How Do I Rebrand Myself on a Resume After Being Self-Employed for Almost a Year

In today’s gig economy, many people are choosing new models of work, including the self-employed lifestyle – temp agencies in Stockton, California and other staffing businesses understand this model, and how it relates to today’s job market.

When you think about it, it makes sense — those with specific skills and abilities would often rather sell them directly to customers than work for someone else as a hired hand.

However, as with other big employment issues, there is a give-and-take when it comes to being self-employed versus having a steady job in hand. Self-employed people carry a lot more risk, and hopefully, achieve specific types of rewards to balance that out.

But what about when you need to make a switch back into the work world? How do you acknowledge self-employment on a resume and position yourself well for re-entry?

Be Factual

Rather than lying on a resume, be honest about your work history. Show a clear and dedicated timeline of your self-employment and how it fit into your career as a whole. Show any side jobs you may have had to balance out your self-employed income. Try to paint a full picture for resume readers and orient them toward what you’ve been able to accomplish over all the years of work life, whether you were self-employed or working for someone else.

Match Self-Employment to Skills and Outcomes

Another excellent tip that you hear from many job experts is to make sure you highlight what you’ve learned, and what you’ve applied in your self-employed career. If you’ve had a chance to run your own business, show what you did to sustain it and how you succeeded. Showcase any skills that you learned along the way.

One specific example is to show the growth of your business as revenue or client growth. That provides a good corresponding value to people and companies who will be reading your resume. If they see that you added clients to your own business, they’ll understand your ability to grow a client base. If they see revenue achieved, they’ll understand how you worked to achieve profit growth.

Show Commitment

It’s also a good idea to mix some details into your resume to show that you are committed to making the big switch between self-employment and a 9-to-5 job. For example, in your objectives, you can talk about wanting to collaborate with a top company in your given field. This can also help make your resume more appealing when you’re coming from a very different work model into the button-down world of full-time job applications.

These are some of the fundamental ways that self-employed people reach out to companies and try to bridge that gap between entrepreneurship and employment. Think about what makes sense from the interviewer or hiring manager’s perspective, and how to respond to that well, and you’ll have a competitive advantage in getting yourself re-immersed in the work world as an employee rather than a self-employed business owner or entrepreneur.

About Full Steam Staffing

Full Steam Staffing is a full-service employment agency in Stockton, California focused on providing clerical and light industrial staffing solutions to manufacturers, distribution centers and other organizations that need qualified, reliable workers. If you are looking for a new job in Stockton, California, browse our available opportunities or contact our team today!