So, you have been working for yourself, and it’s time for a change and work for someone. How do you start a resume?

We have a few blog posts lined up precisely for self-employed people, so keep your eyeballs posted.

Challenges with writing a resume for self-employed

1. You probably do not have one, and why should you? You probably never needed one until today.
2. You have experience in everything. How do you decide what to put on the resume?
3. Do you even know what you want to do? That’s a big question for most people.

Breaking down the resume strategy

1. A good starting point before deciding on what you want to do is to write down what you do (do). Open a Word doc or grab a pen or pencil and start writing down all the things you do. You can make headings like these: Finances, Operations, Health and Safety, Training, Employee Relations, Customer/Vendor Relations, Technology, Sales, Marketing and so on.
2. After you complete exercise 1), you are ready to start planning out the resume. We have a resume format that works great, and you can use it: https://www.resumescanada.ca/sign-up/
3. As you go through these exercises, you will see i) you have some excellent skills that will match up with a job or ii) you are completely lost and needs lots of help. Contact us if you need help. Start searching for jobs and see what employers are looking for.
4. Some other considerations are i) what will your job title be? You can play around with a suitable title that aligns with your experience. Being self-employed has its benefits, as you can be the Sales Manager, IT Director, Marketing Coordinator etc. As long as you can substantiate your title with your work duties, you are good to go ii) what should you include and what should you omit?
5. What about references? We will get into some strategies for references in the next post. Be sure to check on the next post.

Summary

Working for yourself is similar to working for someone else. Right now, your immediate manager is your customer, and they will tell you when you are doing things right (or wrong).

When you become employed with a company, your immediate manager is, well, your manager. Same deal with feedback and other points.

Good luck with your resume, and let us know if we can help. Also, be sure to check in to see a couple more articles relating to references and interview preparation.

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