How to Include Projects in Resumes (+ Samples & Tips)
In this article, you’ll learn:
The project section, although not a necessary part on a resume, can be very helpful sometimes. For freelancers, designers, software engineers, students, freshers, or anyone who wants to increase employability, providing additional information and descriptions about projects, whether they are work-related or academic ones on the resume is beneficial. With details of your previous or on-going projects on the resume, you can easily showcase your skills and abilities.
Here’s why you should list projects in a resume or CV:
- Listing projects in a resume or a CV helps a hiring manager to determine whether your capabilities and style fit their company.
- Personal projects in a resume or CV are also a major way to demonstrate your enthusiasm.
- Projects in a resume compensates for candidates with lack of work experience, such as students or fresh graduates.
- Career changers who have powerful projects in their resume are valued since they have knowledge and skills from multiple aspects or industry.
But you might be wondering how to add projects in your resume and make it stand out. This's what we are here for. In this article, you will also learn about how to include projects in a resume/CV, tips on how to list projects in a resume/CV, project descriptions in a resume/CV examples, including Python, AWS, Web Development, Tableau, and other projects and their descriptions in a resume.
Types of Projects to List in a Resume
If you’re not sure where to start with, consider the types of projects and related details that are suitable for your resume. There are three major types of projects to include in a resume.
1. Work Projects
Projects you have participated in from your previous workplace are ideal, since they showcase your ability to communicate with real clients, meet real problems and needs, and achieve KPI goals. However, do notice that you should avoid listing projects that are confidential in the resume.
2. Personal Projects
Personal projects that you’ve initiated proves your passion for the work in the resume. In addition, personal projects in a resume present your growing ability and skills. The topic you choose to work on also shows your traits that could be wanting in the hiring manager’s organization.
3. Academic Projects
Academic projects accomplished at school in a resume show your competency. Technical skills or soft skills such as teamwork and leadership are valuable talents to gain with each experience. Including academic coursework projects in your resume is especially ideal for students.
💡 Reminder: Categorize your projects and strategically choose which to list in your CV. Dumping your projects without appropriate organization and explanation is dangerous for job applicants.
How to Include Projects in a Resume (+ Samples & Template)
When listing projects in a resume, whatever is most relevant to the job role comes first. If you are a fresher or student writing freelance or academic projects, list it in the education section in the resume. For career changers or project-focused positions such as IT, engineer, or PM, you might consider adding a dedicated additional “Related Projects” section in your resume to emphasize different expertises.
1. Replace the Work Experience section with a Projects section.
When a project-focused resume demonstrates your skills better than other layouts, replacing the work experience with a project section is a good idea.
Here's an example of replacing the work experience section with a project section on resume:
PROJECTS
Food delivery Explainer ad | Manhattan Agency
June 2020
- Project manager and producer for a team of 5 motion designers.
- Produced a 2-minute explainer animation for a food delivery company within 3 weeks.
- Completed the animation 7 days earlier than expected, help the agency cut $1k expense.
Digital Banking app for CitiBank | ABA Creative
July 2017
- User experience researcher for a $30k project.
- Collaborated with Scrum team to develop information architecture, prototype, and finalizing digital bank app that attracted 100k users with 97% satisfaction rate.
- 2018 Red Dot communication design winner.
- Conducted thorough research on young segment investing habits to gain valuable insight on demands and needs.
2. Include a “Key Projects” subsection under a work experience description.
Another way to list your projects in a resume is to highlight “Key Projects” under a work experience section. Crucial projects for big clients are always eye-catching. Small projects that are experimental or insightful are informative as well.
Take a look at this example of listing key projects in the resume work experience section:
WORK EXPERIENCE
Operation Data Analyst | Nevins Solutions
Jan. 2020 - Jul. 2021
Key Projects: Logistic report for Speedy
- Extracted failure rate, time, location, and transportation from clients to generate valuable reports for suggestions and helped clients cut 30% customer compensation expense.
- Utilized MS, SQL, Python to visualize data reports monthly and transform them into actionable insights for clients, stakeholders, and PMs.
3. Include the projects in the resume education section.
When listing academic projects in a resume for freshers or students, place it under the education section. Creative coursework or final year projects in a fresher resume are welcoming.
Here's an example of listing projects in the education section of a resume:
EDUCATION
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
B.S. in Computer Science
Railway Rerouting System, TokinLine
Jan 2021
- Responsible for Field Study, interactive prototype, crowdedness detention development.
- Apply Wise PaaS and security camera IoT to capture motion recognition.
- Use YOLO image recognition to calculate numbers of passengers and categorize into 4 levels of crowdedness.
Food Delivery Chatbot, Food Genius
May 2020
- Developed chatbot in Python for a school restaurant and invited 200 students to train quality optimization.
- Gained 93% accuracy feedback and positive encouragement from restaurants and local students.
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Tips on How to List Projects on a Resume
No matter how your projects in a resume are structured, there are 5 crucial tips and principles. These are the aspects you should consider when you list and describe projects on a resume.
✅ 1. Provide project detail and quantified descriptions in the resume.
Aside from the basic information such as name and date, you should also include enough details such as quantifiable results and key insights. Namely, list details that can be measured or anything that sharpen your skills in the projects.
✅ 2. Be concise with the descriptions.
Since you are listing your project in a resume rather than a portfolio, your description should be strong and concise. Make your descriptions short and cut directly to the point.
When choosing adjectives and describing your accomplishments for projects in a CV or resume, go for the keywords that are used in the job description.
✅ 3. Be consistent with the format of the projects list.
Consistent format makes your resume easier to read and more appealing visually. Stick with the same font style, size, and color in each heading in your CV or resume.
✅ 4. Use descriptive language and incorporate resume action verbs.
The nuances of your description can bring different effects. For example, action verbs such as “led”, “developed”, “created”, “accomplished”, and more can demonstrate your initiative.
To make your project description in the resume more appealing, relate it to the applying industry or position.
✅ 5. Consider including the link to your online portfolio.
If you have a personal website that includes the essence of your projects, including academic, personal, or work, be sure to include the link in your resume. A personal website is a great way to think out of the resume and present your personal styles and more process details during each project.
Resume Projects Section Examples
Resume Projects Examples:
1. Python Projects
Highway Accident Data Analysis
- Scraped data from governmental sources to analyze and visualize accident types, location, seriousness, and time on the map.
- Sharing results on Medium, acquiring 100+ claps within a day.
2. AWS Projects
Airline Booking web application
- Worked with a team of 5 people to create a flight reservation app that provides flight search, flight payment, flight booking, and loyalty points that include end-to-end testing and CI/CD.
- Deployed automation and monitoring using AWS systems.
3. Web Development Projects
Interactive website for designer agency
- Created Awwwards “Sites of the Day “Winning interactive website for a local design agency in 2 months.
- Used JavaScript, Processing, and Python in projects to incorporate motion graphics.
4. Tableau Projects
Stock Returns Heatmap Data Visualization
- Extracted stock data using Google Finance to build Heatmap, Treemap, and stock returns dashboard with Tableau.
- Published step guides video on Youtube and gained 1k views.
5. DevOps Projects
Financial and Tax Preparation Service app
- Set up CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins.
- Developed monitoring reports automation in a team of 5 developers.
- Maintained 50+ Unix servers with 97% up-time.
6. Ecommerce Project
Fitness Studio E-commerce Website
- Built website and visual identity for local fitness studio client.
- Increasing sports and fitness product sales by 50% by rebranding color scheme, logotype, and studio visual marketing materials.
7. Academic Projects
Senior project, New York University, 2019
- Researched local broadway troupe and interviewed 10 real audiences to illustrate 3 personas and customer journey map.
- Designed service streamline prototype to expand community and fans loyalty.
8. Personal Projects
Hunter City, Interactive Augmented Reality Game
- Developed an online multiple player interactive AR game that allows the player to explore their local city.
- Use Unity, photon server, and MySQL to develop a fast prototype.
- Gained SUS 93 score in usability testing and 97% positive feedback.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
- For freelancers, a project-focused resume is a great way to demonstrate your style and skills.
- Connect your projects in the resume with the applying job role to show technical and soft skills for the job role.
- Add academic projects under the education section if you’re a student
- Add personal projects section in your resume if you have a handful of projects
- Highlight “Key projects”: the most relevant, unique, or thorough projects in your resume
- Adding a personal portfolio website link to document thorough details and processes.
--- Originally written by Wu Chao Min ---
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