Latest / The Resume Room with Fexingo: Resume Writing, Cover Letters, and Application Strategy / Turning a Scraped-Together Side Hustle Into a Resume Asset
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've spent a lot of episodes figuring out how to explain the jobs you had to take. The bridge job, the necessity job, the one with the weird title. But there's a whole other category that gets way less attention: the side hustle that started as a survival move and somehow became... a thing. Luna: You mean like the Etsy shop you started because your main job cut your hours, and now it actually makes money? Lucas: Exactly. Or the dog-walking gig, the weekend consulting, the freelance graphic design you did for a cousin's bakery. It feels scrappy, it feels disjointed, and you're not sure it belongs on a resume at all. But it does. And the way you frame it can make the difference between looking like someone who can't hold a job and someone who built something from nothing. Luna: So what's the most common mistake people make when they try to put a side hustle on their resume? Lucas: They either hide it entirely, because they're embarrassed it's not a 'real' job, or they list it as a throwaway line at the bottom: 'Freelance work, 2023–present.' And that tells a recruiter nothing. The key is to treat it like a real role. Give it a title, give it a timeframe, and give it bullets that show impact. Luna: But isn't it a risk to give a side hustle a title? Doesn't that feel like you're inflating something that was just, you know, a side thing? Lucas: It's a risk if you're dishonest. But if you actually did the work, you get to name it. Take a client I worked with recently—let's call her Maya. She was a project manager at a logistics company, and when that company had layoffs in 2023, she picked up a few side gigs to make ends meet. She did some event planning for a local nonprofit, she helped a friend launch a small online store, and she did some data entry for a real estate agent. On her resume, she had it as 'Freelance Projects.' That told me nothing. Luna: So what did you suggest? Lucas: We sat down and looked at the actual tasks. She was managing timelines, coordinating vendors, setting up spreadsheets, handling customer inquiries. That's not three random gigs—that's operations. So we renamed it 'Operations Consultant, Self-Employed, 2023–Present.' And then we wrote a one-line summary: 'Provide operational support to small businesses and nonprofits, including event coordination, e-commerce setup, and data management.' Luna: Okay, that already sounds better. But how do you make sure you're not just gluing together unrelated tasks? Lucas: That's the 'so what' test. Every bullet you write has to answer the question: so what? Not just 'managed event logistics' but 'managed event logistics for a 200-attendee fundraiser, resulting in 20 percent more donations than the previous year.' Not just 'set up an online store' but 'launched a Shopify store that generated $12,000 in revenue in the first six months.' Luna: So you're saying the title and the bullets need to be as specific and outcome-driven as any other role on the resume. Lucas: Exactly. Recruiters spend an average of seven seconds scanning a resume. If they see 'freelance projects' at the bottom, they skip it. If they see 'Operations Consultant' with bullets about revenue and efficiency, they might actually ask you about it in an interview. And that's a conversation you want to have, because it shows initiative, adaptability, and a willingness to work hard. Luna: But what about the timeline? If your side hustle overlaps with your full-time job, doesn't that raise a red flag about your commitment to your main employer? Lucas: It can, if you're not careful. But the key is to be transparent about the boundaries. You can write 'Evenings and weekends' in the date range, or just list it as '2023–Present' and let the interview handle the specifics. In Maya's case, she was laid off, so there was no overlap. But if you're doing both, you want to make it clear that your side hustle never interfered with your day job. You can even use the bullets to show that—'Managed freelance projects outside core working hours, maintaining full-time role simultaneously.' Luna: That's a good line. But what if the side hustle is something completely different from your career path? Like, you're an accountant by day and you sell handmade candles at night. Does that still belong on an accounting resume? Lucas: That's the nuance. If you're applying for a finance role, the candle shop might not be directly relevant. But it still shows transferable skills—inventory management, customer service, marketing, maybe even bookkeeping if you did your own. You just have to frame it through the lens of the job you want. So instead of 'Handmade candle maker,' you write 'Sole proprietor of an e-commerce business, managing product development, online sales, and customer relations.' Luna: But what if you've been doing the side hustle for years and it's actually become a significant part of your income? Should it be more prominent on the resume? Lucas: Absolutely. If your side hustle is now generating thirty percent of your income, that's not a side hustle anymore—that's a second job. You might even consider leading with it if you're pivoting into that industry. I had a client who was a high school teacher by day, and she ran a small online tutoring business on weekends. When she decided to leave teaching and go full-time into educational consulting, we put the tutoring business front and center. That became her primary experience, and the teaching became the supporting role. Luna: That's a smart pivot. So how do you decide whether to combine all your side gigs into one 'consultant' title or list them separately? Lucas: It depends on whether they tell a coherent story. If you do three completely different things—say, dog walking, graphic design, and tutoring—it might look better to pick the one that's most relevant to your target role, or to group them under a broad umbrella like 'Freelance Services' with a few examples. But if they all involve, say, operations or marketing, combining them into one 'Independent Consultant' role makes sense. Luna: Let's talk about the actual format. How much space should a side hustle take up on a resume? Lucas: If it's a current side hustle that's directly relevant to your target job, it deserves the same amount of space as any other role—maybe three to five bullets. If it's more secondary, you can condense it to two bullets or even a single line under a 'Additional Experience' section. The goal is to not have it take over the page if it's not the main story, but to give it enough room to be credible. Luna: And what about the skills section? Should you include skills you learned from your side hustle there? Lucas: Yes, if they're relevant. For example, if you learned basic SEO for your Etsy shop, and you're applying for a marketing job, that's a valuable skill to list. But don't just list 'Etsy' as a skill—that's not a skill. List 'SEO for e-commerce' or 'Product photography' or 'Customer relationship management.' Luna: I've seen some people put 'Side Hustle' as a header, like it's a job title. Is that ever a good idea? Lucas: No, I'd avoid that. It immediately downplays the work. 'Side Hustle' sounds temporary, like something you do until you find a 'real' job. You want a title that reflects the actual function you performed. 'Independent Consultant,' 'Freelance Copywriter,' 'E-commerce Owner'—those sound like professional roles. Luna: Alright, let's talk about the interview. How do you talk about your side hustle without sounding like you're not committed to the job you're applying for? Lucas: That's a good question. You want to position it as a supplement, not a distraction. You can say something like, 'I started this side project to develop new skills that I'm now bringing to this role,' or 'This experience taught me how to manage multiple priorities, which is exactly what this job requires.' The key is to emphasize the learning and the transferable skills, not the extra income. Luna: That makes sense. But what if the interviewer specifically asks, 'Are you still doing this side hustle?' And you are. How do you handle that? Lucas: Be honest, but frame it as a positive. You can say, 'Yes, I currently run a small consulting practice on the side, but I'm looking to transition into a full-time role where I can apply those skills on a larger scale. I'm happy to wind down the side work if that's a concern.' That shows you're flexible and willing to prioritize the job. Luna: So, what's the number one takeaway for someone who's thinking about adding their side hustle to their resume? Lucas: Don't hide it. Own it. Give it a real title, write bullet points that show impact, and connect it to the story you're telling about who you are as a professional. If you treat it like it matters, recruiters will too. Luna: Speaking of what matters, we're in the middle of the summer lull, and we know a lot of our listeners are using this time to polish their resumes for that fall hiring push. If you've found this show helpful—even just one episode—and you want to help us keep it ad-free, there's a small way to do that. It's the kind of thing that, if you're so inclined, is the price of a coffee. Lucas: Yeah, it's at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's the entire ask. No perks, no shout-outs, just knowing you're keeping the show going for someone else who needs it. Luna: And if a coffee's not in the budget, honestly, just sharing the show with a friend who's job hunting is just as helpful. Lucas: Alright, back to resumes. We've been talking about how to frame a side hustle as a legitimate role. But there's another angle that's trickier: what if your side hustle has a completely irregular schedule? Like you work on it only when you have a free weekend, or you take breaks for months at a time. How do you handle the gaps within your own side hustle? Luna: That's a real problem. If you list '2023–Present' but you actually didn't do anything for six months in 2024, isn't that misleading? Lucas: You're right, and we should address that. The honest approach is to either use '2023–2025' and accept the gap, or use '2023–Present' but be prepared to explain in an interview that the work was project-based and had natural pauses. You can even frame it as a strength—'I maintained client relationships and resumed work when new projects came in, which taught me how to manage unpredictable demand.' Luna: So it's about turning a potential negative into a positive, as long as you're not fabricating anything. Lucas: Exactly. The resume is not a legal document, but it should be truthful. You're not lying if you say '2023–Present' and you did some work in 2023 and some in 2025. You're just highlighting the fact that the work spanned that period. The interview is where you get to tell the full story. Luna: Let's do a quick recap for anyone who's been taking notes. First, give your side hustle a real title. Second, write bullets with outcomes. Third, connect it to your target role. And fourth, be honest about the timeline and be ready to talk about it in an interview. Lucas: That's a perfect summary. And if you're still unsure whether your side hustle is worth putting on your resume, ask yourself this: did you learn something, earn something, or build something from it? If the answer is yes, then it's worth including. The only bad move is leaving it off and hoping no one notices the gap. Luna: And if you're on the other side—a hiring manager—you're probably seeing more side hustles on resumes than ever before, given how many people have had to diversify their income over the past few years. It's a sign of resilience, not flakiness. Lucas: That's a great point. The stigma is fading. Recruiters are increasingly seeing side hustles as evidence of a candidate who's proactive, self-motivated, and able to juggle multiple responsibilities. So if you've been burying yours at the bottom, pull it up. Give it the spotlight it deserves. Luna: Alright, so next episode we should talk about how to explain a side hustle when it's still your main source of income and you're looking for a full-time job. That's a whole different can of worms. Lucas: Agreed. That's a good one. But for now, go update that resume. And if you need more help, you know where to find us.