Many people believe we are in a gig economy, where freelance and contract work is more available and more appreciated than full-time work. The gig economy is beneficial for consultants, who provide specialized skills and services for contracted periods of time.
As a consultant, your resume must:
- Stress outcomes. In past jobs, you were hired to achieve a certain goal in a given time. Unlike a full-time employee, you cannot base your resume on previous or upcoming successes, only on the exact outcomes that were expected from each engagement—choose the past jobs you discuss on your resume for their positive outcomes.
- Give specifics. Make sure you know the situation you enter into at each engagement so that afterward your resume can emphasize the difference you made. For example, if a project was 3 months late when you are hired and you managed to bring it in only 1 month late, you made a significant contribution in speeding up the project.
- Provide the facts hiring managers need the most. The company you send your resume to may be most interested in the size, location, or industry of companies that hired you before; or the size of the teams you led; or the exact revenue you brought in or costs you saved. Make sure that you understand the company’s priorities and that your resume emphasizes the information its hiring managers will look for.
- Be selective. As a consultant, you have a great deal of experience in many different companies. But just as a full-time employee will be selective about achievements and accomplishments over the course of a career, you should be selective about which part-time and contract jobs you add to your resume. A full list may be overwhelming and provide little in the way of unique information.
Resumes for consultants should show that the consultant will get up to speed quickly; has a track record of meeting goals and delivering benefits; has the specific knowledge, experience, or skills the company needs; understands the company’s situation; and communicates clearly and succinctly.
As a freelance resume writer and consulting engineer, I have experience with the gig economy that will help create a strong resume. Contact me today.