Should You Share Your Side Hustle on Your Resume?

Anyone who has ever started a side hustle knows how much work it takes. With it being a creative way of pursuing an interest, building your portfolio or making some additional income, it requires the sort of dedication, consistency and hard work employers expect from their employees. As such, it's not really different than a part-time job—with the exception that you work on it in your free time.

What most people don't realize is that their side hustle counts as experience, too. It's not something they should try to hide from prospective employers. I strongly recommend that side hustlers include their passion project on their resume.

The best way to answer the question is with a question. Always ask yourself,

“Is it relevant?”

Is your side hustle relevant to the job for which you’re applying? Or is it relevant to the skills needed for the job for which you’re applying? Is it relevant to show you have the “soft skills” employers now seek? (I.e. curiosity, the ability to learn, the ability to take initiative, etc.) Is it relevant to help you land your next client?

Side Hustles Suggest Skill Diversity

It’s easy to get into a rut following a ‘set’ career path and find your skills stagnating. Taking on a new gig outside of that path (even if it falls within broadly the same field) presents a totally new challenge with its own range of risks and rewards.

Managing your time, dealing with new people, overcoming the hurdles that come with being your own boss– these things all expand your abilities in ways that prospective employers will find very appealing. After all, just about every business wants to expand and become even more successful, and that’s an endeavor that greatly benefits from different perspectives.

Even something that doesn’t sound like it would prove useful in other areas — like a detailed understanding of acquiring, storing and shipping crickets — can produce sparks of inspiration.Anyone who has ever started a side hustle knows how much work it takes.

Include The Skills From Your Side Hustle in The "Skills Section"

Don't leave out the things you've learned from your side hustles in the skills section. As long as they are relevant to the position you're applying to, you should always include them. This not only boosts the chances of your resume being seen, but also gives recruiters a better understanding of all the ways you can be an asset to the company.

Don't worry about them not understanding where these skills come from (if they don't align with your professional job experience). This is why it makes sense to have the side hustle or accomplishments section on your resume as well.

How Your Side Hustle Makes You Marketable?

 

In today’s job market, side hustles are no longer seen just as employment gap fillers.

By discussing your side hustle and other self-driven learning projects in an interview, you’ll show employers your ability to understand today’s technology and to learn new skills and subjects. And this is what employers are currently looking for!

So if it’s important to discuss this type of work experience in the interview, why wouldn’t you include it on your resume? Especially if it’s relevant to the job or it demonstrates your transferable skills.

How to Market Your Side Hustle on Your Resume?

Unfortunately, a lot of people miss this opportunity. That’s because they think a resume should still look the way it did when they conducted their first job search 20 years ago.

They assume they can only include their full-time paid work under the “Experience” section of their resume.

This simply is not true.

If you created a side hustle for whatever reason, you can include it under the “Experience” section of your resume as well. Even if your side hustle hasn’t earned you a lot of money, you’ll want to include it for the new knowledge and skills you’ve gained from it!

Don’t worry so much about how much money you’ve made. Instead focus on what you’ve accomplished in that time. This includes:

• The skills you’ve gained.

• The software programs and platforms you’ve learned.

• How you’ve been able to build relationships with strategic partners.

• The number of clients or customers you’ve gained in a short period of time.

• The things your customers have recognized you for.

• Customer satisfaction feedback.

• Any funding you’ve been able to raise.

The same thing goes for volunteer work. If you’ve volunteered your talents to a cause that’s near and dear to you AND you’ve learned a new skill while doing so, you can still include this under your “Experience” section with the job title of “Volunteer” (or whatever official title the organization gives to their volunteers).