How to List Project Experience on Your Resume

As you work to craft your job marketing tools to land those desired interviews, you might be wondering if it’s appropriate to list project experience on a resume. Or maybe you’re wondering which projects to include and how to incorporate them to stand out and grab the hiring team’s attention.

Project experience on a resume can add value and emphasize your practical, hands-on experience that requires critical thinking and the ability to devise solutions. It’s essential to incorporate project experience on a resume using standard practices so they represent you in the best light possible.

In this post, we cover:

Reasons to include projects on a resume
How to choose which projects to include
Where to list project experience on your resume
Additional tips for listing project experience
Project experience examples for a resume
How to list project experience on a resume as a freelancer or contractor

Reasons to include project experience on a resume

Including projects on your resume is an excellent way to highlight your experience and skills. Project experience on a resume can indicate skills like leadership, time management, collaboration, and problem-solving. In some instances, projects can also help to fill in gaps if you lack certain skills or experience in your traditional work history.

So, how do you list project experience on a resume? Read on to find out.

How to choose which projects to list on a resume

The goal is only to include projects that are relevant and indicate impressive accomplishments compared to your work history as a whole. Here are some tips to help you select which projects to include:

Refer to the job description. Refer to the job description of the job you’re applying to and highlight the required competencies and experience.
Identify your skills and experience. Make a list of the skills you have that align with the job description.
Highlight relevant projects. As you consider your skills that align with the job description, write down the project experience that supports those skills and any other required experience. Review your list and ensure there aren’t any projects missing that are relevant to the position.
Choose the best way to incorporate them. Once you’ve highlighted the projects that you believe add value to your resume, the next step is to decide where to incorporate them, which we discuss in the next section.

Expert tip: If you have skill or experience gaps on your resume when reviewing your work history and training, consider any projects you’ve completed or participated in through extracurricular activities, as a freelancer, or through volunteer work that is relevant to the job, and consider including them in a standalone Project section of your resume.

Where to incorporate projects on a resume

You have a few options to consider for the placement of your project experience, including the:

Work Experience section
Education section
Special Projects section

Work Experience section

Suppose you completed projects during your tenure with a company listed on your resume. In that case, you can include those projects below your job accomplishments. This approach allows you to easily highlight projects you accomplished with various employers.

To incorporate projects in your Work Experience section:

Use the reverse-chronological resume format to list your work experience, including the company name, location, employment dates, position, and key accomplishments for each job you include.
Below the last bullet point, or list of achievements, for each position, create a “Special Projects” or “Key Projects” header.
Include the project name and description in one to two sentences.

Education section

When you have school or training-related projects, you can list them with your education section. This is a great option to add credibility to your resume if you're a recent college graduate or entry-level employee.

To incorporate projects in your Education section:

Use standard resume writing practices to list your education.
Below the degree during which you completed the project, create a “Projects” or “Academic Projects” list.
Include the project name with one to three sentences to describe it, along with the key skills required and the semester the project was completed.

Separate Projects section

There are several additional sections you might choose to include on your resume outside of the necessary Resume Summary, Work Experience, Core Competencies, and Education sections, one of which is a Projects section.

A separate standalone Project section is a good choice when you have a handful of projects you’d like to list. This option is also best when you have relevant projects to include that aren’t directly linked to a position or educational institution listed on your resume.

To incorporate a standalone Projects section:

After your Education section, create a “Projects,” “Special Projects,” or “Key Projects” section. This section could also follow a standalone Skills section, though it would precede a Hobbies and Interests section if it's included on your resume.
List the name of the project and where you completed it.
Include one to two powerful sentences about the project.

Additional tips for listing projects on a resume

Below are a few more tips to help you incorporate project experience into your resume.

Use power verbs. Similar to when you’re creating the bullet points for each of your work accomplishments, use powerful action verbs to describe what you did for each project you include. Power verbs help grab the attention of the resume reader.
Be succinct. Incorporate just enough information to describe the project so that what you’ve accomplished is clear.
Ensure relevance. Any project you include should be relevant to the job you’re applying to, so avoid including any that aren’t.
Incorporate key details. To describe your project, use key details, like the project name, the dollar amount in terms of project cost or value, how many you interacted or worked with, the duration, the outcome, and your role and key responsibilities.
Use quantifiable data. This goes along with incorporating key details, though it’s worth mentioning by itself. Throughout your resume, you want to use as much quantifiable data as possible that shows the results you achieved. For the projects you list, provide data on your results where possible to help the resume reader fully appreciate your skills and abilities.
Incorporate a link to your portfolio. When appropriate for the job you’re applying to, you can include a link to your project portfolio in the heading of your resume. It’s typically the last piece of information you’ll include with your contact information.
Avoid going over two pages. If you have a solid resume and the projects you include cause your resume to go over two pages, leave the projects off. Or, if you have projects that add more value than some of your work accomplishments, you can choose to remove the accomplishments and leave the projects. The goal is to stick to the standard two pages without going over, unless you fall into one of the rare exceptions of having a longer resume.

Project experience on a resume examples

Let’s take a look at some project experience examples.

Project experience on a resume sample: Work Experience section

Systron Solutions, San Francisco, CA | July 2018 - May 2023

Senior Customer Service Specialist

Received an average of 50 calls daily, exceeding company average product sales by 7%
Generated and analyzed weekly reports focused on more than 1000 customers’ behavior and habits to support customer service improvement where needed
Achieved 4.9 out of 5-star customer satisfaction ratings each quarter

Special Projects

Worked with Customer Service Supervisor to launch social media customer service chats for Facebook and Instagram, resulting in a 14% increase in online leads and 21% improvement in customer engagement

College projects on a resume example: Education section

Bachelor’s in Film & Media Production, with honors

New York Film Academy, Burbank, CA

Academic Projects

Produced award-winning short film | Fall 2020

Utilized production management software suite to schedule, budget, and coordinate 35 cast and crew for $50K short film project. Completed all aspects on schedule and under budget, while working with two additional Producers.

Standalone Projects section example

Key Projects

Spearheaded a cost-saving project, resulting in $35,000 annual savings in third-party vendor costs by reviewing vendor contracts and streamlining vendor services as Senior Supply Chain Specialist at ABC Organization.
Led employee charity clothing drive to support underprivileged students at local elementary and middle schools, supplying over 500 pieces of clothing between 3 schools as HR Specialist at XYZ Company.

What about project experience on a resume for freelancers and contractors?

With more than 76 million individuals choosing to freelance in 2024, it’s quite possible that you’ll have valuable freelance project work to include on your resume. Freelance or contractor experience is typically considered project experience, so what’s the best way to incorporate such experience?

The information provided so far in this post assumes you’re using a standard reverse-chronological resume format. A chronological format lists your most recent experience first and the rest in reverse chronological order. It also includes a Resume Summary or Career Profile, Core Competencies, Work Experience, and Education section.

But what if you’re a freelancer or contractor without traditional work experience or you’re an individual with a combination of relevant freelance and traditional work experience?

Many freelancers or contractors choose to use a hybrid resume format. This format allows you to focus more on your skills and accomplishments – broken down by functions – with a brief summary of your work experience.

This can be a viable option for freelancers – they’re even compatible with applicant tracking systems, or ATS.

With all of that being said, you can still use a chronological resume format as a freelancer, where you’ll include your freelance work in a Work Experience section. After all, project experience is still work experience.

When listing freelance project experience in a Work Experience section:

Include the name of your freelance company, if you have one, or the name of the company or firm you did work for.
Only include projects that had a three-month duration or longer.
Indicate that it was freelance or contract by including it in parenthesis after the job or project title, as shown in the example below.

If you have relevant additional or shorter-duration projects, you can always include an Additional Projects section following your Education section.

Freelance project experience on a resume example

This example combines freelance and traditional work experience together in a reverse-chronological format. If you don’t have traditional employment, you’d simply include your freelance projects in reverse order.

ABC Company, Morgantown, WV | January 2015 - June 2016

Social Media Content Creator (contract)
Project: Oversaw, launched, and developed social media content creation for Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook

Designed over 600 social media graphics with microblogs
Increased likes, shares, and comment engagement by 32% over 2.5 years
Completed project $2K under budget within 18 months

XYZ Organization, Clarksburg, WV | September 2010 - January 2015

Communications Specialist
Developed and disseminated content for various mediums to support internal and external communications

Launched first press release (PR) campaign, resulting in over 10K impressions and over 200 pickups
Designed and disseminated first employee newsletter, leading to improved employee engagement
Worked closely with executive team to develop bi-annual presentations and communications for 15 employee meetings across 3 locations

123 Content Solutions, New York, NY | February 2011 – December 2014

Freelance Ghostwriter (remote contract)
Project: Wrote, edited, and developed ideas for a diverse set of clients

Authored more than 1000 pieces of digital blog content for a range of industries, including entertainment, finance, mortgage lending, internet marketing, and leadership development
Utilized keyword best practices to support SEO initiatives, supporting an increase in keyword ranking by 7% in one quarter for one client

Project experience on a resume adds value

If you were on the fence as to whether to include project experience on your resume, now you have the insight to know that it can definitely add value when it’s relevant and doesn’t take up too much real estate over other achievements that might be more valuable to include. Sharing the right types of projects using standard practices can help you stand out to hiring teams when compared to the competition.

Wondering if your resume properly incorporates projects so your resume stands out? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out?