Side Hustle on Your Resume: How to Use It to Switch Careers

James Walker

James Walker writes about career transitions. London-based career enthusiast.

Visual representation of the voice · not a photographic portrait

Quick answer: List a related side hustle as a real job entry with a professional title, dates, and two to four bullet points with results. Put it near the top if it is your most relevant work. Leave unrelated side gigs short or off the resume.↗ Share on X

Put your side hustle on your resume as a real job entry when it is related to the field you want to move into. Give it a clear title, the dates, and two to four bullet points that show results with numbers. If it has nothing to do with your new field, keep it short or leave it off. The side hustle is often your best proof that you can already do the new work, so treat it like experience, not a hobby.

Below is exactly where to put it, how to word it, and how to talk about it in an interview.

Should your side hustle go on your resume at all?

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Ask one question: does this work prove a skill the new employer wants?

For a career change, a related side hustle is gold. Hiring managers worry that career changers cannot do the job. Your side work answers that worry with proof.

Where on the resume should it go?

You have three good options. Pick the one that fits your story.

Option 1: In your main work history

Use this when the side hustle is closely tied to your new career. List it like any job:

Freelance Bookkeeper, Self-employed | Jan 2024 – Present

Put it at the top of your experience if it is your most relevant work, even if your full-time job is listed below it. Resumes are sorted by relevance as much as by date.

Option 2: In a "Relevant Experience" section

Split your experience into two parts:

1. Relevant Experience — your side hustle, volunteer work, or projects in the new field

2. Other Experience — your current and past jobs in the old field

This lets the reader see your new-field work first, without hiding your work history.

Option 3: In a "Projects" section

This works well for tech, writing, or design, where people judge you by what you built. Add a link to a portfolio, a live website, or a GitHub page.

How do you title it so it sounds professional?

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Avoid words like "side hustle," "gig," or "hobby." Use the title a full-time worker would have.

If you run it under a business name, use it: "Founder, Bright Lane Design." If not, "Self-employed" or "Freelance" is fine.

Be honest about the scale. Calling a two-client side gig a "company" can backfire when the interviewer asks how many employees you have.

How do you write the bullet points?

Use this simple formula for each bullet:

Action word + what you did + result (with a number if you can)

Examples for someone moving into marketing:

• Grew an Etsy shop's Instagram account to 3,200 followers in 10 months using weekly posts and reels
• Wrote product descriptions for 45 items, raising the shop's monthly sales from about 12 to about 30 orders
• Ran two small paid ad tests on a $150 budget and tracked results in a spreadsheet

Examples for someone moving into IT support:

• Set up home Wi-Fi networks and printers for 25+ local clients
• Fixed common laptop problems such as slow startup, viruses, and failed updates
• Kept a simple log of every job, which cut repeat visits by solving root causes

Use your own real numbers. If you do not know exact figures, estimate honestly ("about," "more than") or describe the result without a number. Never make up numbers. Employers check, and a reference or a quick question can expose it.

What skills should you highlight?

Look at three or four job postings for the role you want. Write down the skills that appear again and again. Then match your bullets to those words.

Common skills a side hustle proves:

1. Self-management — you work without a boss telling you what to do

2. Customer service — you handle real clients, complaints, and deadlines

3. Money sense — you price your work, track costs, and handle invoices

4. Marketing — you found customers on your own

5. The core skill of the new job — design, code, writing, bookkeeping, teaching

Many companies use software that scans resumes for keywords. Using the same words as the job posting helps your resume get seen by a person.

How do you explain it in your resume summary?

The summary is the two or three lines at the top. Use it to connect the dots for the reader:

Customer service lead with 6 years in retail, moving into UX design. For the past 18 months I have designed websites for 9 small business clients, focusing on simple, easy-to-use layouts.

This tells the reader three things fast: where you come from, where you are going, and proof that you are already doing it.

How do you talk about it in the interview?

Expect two questions. Prepare short answers for both.

"Tell me about this freelance work."

Give a 60-second story: why you started, one project you are proud of, and the result. Then link it to the job: "That project is why I want to do this full time."

"Will you keep doing it if we hire you?"

Answer honestly. Common good answers:

• "I will wind it down. I want to focus fully on this role."
• "I keep one or two small clients on weekends. It will never affect my hours here, and I am happy to follow any company policy."

Read the employee handbook or ask HR if you are unsure about rules on outside work.

What mistakes should you avoid?

1. Listing it as a hobby. "Interests: baking" hides real business work. If you sold 200 cakes, say so in your experience.

2. Leaving gaps unexplained. If you left a job and ran your side business full time for a while, list it. It fills the gap with real work.

3. Too much detail on unrelated work. Five bullets about dog walking will distract from your move into accounting.

4. No proof. If possible, add a portfolio link, a client testimonial, or a public page. A short link is enough.

5. Badmouthing your current job. Frame the side hustle as moving toward something, not running from your boss.

A quick before-and-after example

Before:

"Side hustle: I do bookkeeping for some local businesses."

After:

Freelance Bookkeeper | Self-employed | Mar 2023 – Present

• Keep monthly books for 6 small businesses using QuickBooks Online
• Reconcile bank and credit card accounts each month, catching duplicate charges for 2 clients
• Prepare clean year-end reports that clients hand to their tax preparer

Same work. The second version reads like experience a hiring manager can trust.

Your next step

Open your resume and the posting for one job you want. Rewrite your side hustle as a job entry with a real title, dates, and three bullets that use words from that posting. Then add one line to your summary that says what you are moving into and how long you have already been doing it on the side.

FAQ

Is it okay to call my side hustle freelance work?

Yes, if you did paid work for clients. Freelance or self-employed are honest, standard terms. Avoid overstating the size of the business.

What if my side hustle earned very little money?

Focus on skills and results, not income. Number of clients, projects finished, or followers gained can show value even if earnings were small.

Should I put my side hustle above my full-time job?

If it is more relevant to the job you want, yes. You can also use a Relevant Experience section at the top and an Other Experience section below.

Will employers worry I will keep my side business?

Some will ask. Answer honestly and explain how it will not affect your work hours, or say you plan to wind it down.