How to List "Freelance" Work When You Just Fixed Your Uncle’s Website

Maybe you haven't had a "real" job at a tech company yet. But maybe you built a WordPress site for your uncle's bakery. Or you wrote a Python script to help your friend scrape data for their thesis.

You might think, "That doesn't count. It wasn't a real job."

Wrong. If you wrote code and solved a problem for a "client" (even if they didn't pay much), that is professional experience. You just need to know how to phrase it.

1. Use a Professional Title

Don't write "Helped my Uncle." Write:

• Freelance Web Developer (Self-Employed)
• Contract Software Engineer (Project-based)

2. Focus on the Deliverable, Not the Favor

Recruiters don't care that you did it for family. They care about what you built.

• Bad: "Made a website for a bakery."
• Good: "Designed and deployed a responsive mobile-first website for a local retail business, increasing their monthly online inquiries by 20%."

3. Aggregate Small Gigs

If you did 3 or 4 small projects, don't list them as 4 separate jobs. That looks messy. Group them under one entry:

Freelance Developer | 2024 - Present

• Developed custom WordPress themes for 3 local businesses using PHP and CSS.
• Automated data entry tasks for an academic client using Python scripts, saving 10 hours of manual work per week.

4. Confidence is Key

The only difference between "fixing a website" and "Freelance Engineering" is how you present it. ResumeMind helps you structure these entries so they look just as impressive as a corporate internship.