Top freelance journalist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a strong freelance journalist experience section
Freelance journalist resume experience section: ultimate checklist
- Use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List relevant positions and situations that add value to your application;
- Describe situations, tasks, actions, and results (the S-T-A-R method);
- Remember to include numbers in whatever form you like (e.g. the number of projects you’ve finished);
- Begin each bullet point with an action verb.
Check out the examples below when building your experience section. They will help you stand out!
- Write, record and shoot multimedia stories for outlets like NBC News, BBC, VICE, Public Radio International, Radio-Canada
- Served as a field producer in Daegu, South Korea for a documentary during covid-19.
- Book interviews and camera crews under tight deadlines for live shoots.
- Wrote long form features, first-person essays and cover stories covering media, culture and travel for numerous magazines and national newspapers.
- Wrote investigative pieces for the New York Times such as “Banking on My Future as a Father: Diary of a Sperm Banker” about men freezing their sperm for later use.
- Interviewed and profiled celebrities including Mariah Carey, Gillian Jacobs, Allison Brie, Nick Kroll, Diablo Cody, Mila Kunis and Aaron Paul.
- Identified Kuwaiti entrepreneurs and featured their stories to create a culture that embraces entrepreneurship.
- Through highlighted stories, tips pieces and overviews, provided the ecosystem with knowledge and education.
- Facilitated Nuwait in creating a network of collaborative individuals, mentors, experts, and supporting entities that entrepreneurs can leverage.
- Creating and condensing constituency and MP’s briefs for producers and the ITV News Channel
- Organising stringers (individuals from each constituency who would inform us of the result on election night) and camera placements in high profile constituencies
- Analysed, transcribed and logged interviews ITV News and other broadcasters conducted with MP’s, the General Public, the Opposition of the Leader Party and the Prime Minister
- Conducted due diligence on the Election data inputted on the system
- Provided general administration support to the Special Events
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Freelance Journalist, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action verbs for your freelance journalist resume
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Writing a strong skills section for your freelance journalist resume
Checklist for your freelance journalist skills section:
- Include all relevant skills from the job description to pass ATS;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise;
- List your technical skills in a clear and concise manner;
- Leave room for transferable skills related to teamwork, communication, negotiation, and conflict management.
Top skills for your freelance journalist resume
Upwork
Quickbooks
Microsoft Office
Email clients
PayPal
Budgeting
Marketing
Design
Communication
Leadership and project management
Teamwork
Problem
Solving
Work Ethics
Flexibility
Adaptability
Interpersonall skills
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Freelance journalist resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your freelance journalist resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Freelance Journalist resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
The ideal summary for your freelance journalist resume
Mastering the summary section: checklist
- Mention the total years of experience you have in the field;
- Focus on 2 to 3 of your top achievements;
- Highlight the things that make you the best fit for the position;
- Go for short, easy-to-read sentences to keep the recruiter’s attention.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
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things to include in your freelance journalist resume education section
Freelance journalist resume education section checklist:
- Mention your highest education degree;
- Add the duration of your course and the institution you attended;
- List the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- Feature your certifications if they are relevant to the position;
- Entry-level positions: Share more about projects and classes.
Top certifications for your freelance journalist resume
How to be a Journalist - The Complete Guide to Journalism
All you need to know to become a freelance journalist or staffer and get paid for what you write.
How To Nail Leads - Content Writers, Bloggers & Journalists
Freelance writers and bloggers, learn how to write great leads or intros for evergreen web content and news articles.
Complete Guide to Freelancing in 2022: Zero to Mastery
Achieve freelance success on sites like Upwork or Fiverr. Start a home business or side hustle. No experience needed!
The Freelance Masterclass: For Creatives
The Ultimate Guide to Freelancing: Learn to Price Projects, Build Portfolios, Find Clients, Brand Yourself & More!
Freelancing on Upwork & Freelancer.com as a Beginner in 2022
Learn how to apply on projects, Win the jobs you want, Earn big on freelance websites such as Upwork and Freelancer.com.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Formatting your freelance journalist resume
What’s worse than a .docx resume? A resume with a poorly chosen format.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Choosing between them is easy when you’re aware of your applicant profile – it depends on your years of experience, the position you’re applying for, and whether you’re looking for an industry change or not.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that – all your relevant jobs in reverse-chronological order. It’s great for applicants with lots of experience, no career gaps, and little desire for creativity.
When working with less experienced applicants, we suggest the functional skills-based resume format. It’s great for recent graduates or people with large career gaps. Functional skills-based resumes focus on your personality, the skills you have, your interests, and your education. Ultimately, the idea is to show you’re the perfect fit without putting too much emphasis on your work experience (or lack thereof).
If you’re in the middle or are generally looking to make your resume feel more modern and personal, go for the combination or hybrid resume format. It offers the best of both worlds by combining sections focused on experience and work-related skills and at the same time keeping space for projects, awards, certifications, or even creative sections like ‘my typical day’ and ‘my words to live by’.
Freelance Journalist Resume Formatting Checklist
- Choose the resume format based on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for
- Go for a traditional 10-12p font
- Stick to 1-inch page margins to ensure high readability
- Match the length of your resume to your experience, but don’t go for more than two pages!
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Additional sections for your freelance journalist resume
In some cases, especially when it comes to entry-level positions, adding more sections beyond the usual ‘experience’, ‘skills’, and ‘education’ works well in your favor. Such additional sections will help you paint a fuller picture of who you are in the recruiter’s head.
Here’s a list of fun yet informative additional sections for your resume:
Making your freelance journalist resume creative
We know too well that recruiters go through tons of resumes every day. The worse part is, they often need to hire people for different positions and teams. So how do you make yourself stand out in such cases?
By adding a dash of creativity to your Freelance Journalist resume. It can be in the form of a colorful layout, a section describing your typical day, or even a picture of your favorite book – you decide!
Just make sure that the levels of creativity match the industry, company, and position you’re applying for.
What makes a great freelance journalist resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
