Self Employed CV

IMHO - which doesn't mean much, it's really a combination of industry and geography. And of course, I fully realize that what I'm writing below is based on generalizations that I've witnessed/experienced.

For example, here in Canada there's very little risk tolerance, regardless of what people tell you. You see it in the ways companies raise funds, are valued, and even the execution points. Being 'self-employed' can be a hindrance, especially in marketing. On the other side 'Founding X company - building the overall business to over $YY in revenue' is a positive spin on the same result.

On the other hand, discussing a project-based approach looks VERY good. At that point you're a consultant, rather than a contractor or freelancer. Here, that resonates better, in that people go 'ah, well paid expert'. This in turn means that you can pivot the discussion around to project successes, the values you've learned working on multiple projects, etc.

But most importantly, don't underestimate the value of the cover letter - which I used to believe no one reads. If you can explain your passion to join organization X (for some specific reason), then effectively you're priming your resume reader. That helps you positively change the conversation - a brilliant technique from behavioral economics.

Good luck!

You could always change your title from something like "CEO of XYZ Co.", "Founder at Acme Inc.", or "Chairman of Dog Corp" to something less ambitious like "lead developer", "marketing manager", or even just "web developer".

Sure, occasionally, you might get employers in the valley who (claim) they care a lot about your personal growth, but from my experience outside the tech world, plenty of employers would much rather just have a dull but trustworthy tool who gets the job done without fail to someone incredibly smart, unscrupulous, and motivated. To these people (which I will venture to say is the majority of small-business owners), your ambition is scary to them, so you're better off not coming off as being ambitious.

TL;DR: best way to market self-employment? Don't. Instead market it as regular employment where you had a lot of responsibilities.

> AC also suggested anonymizing employers

This may not work in certain jobs where they demand your credentials and want to check them by calling/emailing.

There's nothing to prevent you from providing references and so forth off-line. Doing this shows professionalism -- you don't blab about client internals on a document you distribute to random people.

I tend to show my github account. Nobody asks any further questions about ability after that.