How to Write a Resume for a Side Hustle: Turn Passion into Profit

Not every side hustle belongs on your resume, but more of them do than most people think. If you've been running a small business, freelancing on the side, or building something that generates real results, that's professional experience. The truth is, hiring managers increasingly see side hustles as a positive signal. They show you can build something independently, manage your own time, and produce results without someone telling you what to do.

The key question to ask: does this side hustle demonstrate a skill relevant to the role you're applying for? If yes, include it. If it's unrelated and doesn't add to your story, leave it off. A marketing manager who runs a successful blog on the side is showing applied skills. An accountant who sells pottery on Etsy might save that for the hobbies section - unless they're applying to a creative company where it actually matters.

Also think about scale and duration. A side hustle you've run for two years with regular clients carries more weight than a one-month experiment. If it's been ongoing and has real outcomes, it belongs.

Present It Professionally

The single biggest mistake people make with side hustles on resumes is treating them like a footnote. "Also did some freelance work on the side" undermines everything that follows. If it's worth including, present it with the same seriousness as any other role.

Give yourself a proper title. "Freelance Digital Marketing Consultant" is a professional title. "Side gig doing marketing stuff" is not. If your side hustle had a business name, use it. "Founder, Clearview Digital" sounds more established than "Self-Employed." Include a date range, a brief description, and achievement-focused bullet points with numbers.

Here's what that looks like:

"Freelance Brand Strategist | Self-Employed | 2023–Present. Developed brand positioning and visual identity for 6 small business clients. Average client saw a 25% increase in social media engagement within 3 months of launch. Managed projects end-to-end from discovery calls through final delivery."

That reads like any other professional experience entry. Which is the point.

Decide Where It Goes

You have a few options. If the side hustle is directly relevant to your target role, put it in your experience section alongside your full-time work. If it's complementary but not the main focus, create a separate section - something like "Independent Projects" or "Consulting Work."

We see a lot of users in our builder weave smaller side hustles into their summary instead: "Marketing professional with 5 years of agency experience, complemented by freelance content strategy work that grew client audiences by an average of 200%." That works when the side hustle is real but not substantial enough for its own entry.

Quantify It Like Any Job

Don't go vague just because it's a side project. Revenue generated, clients served, outcomes delivered - all of these belong on the page. If you retained clients over time, say so. If you managed a budget, include the number.

If you've been running the side hustle alongside full-time work, that itself demonstrates time management. Make sure the dates are clear so the reader understands you were handling both simultaneously.

One pattern I notice from our users is that people with side hustles tend to write those bullets more casually than their full-time experience. The quality and tone should be identical. A hiring manager should not be able to tell which entries are side work based on how they're written.

Honestly, not every gig needs to be on there. If the side hustle isn't relevant to the role and doesn't demonstrate transferable skills, it can work against you by making your resume look unfocused. The goal is to strengthen your candidacy, not create questions about your priorities.

If your side hustle is on the resume, be ready for the interview question. Two things will come up: is it relevant, and will it compete for your attention? Have a clear answer for both. Something like: "The skills I've built through this directly apply to the work I'd be doing here, and I manage my time so it never conflicts with my primary commitments." Don't be defensive. A side hustle shows initiative. Most hiring managers view it positively when it's framed well.

If you want to build a resume that integrates all your experience cleanly, try the NoBs Resume builder.