How Do I Show Myself as a Sole Proprietorship on My Resume?

Play to your job strengths when listing sole proprietorships on resumes.

A sole proprietorship is a legal business form, useful for establishing yourself as a business and tax entity. However, it tells someone reading your resume next to nothing about your ability to do any particular job. Gathering the resources to start your own business is impressive, but flesh your resume out with more details that show exactly what your skills acquired during business ownership will bring to the table.

Instructions

1. Evaluate your audience, as well as the position for which you’re applying. Don’t worry about matching your job title as a sole proprietor to the exact job title you’re applying for.

2. Choose a job title for yourself that best reflects the skills you have that suit the job. Listing yourself as a manager tells people you were active. Listing yourself as president of a sole proprietorship may give a less favorable impression.

3. Concentrate on listing skills and accomplishments that directly translate to the value you would bring to this new position. Don’t overstate your accomplishments, but also don’t forget to list them.

4. Mention any professional affiliations you have as a result of your ownership of your business. For example, if you hold a titled position on your local chamber of commerce, be sure to mention it. Although it’s not a paid position, your responsibilities and skills in that role are still important and potentially impressive.

Tips & Warnings

• If the nature of your business involved juggling many clients during the same time period, don’t list your clients in chronological order. That may confuse the person reading your resume, and a confused person won’t want to continue reading. Mention that you handled many clients at once, then highlight your biggest successes. Draw obvious connections explaining how your previous successes will benefit your new position.

• Avoid mentioning any projects that didn’t end successfully on your resume. Don’t fabricate information, but remember that it’s also not necessary to point out your faults on paper. The time to draw on anything you’ve learned from past mistakes is in the interview, where you should speak about how the experience helped you grow and change for the better.

References

• The Ladders, The Business Owner's Resume Riddle; Patty Orsini; November 2009
• Example Resumes: Owner of a Small Business