http://philcv.com. I just mark the roles as '(freelance)'.
Self Employed CV
21–30 of 42 posts
Re: Self Employed CV
#22If you go self-employed and take it seriously, you shouldn't be thinking about a CV/resume :)
Sure you would - maybe not for cold calling new prospects, but when I was doing consulting, I would get asked for my resume as part of my potential customer's due diligence process on me.
And those people would actually read it, because they already knew me and were trying to understand my background to decide whether or not to bring me on to a project. Unlike recruiters or hiring managers who are often just looking for a reason to throw a resume in the trash to thin out their crowd of applicants.
Re: Self Employed CV
#23Build your CV around projects not employers (I was taught this style of CV writing when I worked at Andersen Consulting (aka Accenture) and it's one of a handful of things from that time that stuck with me). Also try to state clearly and concisely what the project was and what your role was. AC also suggested anonymizing employers -- e.g. "medium sized construction company" which is a wise thing to do if the work is…
This. I've also found this to be a nice way to tailor past experiences to new opportunities in a way that listing employers (or lack thereof) doesn't support.
Re: Self Employed CV
#24There's nothing wrong with self employment in and of itself. I've been self employed for many years now, and this hasn't stopped me constantly receiving jobs offers. Of course, I've also been employed for many years before that, and that probably counts too. I think self employment only looks bad when it's interspersed with very small periods of employment, from a couple of months to six months. Having long periods o…
May I ask how employers are even finding out about you to give you these "constant" job offers? I've been a solo project guy for a long time and feel like employers are unaware that I even exist.
I'm going to guess your resume has a Google/Amazon/Facebook name brand on it somewhere.
Re: Self Employed CV
#25Despite my CV clearly stating that I'm self-employed, and which period I've been self-employed, many recruiters still seem to think my own company is someone else's company. I have no idea why.
In any case, it doesn't seem to cause any problems. I work as freelancer, so it makes every kind of sense that I have my own company.
Re: Self Employed CV
#26Build your CV around projects not employers (I was taught this style of CV writing when I worked at Andersen Consulting (aka Accenture) and it's one of a handful of things from that time that stuck with me). Also try to state clearly and concisely what the project was and what your role was. AC also suggested anonymizing employers -- e.g. "medium sized construction company" which is a wise thing to do if the work is…
Thanks, I did read about more "functional cv" types where you talked about your roles and responsibilities. Sounds like a possible plan. To be honest it's quite frightening writing a CV again! Haven't had to do it for a while!
I advocate people keep it up to date all the time - well, every 6-12 months. Spend 15-30 minutes adding achievements/projects on the resume when it's still relatively fresh in your mind, vs trying to remember stuff 5 years later.
If you have a habit of keeping a resume updated, and it's public, it's less of a signal to current employers as well too. I've heard many people say they don't ever want to public/post a resume because their current employer might find it. If you keep it public and posted all the time, as more of a "here's the great stuff I'm doing at XYZ", there's no 'signal' to be inferred.
That said, I know that wouldn't necessarily fly in ever industry, but... that's more social convention than anything else. If 90% of people behaved that way, that would be the 'new norm'.
Re: Self Employed CV
#27Build your CV around projects not employers (I was taught this style of CV writing when I worked at Andersen Consulting (aka Accenture) and it's one of a handful of things from that time that stuck with me). Also try to state clearly and concisely what the project was and what your role was. AC also suggested anonymizing employers -- e.g. "medium sized construction company" which is a wise thing to do if the work is…
Thanks, I did read about more "functional cv" types where you talked about your roles and responsibilities. Sounds like a possible plan. To be honest it's quite frightening writing a CV again! Haven't had to do it for a while!
Be careful with functional resumes. A lot of recruiters/hiring managers don't care for them. Myself included. They can work, but I also sometimes they can be used to 'hide' inexperience. Disclaimer: I don't do tech recruiting so take all of this with a grain of salt. I have reviewed resumes for technical/'social innovation' positions but I tend to focus more on non computery roles.
That being said, having a nice list of what your good at is great. Also I really recommend having a summary at the top that is almost like a mini cover letter. Target it towards the job you're applying for for example:
Sudorank is a developer with experience developing mid-sized systems in ruby on rails hooking into legacy COBOL backends. Lauded for his/her ability to mentally parse XML, he/she can manually code systems using a magnetic needle. Comfortable leading teams Sudorank has had experience working a variety of fields, from bio-med to lifestyle startups.
Keep in mind is that you want to save the recruiter/HM time. They might be looking at 100 of these. Lead with why you're kickass.
Another handy trick is keep a plan text version for if you end up applying through any automated systems. Source control is your friend here.
Re: Self Employed CV
#28I tend to show my github account. Nobody asks any further questions about ability after that.
Why the throwaway?
Re: Self Employed CV
#29There's nothing wrong with self employment in and of itself. I've been self employed for many years now, and this hasn't stopped me constantly receiving jobs offers. Of course, I've also been employed for many years before that, and that probably counts too. I think self employment only looks bad when it's interspersed with very small periods of employment, from a couple of months to six months. Having long periods o…
May I ask how employers are even finding out about you to give you these "constant" job offers? I've been a solo project guy for a long time and feel like employers are unaware that I even exist. I'm going to guess your resume has a Google/Amazon/Facebook name brand on it somewhere.
LinkedIn and personal recommendations mostly. I have absolutely no "name brands" on my resume (I stay well away of large companies actually), but have a somewhat productive network I've nurtured over the years, which is where I also get 90% of my freelance projects. I also happen to live in Romania, where there's no way to go hungry if you are an even remotely competent developer or other type of IT professional, because the demand outweighs the supply by a huge margin here. Living in the capital (Bucharest) also helps, since the vast majority of IT companies have their offices here.
Re: Self Employed CV
#30I'm trying to do the same after ten years of running a web agency. I had some successes, but I also made plenty of mistakes along the way since I was learning while doing. Ultimately I couldn't make it into a viable business.
At first, it felt like a hindrance, a decade-long black dot that I wanted to somehow hide. Now I'm proud of the period -- provided jobs, mentored, made things, etc. -- so it is easier to talk about.
I'm not going the hide that period. I'm going to be frank about it once I hit the streets. I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of hard lessons, lessons that should help in whatever my new capacity is.
So I guess my advice is to be honest about those self-employed periods. They are what they are.