How to Put Projects on Your Resume [Tips&Examples]
06 Octomber 2022 • 5 min read
Wisedoc
Wisedoc
Wisedoc Expert Team

People may ask themselves:

“You know what, I don’t have any related job experience, so how can I make the recruiter believe that I have the skillset which they need, and I can contribute to the company?”

The answer is simple — Projects!

The project section is your opportunity to show the recruiters that you are a self-motivated individual with superb soft skills who will be an asset to their organization.

Some people talk about their projects under their education, others would choose to have a dedicated section to describe their previous projects.

So which one is better and how to list the projects?

Let’s learn together.

We Will Cover:
  • What Are Projects
  • How to List Projects on Your Resume
  • Common Types of Projects With Examples
What Are Projects?

Project is a one-time event that you've worked on as an avenue to solve a particular problem or reach a specific outcome, and it has a clear beginning and end date.

Projects on your resume allow hiring managers to check whether your technical skills and soft skills will be a good fit for their company, so you have to list them in a way that is relevant to the job role.

It also helps to do a bit of research about the company and try to describe your projects in such a way that aligns with the company's goals and work ethics.

How to List Projects on Your Resume

Typically, this is how people list their projects. It is easy-to-read, crispy, and covers all key information.

[Project Name]
[Organization Name], [Organization Address]
[Time Duration]
[Project Detail]

  • Short Description
  • Achievement 1
  • Achievement 2

    • There are six pro tips that can really make your project section to the next level.

  • You can list your projects in a designated section or under your education or work experience section. It is advised you do the former for personal projects and the latter for other types of projects.
  • Write out your projects in an easy-to-understand way and describe them. Talk about what skills you utilized or the ones you gained from the experience.
  • Each projects should contains no more than three bullet points.
  • Use action words to start every sentence when you are describing your achievements
  • Number talks! Quantify your achievements or contribution using numbers.
  • For each job application, customize your project description.

    • Common Types of Projects With Examples

    If the projects relate to the job and would improve your chances of winning the job, you can list any number of projects on your resume. Consider including the following projects on your resume:

    Personal Projects

    Relevant personal projects showcasing your hard and soft skills can also be included.

    Example:

    NRC Utility Boat
    Jun 2018 – Spe 2019

  • 3D printed the needed parts and programed Raspberry Pi for controlling system.
  • Successfully run for more than 100+ hrs without any problem.

    • Example:

    Board Game
    Nov 2018 – Jan 2019

  • Designed a new party board game and manufactured it in China.
  • Achieved 34 pre-orders on kickstarter.com.

    • Academic Projects

    This will be particularly helpful for students or job seekers with limited job experience. Describe the projects in such a way that will clearly showcase skills that are relevant to the role you're applying for.

    Mechanical Engineering

    Example:

    Chainless Bicycle
    Penn State University, State College, PA 16801
    Aug 2018 – May 2019

  • Developed a shaft-driven bicycle that uses a drive shaft instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to the rear wheel.
  • Reduced manufacture cost by 20% compares to the traditional chain-driven bicycles.
  • Increased the energy transfer efficiency by 35%.

    • Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Example:

    Effect Of Leadership Style On Employee Motivation
    Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 01434
    Jan 2001 – Jul 2001

  • Collected 200 questionnaires from 15 different companies.
  • Identified 5 styles that can motivate employees on their work.
  • Won the Yearly pitch competition.

    • Food Science

    Example:

    Add Coffee Flavor to a Beer
    Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330
    May 2004 – Oct 2016

  • Developed beer with 2 different coffee flavors.
  • Completed 50+ face-to-face customer surveys in one summer.

    • Work Projects

    If you have relevant projects you engaged in at your previous workplace, you can also include them in your resume.

    FWebsite UI/UX designer

    Example:

    E-commerce Website Optimization
    Sunday2Buy, New York, NY 10016
    May 2007 – May 2008

  • Optimization of the landing which reduced customer bounce rate by 35%.
  • Implementation of calls-to-actions that increased revenue by 20%.
  • Mobile website performance optimization that generated $4,000/moth sales.

    • Blog-writing freelancers

    Example:

    Blogs writing for a hedgehog pet food website
    Aug 2012 – Dec 2012

  • Wrote 35 blogs in total which provided 2000+ organic key words for the website.
  • My blogs have generated $200,000 worth of traffic to the website.

    • Digital Marketing Analyst

    Example:

    Promotional Email Execution
    Colony Brands, Inc, Monroe, WI 53566
    Feb 2015 – Apr 2017

  • Created and maintained Unica/Sales Force Marketing Cloud Email marketing processes.
  • Developed a promotion email chain that generated $2,500 per months.
  • The promotion emails have reached more than 100,000 customers with a click-through-rate as 15.5%.

    • Community Projects

    Hiring managers love seeing potential employees give back to the community, including a number of community projects they've participated in.

    Example:

    Earthquake Preparedness Plan
    Oct 2016

  • Organized 4 weekly training seminars which has around 120 attendance.
  • Raised $600 for the community from local business.

    • Example:

    Donate Unwanted Clothes
    Mar 2017

  • Collected 40+ pairs of shoes, 300+ pieces of clothing.
  • Recorded the entire event and uploaded to Youtube.com which received 10,000+ views within a month.

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