How to List your Side Hustles on your Resume

With rising costs of living and higher education, many 20-somethings are adding a side hustle to afford loan payments, rent, and more. Most people, however, don’t realize you can put your side job on your resume!

If you’re devoting your energy, effort, and talents to your full time job and your side hustle(s), you deserve to get more from it than just the extra income! 

Not all side hustles should go on your resume (example: taking surveys). BUT, a lot of them use legit skills and data you can use to amp up your resume and show how awesome you are!

By listing side and part time jobs on your resume correctly, they’ll become a strong piece of your resume and show off even more of what you bring!

Let’s dive into the 4 things you need to know about putting your side gig on your resume!

Language

Did you know you should have a different resume for every position you apply for?

You don’t have to completely rewrite it, but you should make the language on your resume match each job you’re applying for.

The same rule applies for when you list side hustles on your resume.

To do this, go through the job description and pull out the important keywords they use. It’s helpful to look for action verbs, adjectives, and to search any bulleted lists they include in their description.

It’s crucial you use the exact words they use in the description, especially because they could have a computer program that eliminates resumes- before it gets read by a human!

You also want to establish a direct connection between the position description and your side hustle. That way, it’s clear you have experience using the exact skills they’re looking for.

For example, if you multitask often in your side hustle, then you def want to emphasize that. However, the job description might not use the word “multitask.” 

Instead they could say “perform simultaneous duties.” SO, you’d want to use that exact phrase when writing about your side hustle or part time job on your resume.

By using the language of the job description to write about your side business, it’ll create a direct link between the work you’re doing and the work they want you to do. It’ll also help you clear any computer programs reading your resume.

Numbers

One of the best ways to make your resume stand out is to quantify your experiences. Aka, you want to add numbers and concrete data to your bullet points.

By adding numbers, you’ll make yourself and the side gig you’re doing sound more impressive.

Instead of saying “increased sales in the last quarter,“ you could say “increased sales by 50% in the last quarter, which led to a $5,000 growth in profits for the year”

See how the second one sounds WAY more impressive?

A few good types of data to include are: 

• Current sales
• Amount of growth
• Reach Response rate
• Any other relevant stats.

You probably already have these numbers for your side business crunched, so add them to your resume asap! 

For example, one of my current side hustles is teaching English online with VIPKID. While there aren’t any sales involved in this position, I do earn parent reviews and the system keeps track of how many classes I’ve taught.

To put this side job on my resume, I could describe it using quantified bullets like:

• “Earned 25 5-star reviews from parents in a 2 month timeframe, which included praise for my communication skills and patience”
• “Taught 57 one-on-one, 25 minute classes over 4 months to students aged 4-9”

You can learn more about VIPKID and other legit and lucrative side hustles at 4 Side Hustles that will Improve your Resume!

Whatever data or numbers are involved in your current side hustle, find a way to add them to your resume, so you really stand out! 

By quantifying your experiences, you prove the hard work you’ve done, progress you’ve made, and concrete results you’ve achieved. 

This gives employers a clear picture of what you’ve done, so they know what you can do for them.

PS Make sure you’re avoiding any pyramid schemes (aka multilevel marketing) disguised as a legit side business! This video explains why:

Transferable Skills

For as sparkly and unique as each job is (lol), there are a few nearly universal traits/ keywords employers will be looking for. These are your transferable skills: the ones that transfer from one position to the next.

Think about the skills you see on most of the job descriptions in your industry, things like:

• Team player
• Communication skills
• Leadership
• Independent worker
• Able to follow directions
• Able to give directions
• Organization

… do any of these ring a bell? 

They’re all common transferable skills. Examine the job descriptions you’re applying to and pull out which transferable skills matter most to this company.

Then, use those transferable skills to describe your side business or part time job on your resume.

Think about it- if you emphasize the universal/ transferable skills you use in your side hustle, then it instantly becomes related to the position you’re applying for.

I’ll use my side hustle at VIPKID as an example again. Although teaching English online isn’t at all related to the “career” positions I’d apply for, I still have to be organized, adaptable, flexible, and a good communicator.

So, rather than mention teaching details about my side job on my resume, I emphasize the transferable parts of my side hustle, like adaptability and organization. That way, your side business becomes related to almost any job!

When you list side hustles on your resume, search for the transferable skills in the job description and incorporate them into your bullet points about your side hustle.

Name Drop

This won’t apply to every part time job or side business, but if you’re a blogger, freelancer, or side hustler that collaborates with brands, don’t shy away from name dropping on your resume!

There’s nothing wrong with letting the person reading your resume know that you’ve worked with some names they’ve heard of. It makes you and your side hustle seem more professional, gives credibility, vouches for your work ethic, and is just overall awesome!

If your side hustle doesn’t involve working with brands or big names, then you can also list significant achievements you’ve reached. 

For example, my side hustle counts the classes I teach and awards badges for reaching certain milestones, so I can list any significant milestones on my resume.

Don’t be afraid to name drop on your resume (or in your cover letter)- it adds credibility to you and your side hustle!

You devote your time, energy, and talent into your side hustles, because you’re a badass that works super hard to achieve her dreams/ make money. You deserve to get all the benefits you can from your side gig- that includes listing and describing them on your resume! 

To write about your side hustle on your resume, use language from the job description, quantify your experiences using the numbers and data given to you, emphasize the transferable skills you use in your side hustle, and drop names if you’ve worked with brands or reached impressive milestones. While you work on your side hustle, make sure it works for you too by following these tips to list your part time job on your resume!

Let’s make sure your job search is sweet as an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet, with these 10 candy coated networking strategies!