5 Contractor Resume Examples & Writing Tips

Contractor Resume Template (Text Format)

Present your strengths clearly using this professional resume format.

Looking for resume samples? We’ve got you covered: Scroll down for four more good contractor resumes.

Resume for independent contractor

An effective resume for an independent contractor shows you can act as your own boss, and looks something like this:

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Independent contractor resume highlights

• Strong productivity: This candidate proves that they can work for themselves and maintain high levels of productivity, by stating that they’ve created 15 high-quality websites. Employers will want to see you are a highly competent self-employed worker to prove you’d be just as efficient in their company.
• Prior company experience: Some hiring managers may worry self-employed workers won’t fit into a corporate environment. Dispel that notion by including any company-based employment you have to show you can be an effective cog in the corporate machine.

Self-employed security contractor resume

Here’s another way of showing your effectiveness in a self-employed role:

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Self-employed security contractor resume highlights

• Impressive credentials: With a long career in security, this applicant has racked up several licenses and certifications, which’ll go a long way in proving to hiring managers they’re an excellent hire.
• Security-related skills: Firearms skills, victim relationship-building skills, investigative skills — this applicant has all the skills they need to succeed as a security contractor, and lists them both in the skills section and in their professional experience bullet points.

Government contractor resume

What could be more fulfilling than serving your country while maintaining an arm length’s distance from the federal government? Show you’re a competent government contractor with a resume like this one:

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Government contractor resume highlights

• Brief education section: This contractor has copious work experience so their educational background is less relevant. They limit the information here to their degree title, school name, graduate date, and (impressive) GPA.
• Government department size: This worker supports a government department with 2,000+ employees, which shows that they can adapt to a large, diverse organization.

IT contractor resume

Showcase your computer skills with an IT contractor resume as in the example below:

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IT contractor resume highlights

• Budget-minded: This IT contractor knows the value of money, having saved an e-commerce client $30,000 in infrastructure costs. Employers will recognize that this worker performs excellent work while keeping costs to a minimum.
• Always prepared: This candidate lives the Scout motto, “Be Prepared”, since they developed a disaster recovery plan in a prior role, showing they’re never caught off guard.

How to write a contractor resume

There are many types of contractors, so we’ve provided these general writing tips that can help you craft a resume no matter the kind of contractor you are.

1. Quantify your contractor resume

Numbers reflect the output you’re capable of, and hiring managers love seeing numbers on a resume because they show what you’ll be able to achieve for their organization.

The Resume Genius Golden Rule for resumes is quantify, quantify, quantify because quantifying your resume accomplishments is the most effective way of standing out as a candidate for the role you want. (All six of our certified resume experts endorse this advice).

Here are five good contractor resume bullet points with compelling numbers (bold numbers on your resume to make them really stand out):

2. Provide your certifications

You may need certifications depending on your contractor job title and specialty.

If you’re unsure what you’ll need, check the job description or see if there’s a professional association for the field you work in nationally or in your state.

To format your certifications section on your resume, follow this example (for a US Space Force defense contractor specializing in logistics):

3. Emphasize your soft skills

Since a contractor is not a full-time employee, you’ll need exceptional soft skills to stay on the good side of the person responsible for extending your contract and to keep up with the workload.

Listing your soft skills in the skills section of your resume is not impactful, because there’ll be no specific proof of your claims there, so highlight them throughout the work experience section of your resume.

Firstly, here are some of the soft skills a good contractor needs:

Relationship Building

1. Communication
2. Active listening
3. Negotiation skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Conflict resolution

Workload Management

1. Prioritization
2. Time management
3. Adaptability
4. Organization
5. Decision-making

And secondly, here are five bullet points proving you have some of these soft skills:

4. Write an intro that wins over employers

The most powerful resume introductions lead with your most career-defining achievements as well as your unique selling points like skills and certifications. Numbers also don’t hurt. Here are three good contractor resume summaries for you to take ideas from to write your own:

Resume examples for different industries

Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.

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Average contractor salaries in the US

After you’ve written your resume, make sure you use it to apply for jobs within a fair salary range.

The following table includes information from the most recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report (May 2024). Here are the ten states with the highest salaries for contractors, as well as the national average for your reference when applying for work.