and abilities prominently without emphasizing the number of different jobs you gained those experiences from.

List Your Experience by the Client Company

Listing your experience by the client company you worked for rather than the recruiting agency who hired you emphasizes the experience you gained, rather than the fact that it was a temporary or short-term assignment.

Many job seekers have found success in emphasizing the client company while still listing the temporary nature of the assignment, for example:

ABC Company, Machine Operator
Temporary Placement via The Arnold Group

Tailor Your Resume

No matter what type of employment you’re seeking, more temporary gigs or a full-time career, tailor your resume to the job you’re trying to land. Use your diverse professional background and experience as a benefit to emphasize the relevant skills you’ve gained from multiple different short-term gigs and how your accomplishments make you the best choice for the position.

Writing your resume is the first, and arguably most important, step in finding employment, it holds the only information hiring managers see when making a decision to call you in for an interview or not.

Showcasing your knowledge, skills, and qualifications gained from short-term, temporary gig work is a challenge, but with a little effort and some suggestions from our experienced recruiters, you’re sure to stand out from the crowd.