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How to List Projects on a Resume (with Examples)

10 min read · Updated on February 23, 2024

Projects on your resume can prove you have what it takes to succeed

You've likely heard a few catchphrases related to resume writing. Things like “show, don't tell” and “be an achiever, not a doer.”  One of the most effective ways to put these principles into action is by including projects on your resume. But how exactly do you list projects on a resume, and why are they so important?

You've come to the right place. Here, you'll learn how to list projects on your resume in a way that catches the eye of hiring managers and helps you to stand out from the competition. 

It doesn't matter if you're fresh out of college or have a decade of experience under your belt; including projects on your resume can significantly enhance your chances of landing your dream job.

Your old resume may have been a list of work experiences, but your new resume will outshine the competition and win you the interviews you seek. 

Projects vs work experience

Depending on where you're at in your career, it can be tough to separate projects from actual work experience, especially if you're a freelancer or regularly tackle projects as a part of your job. While both are exceedingly valuable in telling your career story, you have to be a bit discerning to determine which is more important. 

Obviously, you gain experience from working at jobs and completing projects, but listing projects separately can help you to highlight specific skills that might get lost when you explain work you did in a previous job. 

The main differences can be summarized as: 

Projects are concise and specific

Work history provides a broader view of your career trajectory

At the end of the day, you must pick the things you want to include on your resume with the aim of balancing your knowledge and skills with what's being called for in the job description. Relevancy and tailoring your resume are critical, allowing prospective employers to see what you have to offer their team. 

Why listing projects can be good for you

When you're trying to prove to an employer that you're an achiever rather than a doer, having a project or two to back up your claims can do wonders for your candidacy. Not only do projects on your resume have the ability to demonstrate relevant skills, but they also allow you to showcase initiative and accomplishments. 

In the context of standing out from the crowd, projects on your resume can add depth to your experience to paint a more well-rounded and comprehensive picture of what you bring to the table for the new employer. One thing that a lot of people miss is that you can also use projects on your resume to fill in any experience gaps that may be present. 

Types of projects you can highlight on your resume

While the projects you list on your resume are as unique as you are, there are some common types. Knowing what type of project you're going to list on your resume will help you to determine if the project is relevant and can also guide you in knowing where on your resume to list it. 

There are four basic types.

This is any project you've done in your position with a company. It was probably part of your job description, but it could've also been something you were called on to do outside of your day-to-day role. Perhaps you led a team to launch a new product or created a new process for doing something that saved time and money. Work projects are good to have on your resume because they demonstrate that you're the type of person to go above and beyond to achieve an objective. 

2. Academic

These are projects that you complete in a classroom or educational setting. You'll definitely need to include academic projects if you're fresh out of college and have little to no work history or relevant professional experience. Academic projects for your resume can be anything from conducting a research study and writing a thesis or dissertation to developing a software application as part of a class project. Including academic projects on your resume gives you a chance to highlight relevant skills and prove to a future employer that you have a passion for learning and development. After all, continuous improvement is a highly sought-after skill. 

3. Personal

Sometimes, you get bored at home and decide you want to build a personal website or create a blog. There have even been folks who've created apps that work with their smart home devices to automate activities. It doesn't matter that these are personal projects, if you find that your resume is lacking particular skills or achievements you can use these projects on your resume to round out your candidacy. That said, adding a personal project to your resume should be a last resort. 

4. Freelance

'Tis the time we live in – a lot of people work as independent contractors or freelance. It's a great way to fill in employment gaps or have some income if you're on a sabbatical . The most common freelance projects center around things like graphic design, marketing, tech, and writing. These types of projects can be valuable additions to your resume. 

How to add projects to your resume

Since you want to keep your resume relevant to the job you're applying for, the first step is to create a list of projects from your history and compare them to what employers need. 

Analyze the job description to dissect out the keywords and phrases. Once you have that list, compare it to the skills and achievements you can talk about with each project. Beyond picking the right project to match the job, you also have to consider space.

Bear these guidelines in mind:

Pick projects for your resume that match the job description

Pick projects that allow you to keep your resume on the right number of pages

The final step is to properly format the project entries in their respective sections. 

Where to include projects on your resume

For the most part, you'll format a project listing the same way you would a work history listing. The only difference is that you may not have a company to list indicating where you did the project. If you can't list the client or location associated with the project, don't let that stop you from adding it. 

As you would expect, work projects would be listed in the Professional Experience section, academic projects are best suited in the Education section, and some projects may even merit having their own special section. 

What does all of that look like? Let's take a look.

Projects in their own section 

For the most part, your resume should have at least five sections:

Contact information

Profile (which contains your title and summary paragraph)

Work history

You can also add an entirely new section called “Projects,” “Selected Projects,” “Relevant Projects,” or “Academic Projects.” 

Depending on how hard you have to lean on those projects to wow a hiring manager will be the deciding factor on whether you place this new section above or below “Professional Experience.” If you really need them to make your candidacy, then put them above. If you want them on there just to give the hiring manager one more glimpse into what you can do, then put them below. 

Example of projects in their own section

You should create a title for the section and then list each project with relevant bullet points that call out things you achieved in working on that project. It's also appropriate to put the dates you were working on each project. 

Selected Projects

Post Evaluation Platinum LEED Office Building | 04/2022 - 10/2022

Used advanced knowledge of Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Survey benchmarks and performed literature review / precedent studies to present data-driven solutions regarding visual and thermal comfort. 

Authored and presented findings related to underfloor air distribution (UFAD) system analysis. 

Integrated Façade Simulator: Hybrid Reality Simulations for Assessing Human Façade Interaction | 09/2020 - 05/2021

Created a novel integrated hybrid system that simulated a multi-sensory environment and observed participants and the impact of environmental stimuli for sensation, perception of comfort, and energy consumption. 

Projects in the experience section

If you're one of those people who get chosen by a boss to work on a project or if you've spent a significant time as an independent contractor , then it's probably going to serve you best to include projects within the “Professional Experience” section of your resume. 

Example of projects in the experience section

Format it like you would any other position within your experience section, including the name of the company, the dates you were employed, your position title, and some achievement bullets. Then, beneath those achievement bullets for your job, add “Noted Projects” and talk about the project as separate from what you accomplished as an employee. 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

XYZ Company | Location 05/2015 to Present

Senior Biologist

Achievement bullet #1

Achievement bullet #2

Achievement bullet #3

Noted Projects:

Major Development Plan and Infrastructure Project – 03/2019 - 06/2021

Monitored site conditions to ensure the protection of sensitive species, including California gnatcatcher, cactus wren, least Bell's vireo, arroyo chub, arroyo toad, and general nesting birds.

Oversaw end-to-end project management processes, including scoping, planning, timelines, delivery, execution, and status reporting. 

Subdivision Development Project – 04/2013 - 01/2017

Directed biological resource protection initiatives for a 180-acre development project, resulting in approximately 475 acres of preserved, restored, and enhanced habitats. 

Conducted protocol and non-protocol environmental impact surveys for 3 years, in the wake of a widespread wildfire, to assess gnatcatcher habitat, population density, and movement. 

Projects in the education section

It can be hard to craft a resume when you've just graduated college and have no real experience to show future employers. Fortunately, you can lean on things you did at school to inject experiences, achievements, and skills into your resume. You just write an expanded education section. 

Relate reading: How to List Education on Your Resume (with Examples)

Example of projects in the education section

Whether you're listing your GPA or relevant coursework, you can always add some college projects to your resume education section if you need to prove your salt to a new company. 

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bachelor of Finance, | State University – Location (Expected May 2024)

Coursework : Current Economic Problems, Macroeconomics, Accounting Principles, Money and Capital Markets, Business Statistics, Spreadsheet Modeling in Finance, Global Financial Markets

Academic projects

Secured funding for a non-fungible token (NFT) from State University's Board of Trustees and generated a 100% return on investment (ROI). 

Placed in the top 10% of a financial modeling competition. Analyzed comparative values over time to predict future performance and identified a portfolio of stocks that were graded and ranked in terms of profit and loss and accuracy of predictions. 

Projects on your resume win interviews

Remember that the main goal of your resume is to win interviews. Adding projects can be just the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd of job seekers. Use projects wisely, though. Leverage them to boost your skills, enhance your achievements, and inject necessary keywords into your resume that align with what the job description asks for in a new employee. 

Once you get all of that written, we'll give it a once-over for you with a free resume review . After all, it's always good to get expert, objective feedback on your resume. 

Recommended reading:

Guide to Writing a Great Resume with No Work Experience

Ask Amanda: How Do I List Self-Employment & Freelance Work On My Resume?

47 Accomplishment Examples for Your Resume: Expert Picks

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See how your resume stacks up.

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How—and When—to Include Projects on Your Resume (Plus Examples!)

If you’ve completed a project you’re especially proud of, it’s natural to want to show it off on your resume—and it might even help you land your next job. Projects that potentially belong on your resume can come from your past jobs, paid and unpaid side ventures, and—if you’re a recent grad—your academic coursework.

Read on to see why, when, and how you should put projects on your resume.

Why You Should List Projects on a Resume

Like everything else on your resume, projects can help highlight experiences that qualify you for your next job. You may have used skills— hard or soft —in a certain project that are key for the role you want. And including a successful project is a great way to tie those skills directly to results, which employers want to see on every resume.

When You Should List Projects on Your Resume

Adding projects to your resume “can be a great way to highlight experience outside of your daily role, enhance a recent grad resume, or bridge the gap from what you’re doing to what you want to do” if you’re looking to change or pivot careers, says Muse career coach Tara Goodfellow , owner of Athena Consultants .

Projects are an especially helpful addition to your resume when your experience section doesn’t already show that you have the background you need to get the job you want next, which is most common for two groups of job seekers:

• Recent graduates : Entry-level candidates by definition lack professional experience. But if you just finished college, a big project—whether you did it for a class, an honors or capstone program, an internship, or your own research—can show that you have a lot of valuable workplace skills such as leadership, collaboration, presentation, and public speaking, Goodfellow says. After your first-full time role, Goodfellow recommends removing school projects from your resume.
• Career changers or pivoters: When you’re looking to switch or pivot your career, you want to show any experience you have that relates to the role, field, or industry you want to go into. This might mean highlighting projects you did within a current or past job or adding a volunteer, side, or freelance project to your resume. What matters is that your project helps prove to employers you have relevant experience for the job you’re hoping to land.

Which Projects You Should Include

When you’re deciding which projects to add to your resume, “you want to be strategic,” Goodfellow says. “Don’t just dump every project you've been part of hoping something will catch the hiring manager’s attention.” Instead, carefully go over the job description for any role you’re interested in. Highlight any skills or qualifications the company is looking for that you have, as well as any job duties they list for the role that you’ve performed in the past. Then note any that can only be proven by including a certain project on your resume. If a project doesn’t meet this threshold, it probably doesn’t need to be called out.

Even if you’re in a more project-based field, like engineering, IT, or consulting, consider whether all or any of your projects can emphasize your accomplishments in a way that general bullet points under each job entry can’t. With too many projects crowding your resume, recruiters might not find the most important details. For example, if you generally do consulting for larger clients, but once worked with a small business and got great results, listing details for that one project might help you land a job at a consultancy with a small-business focus. But if most of your clients are small businesses, mentioning a slew of individual projects rather than overall achievements will take up valuable resume space without necessarily adding to your qualifications.

How to List Projects (Plus Examples)

List your projects wherever they’re most relevant, Goodfellow says. For recent grads, this often means your education section. If the project was part of a past job, freelance work, or volunteer work, it likely belongs under that specific entry in your experience section . If you’re thinking of a personal or side project or you have multiple projects that you want to include on your resume, you might consider adding a dedicated “Related Projects” or similarly titled section.

Regardless of where you list your project, you should follow these general tips:

• Include important details. You should add enough information about each project that it can be easily understood by anyone who reads your resume. Depending on the specific project, consider listing a project title, a project description, and project dates, as well as who you did the project for and with, what your role was, and what the results and impact were.
• Focus on your achievements. Whether your project description is contained to one bullet point or has several bullet points underneath it, employers want to see what results you’ve gotten with your skills so they can see how you might drive results for them. Use achievement-oriented , quantified bullet points to really put your accomplishments front and center.
• Tailor your project description for every job application. You should only include projects that are relevant to the specific job you’re applying for and, even more than that, you should make sure your description of a project highlights the pieces of it that are most relevant. So if a company is looking for someone with website design experience, focus on the design aspect of your side project, not how you attracted customers to your site. And try to use the same language and keywords as the job description.
• Include links to your work when possible. Almost everyone who reads your resume will do so for the first time on a computer, so links to work that’s live online are fair game. Just make sure you hyperlink an unimportant word like “Project” or even “Link” to avoid any applicant tracking system (ATS) issues.

What does this all look like in practice? Here are a few examples based on where you’re listing a project.

In an Education Section

This is how an entry-level applicant looking to emphasize their research, writing, and presentation skills might include a project on their resume.

Bachelor of Arts in English | Colgate University | Hamilton, NY Expected Graduation: Spring 2021 Capstone Project: “Voices Missing From the 19th-Century Literary Canon”

• Wrote a 40-page dissertation on three minority writers who are not commonly taught in U.S. K-12 schools or colleges, exploring literary devices and techniques used before other writers who are commonly taught
• Presented research findings at Nineteenth-Century Studies Association 2021 Conference as one of five undergrads selected to give a 10-minute talk
• Researched writers’ lives and work by analyzing newspaper archives (via LexisNexis), conducting interviews with literary scholars who focus on the 19th century, and traveling to review old correspondence and writings not widely reproduced
• Analyzed 12 total texts to compare literary devices and techniques between focal writers and their contemporaries

Within Your Experience Section

Here’s how a marketer looking to pivot into project management might include a project under a past job immediately after the bullet points describing their overall duties and accomplishments.

Key Project

• Led $200k digital marketing campaign from conception to launch, resulting in 120% of target signups in first two months of campaign
• Managed cross-functional team of seven marketing coordinators and analysts, content creators, and designers through market research, content creation, campaign launch, and analysis of results, setting deadlines, adjusting to changes in schedule, and resolving conflicts and miscommunications among teams

Within a Dedicated Section

Here’s how an aspiring software engineer might describe a project they did in their free time to show off their coding chops to prospective employers.

RELEVANT PROJECTS

TheTradingPost.com | March 2020–September 2020 | Link

• Designed and coded a website (using CSS, Python, and JavaScript) where players of popular video games could arrange trades for virtual items, receiving an average of 1000 hits monthly
• Responded to user feedback and issues to improve site functionality and build additional features including a search function

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How To Put Projects On A Resume (With Examples)

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Summary. To put projects on your traditional chronological resume , include a separate projects section beneath the education or work experience section. In a project based resume, rename the work experience section to be named “projects” and you can avoid the standard chronological resume format and instead focus on your most relevant projects and professional skills.

No matter where you are in your career journey, adding projects to your resume can highlight your key qualifications and help your application make more of an impression.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add projects to your resume and when it’s a good idea to take this route.

Key Takeaways

You can work projects into your work history section, organize your resume around your projects, or create a separate section for your projects.

You should list your most relevant projects first and leave off any irrelevant projects.

Freelancers, entry-level job candidates, and people who are changing career paths could benefit most from project-based resumes.

How to List Projects on a Resume

Examples of ways to list projects on a resume, tips for listing projects on a resume, why should you put projects on a resume, what is a project-based resume, who should use project-based resumes, putting projects on a resume faq, final thoughts.

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To list projects on a traditional chronological resume , you should include a separate projects section beneath the education or work experience portion of your professional resume. This can be easily accomplished by including a “key projects” section below the bullets detailing your previous job responsibilities and accomplishments.

Listing projects on a traditional date-ordered resume can be a great option for professionals who want to showcase their project management expertise while also detailing their prior work titles and chronological job experience.

If you’re looking to ditch your traditional chronological resume altogether, a project-based resume is a great way of showcasing your most desirable professional skills outside of the tight confines of a standard cookie-cutter resume that lists your work experience in reverse chronological order.

By renaming the “work experience” section of your resume to “projects,” you can easily avoid the standard chronological resume format and instead focus on your most relevant projects and professional skills. This unique structure focuses more on practical, hands-on experience and less on how long you held a certain job title.

To list projects on a resume:

Contextualize the project’s details. You don’t want each project to take up too much space, but you do need to describe the key who, what, where, when, and why of the story. Most importantly, bring in numbers as often as possible.

Highlight your accomplishments. “Ideally, your resume is a list of achievements,” says resume expert Don Pippin . When describing your projects, be sure that the direct impact that you had on the end result is apparent.

Tailor your resume for each job. Again, this applies to all resumes, not just project-based ones. In the context of projects, though, be sure to think about how each entry relates to the specific job you’re applying for.

Provide examples. If you’re emailing your resume, including some hyperlinks to documents relating to past projects can be really impactful. Not only can the hiring manager see the results of your work, but also how you and your team approached projects in general.

Below are three examples of ways you can list projects on your professional resume or CV . Using these examples as a template when writing your job-specific resume can help you advance in the hiring process and land the job of your dreams.

Listing Projects in the Education Section of Your Chronological Resume Example:

Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, Massachusetts B.S. in Mechanical Engineering , May 2020 | GPA: 3.8 Key Projects: Led a team of three engineering students to execute blueprints and coordinate the production of state-of-the-art air filtration systems for the university hospital. Production and installation came in 12% under budget and were completed 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

Listing Projects Below Previous Job Responsibilities and Work Descriptions in Your Chronological Resume Example:

Work Experience Sales Associate Baker Technologies | March 2019-present Drove revenue by 13% year-over-year by initiating increased customer engagement policy Oversaw a team of five cashiers, who collectively processed average credit card and cash payments of over $20,000 daily Key Projects: Worked with a software developer to redesign and launch Baker Technologies’ online marketplace, resulting in a $2 million increase in profits for 2019.

Listing Projects in a Projects Section of Your Project-Based Resume Example:

Professional Project Highlights App Development Camping With Oliver , July 2020-November 2020 Developed and coded a complex app, compatible with iPhone and Android devices, designed to help hikers locate free campsites in their area. Increased digital revenue stream by 55% following launch Private Web Design Bobbi’s Bakery , January 2021-March 2021 Built a multifunctional website with a complex ordering system using HTLM 5, CSS, and bug-free code Managed all custom graphics, page composition, and branding for this client, leading to a 30% Q/Q jump in sales

If it’s your first time listing projects on a resume or ditching your traditional chronological resume or project-based one, there are a few things you need to keep in mind to craft an effective resume and impress hiring managers.

By following these five tips, you’ll be able to perfectly listing projects on your professional resume and allow your key skills and job qualifications to shine.

Lead with the most relevant projects. One of the biggest advantages of a project-based resume is having the ability to list your work experiences and skills in order of the most relevant projects, instead of arranging them chronologically.

Highlight leadership and job-specific skills. If you’re listing projects on your resume, it’s important to be deliberate and meticulous in the projects you include. Your project list should be presentable, professional, and perfectly convey your leadership and job-specific skills.

Show how you achieve results and meet company goals. Another substantial perk of listing projects on your resume is the ability to clearly illustrate and verify how you are results-driven and ready to meet company goals.

Illustrate how your experiences align with company values. Not only is it important to showcase the skills and qualifications required for a job opening, but it’s also essential to illustrate how your work style and professional goals align with the values a company prides itself on.

Keep project descriptions short. To emphasize your strongest skills and professional abilities, it’s important to keep project descriptions short, concise, and to the point. Providing only the essential details to demonstrate your skills, achievements, and experience will allow hiring managers to easily read and review your resume.

Listing projects on your resume will help you get a leg up over other qualified competing applicants.

A project-based resume, similar to a functional resume , is highly effective in conveying your unique qualifications, work style, field of specialization, and areas of expertise.

Project-based resumes are great tools for illustrating hands-on experience and your decision-making and conflict resolution skills. Describing projects you’ve been involved with can give hiring managers a glimpse into how you operate as an employee.

Submitting a project-based resume with your job applications can allow you to position yourself as the best candidate for the role by highlighting and describing projects that closely align with the job description included in the advertisement.

Including a list of projects on your resume will allow your job application to shine and illustrate your work capabilities and well-rounded personality; to hiring managers and job recruiters.

A project-based resume is a professional resume that focuses on accomplishments rather than chronological job titles and previous work responsibilities.

Where a traditional resume lists work experience and academic degrees in date order, a project-based resume instead does one of two things.

It either lists a job seeker’s relevant academic, work, and personal projects in order of most to least compelling or includes specific projects beneath the education or work experience sections of a resume.

Project-based resumes effectively provide hiring managers and prospective employers with verifiable proof of a job applicant’s industry expertise, achievements, and experience.

Anyone can use project-based resumes, but the following groups might find additional benefit:

Freelancers. Project-based resumes can be an especially worthwhile option for freelancers , as it allows you to ditch the traditional chronological resume and instead focus on projects you have worked on that are most relevant to the position you’re applying to.

Entry-level candidates. Not only is a project-based resume a great alternative for freelance workers, but it can also be equally as enticing for traditional employees or recent graduates since projects can be easily listed beneath education and work experience sections, as you would normally list accomplishments, skills, and previous job responsibilities.

Career changers. Writing a project-based resume can be a great option for people looking for their first job, changing careers, coming off a long sabbatical or personal leave, or searching for a full-time job after a series of freelance gigs.

Should I put my projects on my resume?

Yes, you should put your projects on your resume. Listing a few of your most impressive professional projects on your resume can help hiring managers see what you’re capable of.

What kind of projects should I put on my resume?

You should put successful, professional projects that relate to the job you’re applying for on your resume. Think of a few of the projects that demonstrate the skills that are listed on the job description you’re applying for and put them on your resume.

Do personal projects count as experience?

No, personal projects don’t count as experience. They don’t usually count as formal work experience, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put some of them on your resume, especially if they demonstrate your professional skills.

is it OK to put project details in a resume?

Yes, It’s OK to put project details in a resume. Projects are a great addition to your resume when your experience section doesn’t already show that you have the background or experience for a job. Recent graduates or entry-level candidates are the ones who typically put projects on their resume.

Whether you’re a freelancer or a traditional employee, a recent graduate or a career changer, projects can make your resume pop.

By illustrating your hands-on work experience, verifying your skills and job qualifications, and marketing yourself as the best candidate for the role, you’ll have hiring managers who can’t wait to call you in for an interview to learn more.

Using the tips and templates included in this article can help you write a well-structured and effective project-based resume and make a great first impression on recruiters across industries.

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Elsie is an experienced writer, reporter, and content creator. As a leader in her field, Elsie is best known for her work as a Reporter for The Southampton Press, but she can also be credited with contributions to Long Island Pulse Magazine and Hamptons Online. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Stony Brook University and currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee.

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Projects on Your Resume: How to Include Them the Right Way

When it comes to crafting a resume that stands out from the crowd, listing your work experience and educational background are just the basics. One way to make your resume more competitive is by including relevant projects that showcase your skills and capabilities.

Projects on a resume can refer to any work you have completed that goes beyond your day-to-day responsibilities. This could include special initiatives, team collaborations, independent research or creative endeavors that demonstrate your problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and innovation.

Importance of Projects on Resume

By listing projects on your resume, you can demonstrate your practical experience and accomplishments that extend beyond your job function. Projects can show your proactive approach to learning, your ability to execute on a plan, and your creativity. Additionally, listing popular projects that relate to your field can help attract potential employers who are looking for candidates with a specific set of skills and experience.

When you list your projects on the resume, do not forget to add details of the positive outcome that you achieved from the project. For example, if you worked on a team to reduce customer complaints by 15%, be sure to include this information. Write your descriptions of the project in a clear and concise manner so the reader can easily understand your accomplishments.

Incorporating projects into your resume provides a great opportunity to showcase your problem-solving abilities and demonstrate your potential as a strong candidate for the job you aspire to. So, whether you are a seasoned professional or a job seeker looking to break into a new career, including relevant projects on your resume is the right way.

Types of Projects to Include on Resume

When it comes to crafting a resume, including projects can be a great way to showcase your skills and accomplishments. However, not all projects are created equal. Here are four types of projects you should consider including on your resume:

Professional Projects

Highlighting projects that you’ve worked on during your time in the workforce is a great way to demonstrate your expertise and value as a potential employee. Professional projects can include anything from leading a team to completing a major project or implementing a new strategy. These types of projects show prospective employers that you have relevant experience and can be trusted to deliver results.

Academic Projects

While academic projects may not seem as relevant as professional projects, they can still demonstrate your ability to work independently and apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios. You can showcase academic projects by including class projects, research papers, or even independent studies. Highlighting these academic projects can show potential employers that you are a well-rounded individual with valuable skills.

Personal Projects

Personal projects are the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your creativity and passion outside of work or school. They can also show potential employers that you are self-motivated and interested in continuously developing your skills. Personal projects can include anything from starting a blog to developing a mobile app. Highlighting these types of projects can demonstrate your ability to think outside of the box and take initiative.

Volunteer Projects

Volunteer projects allow you to give back to your community while also developing your skills. Whether you are volunteering at a local nonprofit or organizing a charity event, these types of projects demonstrate your dedication to making a positive impact. Highlighting volunteer projects on your resume shows potential employers that you have a strong work ethic and are committed to making a difference.

Including projects on your resume can be a great way to stand out from the pack and showcase your skills and accomplishments. By focusing on these four types of projects – professional, academic, personal, and volunteer – you can create a well-rounded resume that demonstrates your expertise and potential value to prospective employers.

Selecting Relevant Projects

One of the most critical factors that employers consider when reviewing resumes is the relevance of job experiences and projects to the position being applied for. As such, job seekers should be mindful of including only relevant projects on their resumes. In this section, we’ll discuss three essential aspects of selecting relevant projects:

Identifying Required Skills

To identify the relevant projects to include in your resume, you must first understand the critical skills required for the job position. Carefully analyze the job description and identify the required technical and soft skills. Once you have this information, you should compare it with your project experiences to determine which ones showcase your proficiency in those skills.

For example, if the job position requires proficiency in a particular programming language, you should ensure that the project you highlight on your resume demonstrates your expertise in that language. This will demonstrate to the employer that you have the necessary skills to perform the job effectively.

Matching Projects with Job Position

After identifying the required skills, the next step is to match relevant projects with the job position. This involves carefully selecting projects that align with the job description and showcase your skills and experiences. You should focus on projects that demonstrate your abilities in areas that are relevant to the job position.

For example, if the job description requires proficiency in project management, you may want to highlight a project you worked on where you had to manage a team to achieve deliverables within a specific timeline. This will demonstrate to the employer that you not only possess the necessary skills but also have the experience to apply those skills in a real work environment.

Achievements and Goals in Projects

A strong resume not only showcases your skills and experiences but also highlights your achievements and goals in each project. By including your achievements in each project, you demonstrate to the employer that you have a record of delivering results that make an impact.

For example, if the project you worked on involved implementing a new software system, you can highlight how this improved the efficiency of the team or company. This allows the employer to see the value of your work and the potential value you can bring to the organization.

Selecting relevant projects is a critical step when crafting your resume. By identifying the required skills, matching projects with the job position, and emphasizing your achievements and goals in each project, you can demonstrate to the employer that you have the necessary skills and experiences to excel in the desired role.

How to List Projects on Resume

When it comes to listing projects on your resume, it is important to provide clear and concise information about each project you have worked on. This section will cover the four essential elements to include when describing your projects on your resume: project title and description, duration and date of completion, roles and responsibilities, and impact and results.

Project Title and Description

Begin each project by specifying its title and providing a brief description of the work you did. This will give the employer a quick idea of what the project was about and how you contributed to its success.

For example:

Project Title:  Marketing Campaign for Product Launch

Description:  Led a team of three to create and implement a marketing campaign to drive awareness and sales for a new product launch.

Duration and Date of Completion

Employers want to know how long you worked on each project, so be sure to include the duration and completion date for every project you list on your resume.

Duration:  6 months

Completion Date:  January 2021

Roles and Responsibilities

Clearly outlining your roles and responsibilities is vital when describing a project on your resume. This will help demonstrate your skills and highlight your contributions to the project.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Conducted market research to identify target audience and develop messaging strategy
• Created a project plan and timeline to ensure the campaign was delivered on time and within budget
• Designed and executed email marketing and social media campaigns to support the product launch
• Coordinated with product team to ensure consistency between marketing messaging and product features

Impact and Results

Lastly, make sure to include the impact and results of each project. What were the goals of the project and did you achieve them? Be specific about the outcomes and highlight any metrics that demonstrate the success of the project.

Impact and Results:

• Increased product sales by 25% during the first month of launch
• Grew social media following by 15% and engagement by 20% during the campaign
• Obtained coverage in multiple media outlets, resulting in a 30% increase in website traffic

Listing your projects on your resume is an excellent way to showcase your skills, experience, and achievements. By including the four essential elements, project title and description, duration and date of completion, roles and responsibilities, and impact and results, you can impress potential employers and stand out from the competition.

Formatting and Styling Project Section

When it comes to organizing projects on your resume, it’s important to ensure that they are clear, concise, and easy to read. Here are some tips for formatting and styling the project section of your resume to make it stand out.

Organizing Projects on Resume

Start by organizing your projects in reverse chronological order, listing your most recent project first. This makes it easier for the hiring manager to see your most recent work and gauge your current skillset.

Next, give each project its own section, and include the following information:

• Project title
• Brief description of the project
• Role(s) you played on the project team
• Dates of the project
• Contact information for the project manager or supervisor

Using Bullet Points and Action Verbs

Bullet points are your best friend when it comes to making your projects section easy to read. Use them to highlight the key tasks and responsibilities you had on each project. Be sure to start each bullet point with an action verb to showcase your skills and accomplishments.

For example, instead of saying “Worked on a website redesign project,” say “Developed wireframes and mockups for website redesign project, resulting in a 25% increase in user engagement.”

Showcasing Projects with Metrics and Results

Employers want to see results, so be sure to include metrics whenever possible. This could include stats like the number of users impacted, revenue generated, or cost savings achieved.

For example, instead of saying “Developed a new marketing campaign,” say “Developed and implemented a new marketing campaign that resulted in a 15% increase in lead generation and a 10% increase in conversions.”

Highlighting Projects with Bold and Italics

Finally, use bold and italics to make certain aspects of your projects section stand out. This could include the project title or your specific role and responsibilities.

For example, you could bold your project titles to make them more prominent, and italicize your role or specific accomplishments within the bullet points to draw attention to them.

By following these tips for formatting and styling your projects section, you can ensure that it stands out and showcases your skills and accomplishments in the best possible way.

Example Project Sections

When it comes to including projects on your resume, it’s essential to highlight your accomplishments effectively. Depending on your role, you may want to approach this section differently to showcase your skills and experience accurately. Here are some examples of project sections for various positions:

Sample Project Section for Managerial Position

As a manager, you’re expected to lead by example and accomplish team goals. Your project section should offer a comprehensive view of your leadership and management skills. Here are some tips for crafting a project section for a managerial position:

• Highlight any successful projects you led or coordinated that resulted in significant business outcomes. This may include increased profits, higher customer satisfaction rates, improved productivity, etc.
• Emphasize your ability to manage a team effectively. Indicate how you implemented processes that boosted team efficiency, facilitated communication amongst team members, and led to better team morale.
• Showcase your project management skills, including your ability to manage timelines, budgets, and resources to ensure successful project delivery.

Example of a project section for a managerial position:

Project Manager, XYZ company, 2017-2020

• Coordinated and successfully delivered a digital transformation project resulting in the implementation of new automated tools which decreased processing time by 30%.
• Implemented a project management methodology for the IT department, leading to an 89% on-time delivery rate.
• Developed a leadership development program resulting in 80% of team members receiving promotions to management positions.

Sample Project Section for Entry-Level Position

As an entry-level candidate, you may not have a lot of professional experience to draw on. Highlighting your projects, however, can demonstrate your passion and potential, as well as your ability to learn and contribute to projects. Here are some tips for crafting a project section for an entry-level position:

• Focus on projects from internships, volunteer positions or relevant coursework – especially those that demonstrate your passion for the industry, willingness to collaborate with a team or showcase your problem-solving ability.
• Quantify your results. Use numbers and statistics to show how your effort translated into meaningful outcomes.
• Describe how you contributed to the project team, what your part of the deliverables was, and what you learned from the experience.

Example of a project section for an entry-level position:

Marketing Events Coordinator Intern, ABC Company, Spring Semester 2020

• Facilitated the coordination of the annual Women in Tech conference, with over 1,000 attendees, resulting in a 15% increase in participant satisfaction.
• Conducted market research and provided recommendations which were included in the company’s new product launch strategy.
• Collaborated with the graphic design team to develop creative assets resulting in 30% more engagement in social media.

Sample Project Section for Senior-Level Position

As a senior-level candidate, you’re expected to demonstrate extensive experience and expertise in your field. Your project section should showcase the breadth and depth of your accomplishments, highlighting your strategic impact and leadership.

Here are some tips for crafting a project section for a senior-level position:

• Focus on high-impact projects that have made a significant difference to the organization.
• Highlight projects that have driven revenue growth, cost savings, process improvements, or other measurable outcomes.
• Highlight your strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
• Describe projects where you developed and executed strategic initiatives, implemented innovative solutions, or led organizational change.
• Demonstrate your ability to collaborate and influence cross-functional teams.
• Showcase projects where you successfully partnered with stakeholders from different departments and achieved collective goals.
• Quantify the results and impact of your projects.
• Use metrics, percentages, and tangible achievements to illustrate the scope and success of your initiatives.

Example of a project section for a senior-level position:

Director of Sales, XYZ Company, 2015-2021

• Led a sales transformation initiative that resulted in a 25% increase in annual revenue within two years.
• Implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) system, streamlining sales processes and improving sales team productivity by 20%.
• Developed and executed a market expansion strategy, leading to a 40% increase in market share and a presence in three new international markets.
• Led a cross-functional team in the successful launch of a new product line, generating $10 million in revenue in the first year.

Remember to customize the project section based on your specific achievements, industry, and job requirements. Focus on projects that are most relevant to the position you’re applying for and highlight the skills and expertise that make you a strong candidate. Use concise bullet points to clearly communicate the project details, outcomes, and your role in the success of each project.

Explaining Projects in Resume

When it comes to including projects on your resume, it’s not enough to simply list them. You need to effectively explain the project and its relevance to the job you’re applying for. Here are some key ways to explain your projects on your resume:

Describing Quantitative and Qualitative Results

Employers want to see concrete results from your projects. Therefore, it’s important to describe both the quantitative (numbers, measurements, etc.) and qualitative (improvements, successes, etc.) outcomes of your work. For example, instead of simply stating that you led a website redesign project, explain that the project led to a 25% increase in user engagement and a 15% increase in page views.

Emphasizing Transferable Skills

While the specific project you worked on may not be directly relevant to the job you’re applying for, the skills you used during that project likely are. Emphasize these transferable skills in your resume to show how your previous experience makes you a strong candidate for the job. For example, if you worked on a complex data analysis project, highlight your skills in data management, problem-solving, and communication.

Sharing Success Stories and Lessons Learned

Your projects can also be a great opportunity to share success stories and lessons learned with potential employers. Use specific examples of how you overcame project challenges and achieved success to demonstrate your problem-solving and leadership abilities. This can also show your ability to adapt and learn from mistakes, which can be a valuable asset to any team.

Parsing Technical Jargon

Projects can often involve technical jargon or industry-specific terms that may not be familiar to everyone. It’s important to describe your projects in a way that is clear and understandable to everyone, not just those in your field. Explain any technical terms or acronyms and use language that is straightforward and easy to understand.

Effectively explaining your projects on your resume is about more than just listing them. By describing outcomes, emphasizing transferable skills, sharing success stories, and using accessible language, you can show potential employers the value of your past experience and make a strong case for your candidacy.

Addressing Gaps and Inaccuracies in Projects

When it comes to including projects on your resume, one of the most important things to consider is accuracy. It’s essential to ensure that the information you present is honest, truthful, and representative of your skills and achievements. However, it’s not always straightforward to capture every detail of a project in a resume. There may be gaps in your knowledge or information, or you may be uncertain about certain terms or acronyms used in the project. In these cases, it’s crucial to address these gaps and inaccuracies in a meaningful way.

Explaining Challenges and Obstacles

Sometimes, projects can pose significant challenges and obstacles that can impact the outcome. It’s essential to acknowledge these hurdles and explain how you overcame them. This will help demonstrate your problem-solving skills and your ability to navigate complex situations. Don’t shy away from discussing any difficult or challenging aspects of the project. Instead, provide a brief explanation of the issue and how you addressed it. This will showcase your resilience and ability to work well under pressure.

Clarifying Ambiguous Terms and Acronyms

Projects can often use specific terms and acronyms that may not be immediately clear to readers. If you’re unsure about a term or acronym, it’s essential to clarify it within the resume. You don’t want the reader to be confused or misunderstand the project’s purpose or outcome because of a lack of understanding of specific terminology. Consider providing a brief explanation of the term or acronym within parentheses or in a separate bullet point under the project description.

Providing Relevant Context and Background

To paint a complete picture of the project, it’s important to provide relevant context and background information. This may include providing details on the project’s purpose, goals, target audience, and key stakeholders. By including this information, you can showcase your understanding of the project’s broader context and the role you played in achieving the project’s objectives.

Avoiding Misrepresentations and Fabrications

While it’s important to present a comprehensive and accurate view of the project, it’s equally important to avoid misrepresentations and fabrications. Lying or exaggerating about your role or achievements can damage your credibility and harm your reputation. Make sure that the information you present is true and verifiable. If you’re uncertain about a specific fact or detail, leave it out or find a way to address the gap in your knowledge honestly.

Accurately presenting your projects on your resume requires attention to detail and a commitment to honesty. By addressing gaps and inaccuracies in a meaningful way, you can showcase your skills and achievements while maintaining your credibility and professionalism. Remember that including projects on your resume isn’t just about showcasing your abilities – it’s about demonstrating your integrity and respect for the reader’s time and attention.

Using Projects in Cover Letter or Portfolio

When applying for a job, it is essential to showcase your skills and achievements through projects that you have worked on. Including these projects in your application materials can provide context for your potential employer on your accomplishments and level of expertise. Here are some tips on how to use projects effectively in your cover letter and portfolio.

Referencing Projects in Application Materials

In your cover letter, you should mention one or two of your most impressive projects and what you gained from them. You should make sure to talk about how your experience on this project directly correlates with the job you are applying for. This can show that you have experience in that area and can bring value to the company. Additionally, mentioning specific projects in your resume or application can help set you apart from other candidates and can give potential employers a better understanding of your work style and capabilities.

Expanding on Projects in Portfolio or Website

Your portfolio or website is a great place to showcase your projects in more detail. You can include project timelines, your role on the project, and any specific deliverables that you were responsible for creating. Additionally, you can include pictures, videos, and other multimedia to visually represent your work. This can help potential employers better understand the scope of the project and what you contributed.

Relating Projects to Company or Industry

When discussing your projects in your cover letter or portfolio, it’s important to relate them to the company or industry you are applying to. If you can show that your past projects align with their values or industry, it can give you an advantage in the application process. You can also demonstrate how your experience on previous projects can be an asset to the company, and potentially lead to new projects or initiatives that would benefit both parties.

Including your projects in your application materials can help set you apart as a candidate and showcase your skills and accomplishments. By referencing these projects in your cover letter and expanding on them in your portfolio or website, you can highlight your most impressive work and provide details on your involvement. Additionally, by relating your projects to the company or industry you are applying to, you can demonstrate how your experience can benefit the company and potentially lead to new opportunities.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Project Section

When it comes to your resume, including your project section can be a great way to showcase your skills and experience to potential employers. However, there are some common mistakes that you should avoid in order to make the most out of this section.

Overloading Resume with Too Many Projects

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is overloading your resume with too many projects. While it may be tempting to list every single project that you’ve ever worked on, it’s important to remember that quality is better than quantity. Instead, try to focus on a few projects that showcase your skills and experience in the best possible way.

Focusing on Unrelated or Outdated Projects

Another mistake to avoid is focusing on unrelated or outdated projects. This can be a red flag for potential employers, as they may question your ability to prioritize and select the most relevant projects. Instead, try to choose projects that are relevant to your current career goals and demonstrate your ability to tackle real-world challenges.

Copying and Pasting Job Description

Avoid the mistake of copying and pasting job descriptions when describing your projects. This can give the impression that you lack creativity and initiative. Instead, use clear and concise language to describe your role and contributions to the project. Highlight your unique achievements and make sure to use active verbs to showcase your impact.

Neglecting Soft Skills and Personal Attributes

Lastly, avoid neglecting soft skills and personal attributes in your project section. While it’s important to highlight your technical skills, it’s also important to showcase your interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team. This can include things like communication, problem-solving, leadership, and collaboration. By highlighting these skills, you can demonstrate your ability to make valuable contributions to any project team.

Including your project section on your resume is an opportunity to showcase your skills and experience to potential employers. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can make the most out of this section and demonstrate your ability to tackle real-world challenges.

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How to List Projects on Your Resume: A No Stress Guide

Listing projects on your resume helps make your job application stand out. You can draw a recruiter’s attention to your skills, teamwork, leadership, and achievements.

Here’s how to showcase your projects on your CV (as we call a resume here in the UK, and I’ll use both terms interchangeably in this article) to make it clear what you are capable of. I’ve included some examples below so you can see how to phrase your resume sections.

What projects to include on your resume

What types of projects should you include on your application for a new role?

In my experience as a hiring manager, I want to see the relevant experience that applies to the job. If you are a software engineer, show me your software projects. If you work in legal project management , talk about your process improvement initiatives or projects relevant to the job you are going for today.

You don’t have a lot of space on your resume, so pick a few projects that help you demonstrate the skill set and experience that most closely match the requirements for the job. These could be:

• Work projects: Initiatives you have led or taken part in as part of your job responsibilities in other roles.
• Personal projects: Things you have led or volunteered on that show what you are capable of in a different setting.

Personal projects could include community service, volunteering, and participation in local politics or interest groups. This type of work is great for showing your personality, and proactiveness as well as providing evidence of different skills.

Think carefully about whether including personal projects and side hustle projects as part of your professional resume. List them if they help show what you can do but if they don’t naturally give you the opportunity to highlight your skills, you might be better off using the space for something else.

OK. Ready to include work projects on your resume? Here’s how to do it.

1. Decide how to present the projects

I put this as the first thing to do as it was the hardest thing for me. I wanted to keep my resume to 3 pages, and including projects meant something else had to go.

In fact, 3 pages are kind of long. Make space on your existing resume or if you are creating a new CV from scratch, put the section into your document.

You have two choices about how to include projects on a resume:

• Create a separate section and list your main, relevant projects in there
• List one or two projects under each job title.

If you are going for a project-based role e.g. a project manager, I would create a section for projects and highlight your main achievements there.

You can put the section before or after your chronological list of roles. If you are going for a project management position, I would include it before your job history. If you are going for a different type of role, you can fit it in wherever you think makes the most sense.

If projects are incidental to your work, list your main job responsibilities as you would normally. Then use bullet points to describe the project(s) you want to highlight while you worked in that role, or write a short paragraph if that works better for your formatting.

Action: Make the decision about how long you want your CV to be and what type of layout you are going to use.

2. Identify the skills you want to highlight

Projects give you the opportunity to use a variety of skills. The trick to making your resume stand out is to make sure the projects you choose are the ones where it’s easy to see the relevant skills.

So… first, you have to know what specific skills you want to show off.

Luckily, this is relatively easy as most job descriptions will include a list of technical and soft skills and competencies they expect candidates to have. For example:

• Leadership (you lead the project)
• Teamwork (you worked on the project team)
• Decision-making (you provided data to help make decisions or were the person making the decisions)
• Communication (you gave a presentation about the project or wrote project reports or briefings).

You get the picture.

Action: Review the job description or person specification for the role and pick out the main skills that are relevant. Match the skills to the specific job.

3. Identify projects that used those skills

Next, go through your work history and pull out the projects that show you using those skills in the most significant and “biggest” way.

For example, perhaps you’ve contributed to lots of project budget planning as part of projects but only lead the effort to create a project budget from scratch just once. If one of the key skills required for the role you want is budgeting, make sure to mention the project where you led the budgeting work.

The more recent the project, the better. However, if it makes sense to highlight a project from a while back because it is directly relevant to the role, include it.

In my experience, it’s best to include a variety of projects. That gives you more opportunities to show project highlights from a range of experiences. If all your projects are very similar, that might pigeonhole you into a certain role (which you might want to do, so take that advice under advisement). 

Action: Make a project list so you know what to include.

4. Write project descriptions that evidence your skills

Finally, write a few sentences about the project. Phrase it in ways that provide evidence of your skills.

Let’s assume the skill you want to show is process improvement.

Bad example:

Involved in work to deliver a new sales pipeline process and workflow software that supports it.

Good example:

Led a cross-functional team of 5 to redesign the sales pipeline and implement process improvements. In 6 months we delivered the software and process changes that created time savings of 11% and improved the returning customer rate by 5%.

In the good example, I’ve used the keywords ‘process improvements’ and ‘process changes’. Many resumes are read by machines and filtered through keyword software before they even get to a human. Include industry-relevant jargon terms where you think the recruiter will understand them and might be looking for them.

Action: Write a project description for each project that you are going to include.

What to say about each project

The most important thing you need to do is determine what skills are required for each project. This will help you and your interviewer realize that you have the right experience for the job, so there’s no need to go into a lot of detail when describing each project.

Avoid company-specific acronyms and terminology that someone outside of your field wouldn’t understand.

Use the STAR format if you have space:

• Situation: Why the project was required or why you got involved.
• Task: What you were specifically responsible for or what you were asked to do.
• Action: What actions you took, and what you did in the situation.
• Result: What happened at the end, what you delivered or how you overcame problems.

Give an overview of what happened during the project and how it went with regard to its success or failure — whether it was completed or not completed, and what obstacles came up which needed to be overcome in order for it to happen successfully.

The STAR format is mainly used for interview prep and responding to competency-based questions, but the same approach is a great way to craft short project descriptions for your resume.

Have an upcoming interview? Prepare with our How to Prepare for a Project Management Interview ebook.

Tips for writing about projects on your resume

List the number of people on the team, the budget, the benefits, and the impact. Try to come up with concrete data points.

Why? This helps potential employers understand the scale of the work you are capable of leading and whether you are a good match for their role. Someone who has experience of leading a team of 10 might struggle when asked to lead a team of 200, but would be bored in a team of 2.

Led a team of 15 to deliver a $1.2m project that reduced the lead times for shipping by 20%.

Use action verbs

Action verbs describe what you did. Be as specific as possible such as:

• Designed (a website, a solution, a process)
• Created (a product, a process)
• Standardized (processes, workflows, ways of working)
• Recruited (colleagues, vendors, volunteers)
• Chaired (meetings, events, functions)
• Coordinated (something)
• Planned (the effort, the meeting, the event)
• Scheduled (the work)

Keep it short

Be concise.

Why? You haven’t got much space to impress on a resume (have I made that point already?? ?).

Led the marketing workstream (3 internal staff and 2 suppliers) for a web redesign project. The project was completed on time and on budget and improved customer retention by 22% over 12 months.

Include the dates

List each project with a start and end date, alongside the company name.

Why? This helps your interviewer size and scale your past projects.

• I worked full-time on this project for 20 months.
• I joined the time for the design and build phase and worked part-time on the team for 6 months.

Challenges of including projects on your resume

A project-based resume is going to have less space for you to talk about what you did in each individual role in the ‘traditional’ sense. You will still list each job title, company, and the dates you worked there along with your key responsibilities while in the post, but you don’t have to include as much as some of the important information will be covered in the project section.

You don’t want your resume to feel disjointed . If you think it does, another way to format the document is to list key projects under each job title .

It can be hard to include data points . I would say that if you don’t have the data now, start collecting it for the projects you are currently working on so you can include it in the future. If you can’t share benefits, project budgets and so on, try to include these data points:

• Number of people in the team
• Length of time you were on the project
• Number of hours of training delivered (or another delivery-related outcome – remember, this is to help recruiters see what scale of project you can lead)
• Number of customers or users affected
• Something specifically related to your role on the project e.g. number of contracts updated (legal project), adverts/social media posts/engagements (marketing project), products sold, etc.

Benefits of including projects on your resume

A project section is an excellent way to show off your skills . If you have had a less-than-traditional career, perhaps with several jobs at the same time, or as an independent contractor, freelancer, or managing side projects alongside your day job, listing projects helps provide a structure to your job history.

A project-based resume is a good way to show what you’ve done in different sectors in a relatable way if you are a career changer going for your dream job. It’s pretty easy to draw parallels between project management in one industry to another, and many of the soft skills will be relevant. Projects can show you are the best candidate, even if you don’t have any direct experience in that particular field.

Including projects makes your resume more interesting . So much work is project-led these days that it’s important to show you understand how work is delivered and what it takes to implement changes or improvements.

Project descriptions on your CV give the interviewer something to talk to you about . When I was interviewing candidates, it was always useful to have a hook for questions. For example, I could ask about how they demonstrated a skill on a particular project, or how their past experience was relevant to this role.

How to show off your project management skills

Up until this point, we’ve been using projects to show off your ‘general’ skills – as a way to highlight to future employers that you have a range of skills best evidenced through your project work.

But what about your ability to lead projects themselves? Project management is a core skill for many job roles.

Write about your project management experience as you would any other skill. Break it down into the components and processes of project management. For example, find a way to mention these technical sub-skills of project management:

• Scheduling and task allocation
• Risk management
• Issue management
• Change management
• Requirements elicitation and management
• Working with specific methodologies e.g. PRINCE2 , Scrum, SaFE, Kanban.

Should I include academic projects on my resume?

You can include academic projects on your resume if they help demonstrate relevant competencies for the job. For example, they may show your leadership skills, and ability to work with people from different organizations or highlight your specialist knowledge in a certain field.

How can recent graduates include projects on their resumes?

Use the work experience section of your resume to highlight your project experience. Include the important details from academic, volunteering, or professional projects. This can give you a way to add more to the chronological format of your resume. Link to an online portfolio if you have one.

Pin for later reading

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years. Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects .

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How to List Projects on a Resume (with Examples)

When it comes to applying for a new job, it might be helpful to think of the process as similar to applying to college. Competitive students have a high school diploma (experience), good grades (technical/soft skills), decent test scores (professional recommendations), and finally, extracurricular activities (projects).

Like extracurriculars, external projects can include anything you’ve done that’s outside of your regular working tasks, and don’t necessarily have to be professional. If you think your academic work, charity efforts, or even personal/artistic endeavors might help demonstrate your abilities to future employers, then include them. Not only will it help you show off different skills, it could also help you stand out. Some research shows that at least 82% of job seekers don’t list any projects on their resume.

So, being part of the 18% who does, is just another way you can get noticed amongst hundreds of other applicants.

Types of Projects and How to List Them

It’s very important to tailor your resume to each and every job you apply to, and picking and choosing which external projects to include is one great way to do that.

The most common types of projects one might include on a resume are as follows:

Work Related Projects

These are projects that you completed at your place of work, but which you feel deserve special attention on your resume. For instance, if you work in a lab and have only highlighted your day-to-day tasks, you might want to consider creating a subheader in order to list any specific research projects you helped with. It would look something like this:

CraniumLabs, Juno, AK — May 2019 to January 2022

Lab Technician

Impressive Achievements

Special Responsibilities

Notable Projects:

I was the only technician of my level asked to perform duties for the genome sequencing project taking place in the lab. I was required to handle very fragile materials and work long hours. My efforts were recognized with an authorship credit on a professional paper — a copy of which can be provided upon request.

Academic Projects

You may no longer be in school, but all the time and effort you put into receiving your degree(s) shouldn’t be boiled down to just a single line on your resume. If you worked on something you’re particularly proud of or which you think will impress future employers while a student, be sure to list it.

If these are the only external projects you are highlighting, and therefore you won’t have a separate ‘Projects’ section on your resume, we suggest you list academic projects directly underneath the name of the institution where you completed said projects. For example:

Masters in Fine Arts, YALE UNIVERSITY — New Haven, CT (Graduated 2020)

Relevant Coursework: List of Relevant Classes/Coursework/Literature

Academic Projects:

I was commissioned to take the portrait photograph for the incoming Dean of Students, a very high honor considering no student had ever been asked to do so before.

My thesis focused on capturing the beauty of the concrete jungle and was featured in the New Haven Museum of Contemporary Art for their Summer Showcase of 2020.

Freelance Projects

It’s estimated that 43% of full-time workers also have a side hustle, which means almost half of the American working population is taking on paid freelance projects outside of their regular 9-5 job. If you’re among them, you should absolutely find a way to include these projects in your resume. Even if you don’t think they are directly relevant, it will show that you have a good work ethic and are able to multitask.

Note: Both freelance projects and personal projects should be listed underneath their own subheading at the bottom of your resume.

Personal/Charitable

Did you know that 80% of parents who took time off to stay home with their kids reported being somewhat or very concerned about returning to the workforce? It’s likely some of that fear results from having a gap in their resume, but including personal or charitable projects is a really good opportunity to fill that gap. Maybe you volunteer at your children’s school? Coach any sports teams? Get creative and don’t sell yourself short! The skills you pick up in your personal life can be just as valuable as the ones you hone in the workplace.

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Projects on Resume: Boost Your CV by Showing What You Worked On IRL

• Klara Cervenanska , 
• Updated October 20, 2023 9 min read

Including projects on a resume isn't a common practice. Yet, it's a game-changer that can set you apart from the crowd. Why?

It showcases your real-life expertise , offering tangible proof of your skills and capabilities.

But, what are projects on a resume? Projects on a resume is a separate section in your resume where you list any kind of projects you've worked on. These can be academic, personal, work-related, freelance projects, etc.

Including these on a CV highlights your initiative and expertise and gives recruiters a glimpse into your hands-on experience, allowing them to see your capabilities in action, not just as words on paper.

In this article, we go over:

What are projects on a resume?

• What projects to put on a resume?
• How to list projects on a resume?

Plus, we show you examples of a 'projects' resume section ready for you to copy and paste into your own CV.

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

Types of projects to show on your resume

How to list projects on a resume, projects on resume examples, formatting tips for a projects resume section, key takeaways: projects on resume.

Projects on a resume is basically like your standard sections on resumes: Education , Work Experience , or Skills . This section acts like a visual portfolio embedded in your CV, detailing the diverse projects you've engaged in.

So, how does this section look? Well, it includes a concise description of each project, outlining your role, the skills applied, and, importantly, a link for the recruiter to see the actual work or results.

Imagine a recruiter clicking through to see your coding project on GitHub or a marketing campaign you designed—impressive, right?

Why include a projects section in your resume?

A projects section on your resume offers insight into your hands-on experience and drive.

Here's why adding a projects section to your resume can benefit you:

• Stand out from the crowd . Not many candidates utilize this section. Including it can differentiate your resume from the stack, making it more memorable and engaging.
• Shows hands-on experience. It’s one thing to list your skills; another thing to show them in action. This section lets your work speak for itself, providing tangible evidence of your capabilities.
• Demonstrates initiative . Listing projects, especially personal or voluntary ones, showcases your motivation, dedication, and proactive nature. It tells employers you don’t just wait for assignments—you seek opportunities to learn and grow.
• Diversifies your profile: Regardless of whether you’re a fresh graduate or a seasoned professional, projects can show a range of skills and experiences, making your profile richer and more versatile.

In essence, a projects resume section serves as proof of your skills and experiences, allowing recruiters a glimpse into your practical expertise. Plus, it adds something a little extra to your resume.

Alternatively, if you already have a great LinkedIn profile with your projects included your can try the easy LinkedIn to resume converter and you'll have your resume ready in no time.

The projects section of your resume can be as diverse as your experiences. The key is to pick projects that best represent your skills, dedication, and expertise in a potential job role.

Here, we dissect some of the most impactful types of projects you might consider including:

1. Personal projects on resume

Personal projects can be incredibly telling. They often arise from passion, self-motivation, and a genuine desire to learn or create.

These projects can be an excellent indicator of your ambition, dedication, and self-learning capabilities.

Personal projects can include (but aren't limited to):

• Personal blog talking about industry trends
• DIY crafts website you started
• App developed during weekends
• Photography portfolio capturing unique perspectives
• E-commerce site you set up and handled

2. Academic projects on resume

For those fresh out of school or even industry professionals, academic projects can show both theoretical understanding and its practical application.

They show your ability to apply classroom learning to real-world scenarios, cooperating with peers, and see an assignment through to completion.

Here are examples of academic projects you can include on your resume:

• Research paper on a critical industry challenge
• Science fair project with a novel idea
• Community initiative led by your university
• Multidisciplinary capstone project
• Simulation model showcasing problem-solving

3. Python projects for resume

With the increasing prominence of Python in diverse fields, showcasing Python projects can be a game-changer for both tech-centric roles and those that lean less technical.

It highlights your proficiency with one of the world's most versatile programming languages and your ability to solve problems using tech.

And, using platforms like GitHub can be an excellent way to provide tangible proof of your code and your commitment to collaborative coding.

Steps to list Python projects on resume:

• Highlight the problem: State the challenge.
• Elaborate on the tools: Mention Python tools or frameworks.
• Use GitHub: Share a link to the repository to showcase the code.
• Impact and results: Summarize the outcomes.

Below are examples of what types of Python projects you can include:

• Data analysis tool using Pandas and Matplotlib.
• Automation script streamlining tasks.
• Web scraper for market insights.
• Customer service chatbot .
• Game using Python's Pygame library.

4. Freelance projects on resume

Freelance work showcases adaptability, entrepreneurship, and the ability to manage client needs.

• A brand strategy crafted for a startup.
• Website design for local businesses.
• Social media campaigns executed for multiple clients.
• Content creation for diverse industries.
• A consulting stint to optimize business processes.

5. Volunteering projects on resume

Volunteering reflects dedication, empathy, and often, leadership and teamwork.

• Organizing community clean-up drives.
• Fundraising campaigns for a local charity.
• Teaching initiatives in underprivileged areas.
• Disaster relief work in affected regions.
• Setting up and running awareness campaigns on social issues.

Remember, the aim is to provide a glimpse into your diverse skill set. Tailor your “Projects” section to resonate with the job you’re applying for, ensuring it’s a testament to your fit for the role.

When it comes to listing projects, there's a choice to make:

A. Do you create a separate section? Or B. Weave them into existing sections? A good rule of thumb? If you have three or more projects , consider creating a separate section.

Both integrating projects into existing sections and creating a separate section have their merits.

Steps to list projects in a separate projects section:

• Choose the right title. Opt for titles like "Projects," "Independent projects," or "Freelance projects" based on your projects' nature.
• Include details. Mention your specific role, the outcomes achieved, and any technologies or tools you've used.
• Quantify. Using numbers like "boosted website traffic by 20%," often means more to recruiters.
• Include URLs. Add a direct link to your project. You can use a hyperlink or provide the full URL. However, be mindful with hyperlinks. Some Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) might strip the hyperlink, leaving only plain text.

Steps to list projects within an existing resume section:

• Integration. Incorporate project details into your Work experience or other relevant sections (e.g., Education).
• Use action verbs . Begin with verbs like "developed," "initiated," or "spearheaded" for added vigor.
• Include URLs. If available online, share links to your project, ensuring potential employers can view your work directly.
• Consistency. Ensure your formatting matches the rest of your resume for a unified look.

Whichever method you opt for, ensure your projects are presented to best highlight your experience and accomplishments.

Sometimes, it's easier to show rather than tell. To provide a clearer outlook, we provide a few examples to get you started with including projects on your resume.

Below is an example of how a separate projects section on a resume might look for someone in the marketing field :

Sometimes, blending projects into your work experience offers a better view of your contributions to a particular role.

Here's an example of how you can seamlessly integrate a significant project within the "Work Experience" section:

Note:  The following resume examples were created using Kickresume's  resume builder .

In the world of resumes, presentation matters as much as content.

A well-formatted projects section can elevate your resume, making it more digestible and engaging for recruiters.

Here are some formatting tips to ensure your projects section shines:

• Use bullet points. Bullet points break up text, making your achievements easier to skim and digest. It also looks tidier and more organized.
• Consistency in formatting. Whether it's the font, size, or layout, ensure it matches the rest of your resume. Consistency signals professionalism.
• Positioning the projects section. If your projects are highly relevant to the job you're applying for, place this section near the top of your resume. But, if they're more extra, position them towards the end.
• Prioritize your projects. Always lead with your most relevant projects. If you developed a game-changing marketing strategy, it should come before that small side project you did 3 years ago.
• Including URLs. When adding URLs to showcase your work, make sure they're neat. You can use hyperlinks, but be careful. Some ATS may strip out hyperlinks, leaving plain text. Always ensure the plain text URL is understandable and doesn't break when the hyperlink is removed.

Remember, the goal is to make your projects section as readable and impressive as possible, guiding the recruiter's eye to your most noteworthy accomplishments.

The job market is as competitive as ever, and standing out is paramount.

One sure way to make your resume stand out is to include projects you've worked on in your CV. It adds a little something extra to your resume and provides a real-life look into your skills.

Create a separate projects section if you have more than 3 relevant projects to showcase. If not, you can include the projects in other resume sections, like the work experience.

Don't forget to give the project a clear name , mention what your role was, what the outcome was, and include a URL .

A projects section can be the x-factor that propels your resume to the top of the pile. It paints a fuller picture of who you are as a professional, not just what you've done, but how you've approached and executed real-world challenges.

FAQ: Projects on resume

A dedicated space on your resume where you showcase the hands-on work you've undertaken. It's not just about what you say you can do; it's about what you've actually achieved.

There's versatility here. From personal passions to academic assignments and from freelance gigs to tech endeavors like Python tasks — each project type tells a story of your dedication and skill.

There are two main paths. Either as a separate section or integrated within existing sections like work experience. A standalone projects section could be the way to go if you've got a hefty list, say three or more substantial projects.

1. It differentiates you from a sea of similar resumes. 2. Offers tangible evidence of your skills in action. 3. Demonstrates initiative and proactiveness. 4. Adds depth and versatility to your professional story.

Klara graduated from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. After having written resumes for many of her fellow students, she began writing full-time for Kickresume. Klara is our go-to person for all things related to student or 'no experience resumes'. At the same time, she has written some of the most popular resume advice articles on this blog. Her pieces were featured in multiple CNBC articles. When she's not writing, you'll probably find her chasing dogs or people-watching while sipping on a cup of coffee.

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Projects In Resumes: Where Do They Belong? (And How to Make Them Shine)

3 key takeaways

• Why including projects in resume sections is important
• How to use the Teal AI Resume Builder to list projects on a resume
• Inspirational examples of projects on a resume across a variety of professional scenarios

They highlight your skills, showcase your impact, and elevate your professional profile. But where do you include projects in a resume to have the most impact in a way that differentiates you and impresses prospective employers?

Whether you're a freelancer with a diverse portfolio , a professional aiming to showcase your accomplishments, a recent graduate with academic projects, or someone looking to make a career change, effectively showcasing your project experience can distinguish you in a way that helps drive your career.

Why including projects on your resume can make a difference

Including relevant projects on your resume can significantly impact how hiring managers or recruiters view your qualifications. If you're wondering how to write experience on a resume , projects are a fantastic way showcase your skills, creativity, initiative, and problem-solving abilities. And they offer tangible evidence of everything you're capable of while adding depth to your resume beyond traditional work or educational experience.

What kinds of projects should you put on a resume?

• Academic projects demonstrate your ability to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations.
• Personal projects reflect your passion, self-motivation, and dedication.
• Team projects highlight your collaboration, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Freelance projects reveal your entrepreneurial spirit, client management skills, and ability to deliver results independently.
• Volunteer projects emphasize your commitment to community service, teamwork, and social causes.
• Leadership projects reveal your ability to take charge, inspire others, and drive successful outcomes.

And while most projects contribute to growth through the lessons or skills you’ve learned, the key to including projects in a resume is choosing ones relevant to the job description or industry you're targeting.

Choosing the right projects ensures that those you list resonate with the hiring manager, showcasing your expertise in a way that directly relates to the position you're applying for.

When should you include projects on your resume?

Deciding whether to include projects on your resume largely depends on your professional circumstances and the specific job you're applying for. 

So, which professional scenarios would benefit from the impact projects offer? 

When you're a freelancer or contract worker

Projects are often a primary form of work for freelancers or contractors. And, if you’ve found yourself in this professional realm, you should prominently showcase them as resume accomplishments within your “Work Experience” section. Think of creating your work experience as a more project-based resume section instead. (Just remember to be mindful of any non-disclosure agreements you may have signed before listing any client-identifying information.)

For example, imagine you're a freelance web designer who completed a website revamp for a client in coffee distribution. In this case, you didn't sign a non-disclosure agreement, so you're free to use their name, metrics, and more. Here's how you would highlight the project on your resume:

Website Redesign: Bigbie Coffee

• Created visually appealing and user-friendly website interface featuring responsive design, intuitive navigation, and enhanced branding.
• Received positive client feedback on new website's aesthetics, functionality, and improved user experience.
• Resulted in a 30% increase in website traffic within the first month of the redesign implementation
• Redesign resulted in a 20% increase in online orders and a 15% rise in average transaction value.

When you're a student or recent graduate

Especially if you're a student or recent graduate creating a resume with limited professional experience, showcasing academic projects in a resume can serve as valuable evidence of your skills, knowledge, and initiative—positioning you as a qualified and capable candidate.

For instance, if you've recently graduated college with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, a resume project could look like this:  

Senior CS-450 Software Development Project

• Developed a comprehensive task management application utilizing Java and JavaScript, allowing users to create, assign, and track tasks, set deadlines, and collaborate with team members seamlessly.
• Received an outstanding grade of 99% for the project—showcasing excellence in software design, implementation, and functionality.
• Received positive feedback from both professors and classmates on the application's intuitive user interface, robust functionality, and efficient task management capabilities.

When you're changing careers 

Transferable skills are the bread and butter of any career changer's resume. They highlight valuable abilities, demonstrate soft skills, and convey knowledge you've acquired that applies to other careers, industries, or professional spaces.

As a career changer, key projects demonstrate transferable skills and showcase your passion and knowledge for the target industry or field you are transitioning into.

Let's say you're shifting from financial services to sales. In that case, showcasing a leadership project, like spearheading a cross-functional team to implement a CRM system that resulted in improved sales processes, streamlined communication, and increased client retention rates, would be applicable. This is because the leadership skills, communication, and problem-solving skills demonstrated in this project are highly transferable to sales. 

So how could that look as a project in a resume? 

CRM Implementation for Enhanced Sales Processes and Client Retention

• Led a team of 10 in successfully implementing a CRM system within the financial services department.
• Facilitated cross-functional collaboration between sales, marketing, and IT teams, ensuring smooth adoption and integration within seven business days.
• CRM implementation resulted in a 25% improvement in efficiency, reduced manual effort, and enabled teams to focus on client interactions, leading to a 15% increase in client retention rates within six months.

When you don’t have much relevant work experience

If you're trying to create a resume with no work experience or have minimal relevant experience, personal projects can help demonstrate ability, initiative, and dedication. 

Imagine you've been out of the workforce for some time. What personal projects might be relevant if you're applying for a job role in software marketing? Volunteering for a school PTO, organizing a fundraising campaign, maintaining a personal blog or website, or creating social media campaigns for various causes are all valuable and relevant in marketing.

 So how can you add one of those examples as a project description in a resume?

Culinary Lifestyle Blog: Gourmet Delights

• Successfully maintained and curated a culinary lifestyle blog, "Gourmet Delights," for four years, focusing on exploring unique flavors, recipes, and culinary experiences.
• Increased website traffic year over year, achieving a remarkable 200x growth in monthly page views and engagement YoY through effective content creation and promotion strategies.
• Recognized for consistent updating and high-quality content, leading to partnerships with renowned brands and selection for paid advertisements, establishing the blog as a trusted resource within the culinary community.

When you’re applying for project-based roles

If you're applying for a project-based role such as project manager, coordinator, or administrator, showcasing the skills you've developed by completing various projects demonstrates competence and experience. 

As a resume project, this could look something like the following: 

Software Implementation - StreamlineX

• Led the successful implementation of the StreamlineX software solution, overseeing a team of 10 developers, coordinating activities, and ensuring timely delivery.
• Met all project deadlines with 100% on-time delivery, effectively managing project milestones and dependencies.
• Completed the project within the allocated budget, achieving a cost savings of 15% by optimizing resources and streamlining processes.
• Improved overall efficiency by 20%, as measured by reduced processing time and increased productivity, resulting in a 30% decrease in customer support inquiries

Strategies for listing projects on your resume

Listing projects throughout different sections of your resume can be done strategically in a way that highlights your accomplishments and demonstrates relevant skills in an easily digestible format. 

Showcasing projects in a dedicated “Project” section

If your relevant experience is the sum of multiple projects, it might be worth adding a separate "Projects" section to your resume. 

Formatted the same way you would a comprehensive "Work Experience" section, a "Projects" section would include:

• Name of the project 
• The organization you were with while completing that project
• Dates started and completed
• The scope (for example, the size of the team, project duration, or budget)
• Any feedback received 
• Measurable results 

Including projects in your "Work Experience" section

When including projects that were part of your work experience, provide clear details of the project's scope, your role, and the outcomes achieved. Think of them as one part of your resume job description .

Be sure to use bullet points to showcase your contributions, skills utilized, and quantifiable achievements. 

As work experience, a project would look something like this:

Incorporating projects in your “Education” section

Incorporating academic projects within your "Education" section is valuable if you're a student or recent grad with limited work experience. As a bonus, leveraging this approach can be particularly beneficial when the school projects align closely with the skills and qualifications a prospective employer is looking for.

Highlighting projects in your professional summary

Your professional summary or the "About Me" section on a resume offers a high-level overview of your most impressive achievements.

If you have a standout project that showcases your technical skills, expertise, and accomplishments, including it in this section as an attention grabber can significantly enhance your resume's impact and pique the interest of hiring managers.

How to Use the Teal Resume Builder to showcase projects on your resume

Using the free Teal AI Resume Builder , you can quickly and easily incorporate past projects anywhere in your “Professional Summary,” “Work Experience,” or "Education" section.

Teal is more effective than trying to manipulate resume templates or create a resume from scratch because all the tools you need to put your resume together cohesively and professionally are in one place.

Note: Start with steps one and two, then follow the instructions for the specific section you want to add projects on your resume to. Be sure to click "Save" after Step 4.

Step 1: If you haven't yet, sign up for Teal . Or simply log in to your account. 

Step 2: Navigate to the Resume Builder icon in the left panel. Then, select the resume you want to add projects to or click the "New Resume" button at the top right. 

Listing Projects in Teal's "Project" section

Step 3: To list projects in Teal's "Project" section, scroll to "Projects."

Step 4: From here, click "Add Project" to include the project name, organization, start and end date, and any important details.

Incorporating a project in your professional summary

Step 3: To highlight a project as part of your professional summary, scroll to the "Professional Summaries" section. 

Step 4: From here, you can click "Add Professional Summary" to create one from scratch. Or, click the "Edit Professional Summary" pencil icon to incorporate a project into an existing summary.

Adding a project as work experience

Step 3: To highlight a project as part of your work experience, scroll to the "Work Experience" section. 

Step 4: From here, click "Add Work Experience" and complete the details followed by "Add an achievement." Or just click "Add an Achievement" to incorporate a project into existing work experience. You can also use Teal's generative AI to create an achievement with the click of a button. Then incorporate a specific project metric you want to highlight, and you're set!

Including a project in education

Step 3: To add a project or group of academic projects to your "Education" section, scroll to "Education."

Step 4: Then click "Add Education." Under the details, scroll to "Additional Information." Add your projects here.

Dos and don'ts for including projects on your resume

Now that you know how to add projects to your resume, let's talk about some best practices for incorporating them in an effective, compelling, and impactful way. 

Resume project dos

1. Choose relevant projects:  Recruiters and hiring managers seek specific skills that align with the role they want to fill. List projects relevant to the role you're applying for can help you stand out as a qualified candidate whose experience aligns with the job requirements.

2. Showcase your role in the project:  Were you collaborating with a large group? Leading a team? Exclusively responsible for the project's outcome? Clearly defining your role can offer prospective employers an idea of your abilities, responsibilities, and team interaction skills.

3. Include quantifiable achievements:  Showcasing numbers, metrics, and data whenever possible provides a tangible understanding of the impact of your work. 

4. Use action verbs:  Action verbs and keywords from the job description draw attention to your skills and experiences by conveying a powerful sense of movement.

5. Tailor the project descriptions for each job application:  Using keywords and language from the job description not only shows that your qualifications align with a specific role but also conveys your understanding of the role's requirements.

Pro Tip:  The Teal Job Application Tracker pulls keywords and other important language from the job description to help you tailor your resume for every role. 

Resume project don'ts

1. Don't overload your resume with projects:  Listing projects on a resume can be exciting! After all, you're proud of all you've accomplished. But unless you have limited or no work experience, don't include too many projects. It's best to include only those most relevant projects or impressive projects in addition to other achievements and impact.

2. Don't be vague:  Using specific details about your role, the project's objective, and the outcome can give recruiters or hiring managers a clear understanding of your key skills and abilities.

3. Don't forget to mention the team size:  If the project was a team effort, include the team size to offer insight into the work environment you're accustomed to. 

4. Don't neglect the job-specific skills used or gained:  Skills are often part of the keywords from a job description, and incorporating them into your projects helps showcase your alignment with the role.

5. Don't skip proofreading:  Show your attention to detail by proofreading your projects (and entire resume!) for spelling and grammar mistakes. 

Inspiring examples of projects listed on resumes

Highlighting impactful projects on your resume can show employers your capabilities, creativity, and motivation. Check out some inspiring examples below.

Academic projects for fresh graduates and entry-level applicants

Example 1: Computer Science capstone project: "Intelligent Chatbot for Customer Support" 

• Developed an intelligent chatbot using natural language processing algorithms to assist customers with common inquiries, resulting in a 30% reduction in customer support ticket volume.
• Received an A grade for the project, showcasing strong problem-solving skills, proficiency in Python programming, and effective communication with team members and stakeholders.

Example 2: Marketing course campaign project: "Brand Revive: Reimagining the Consumer Experience"

• Designed and implemented a comprehensive marketing campaign targeting Gen Z consumers, resulting in a 20% increase in brand engagement on social media platforms and a 15% boost in website traffic.
• Demonstrated exceptional creativity and strategic thinking, effectively utilizing digital marketing tools such as social media management, content creation, and data analytics.
• Received positive feedback from professor, who commended my ability to integrate consumer insights into the campaign and generate measurable results through a well-executed teamwork approach.

Work projects as achievements for professionals in project-rich industries

Example 3: Software development project achievement

• Led a team of 12 developers in successfully creating and implementing an automated inventory management system, resulting in a 40% reduction in stock discrepancies and a 30% increase in overall operational efficiency. Using project management expertise, implemented Agile methodologies, coordinated project timelines, and ensured seamless collaboration among team members to deliver implementation on time and within budget.

Example 4: Social media campaign project achievement

• Using data analysis, identified audience preferences, and optimized content strategy, designed and executed a social media campaign targeting millennial consumers, resulting in a 50% increase in brand followers across various platforms, a 25% boost in organic reach, and a 10% rise in conversion rates.

Work experience resume projects for freelancers or contract workers

Example 5: Brand redesign project - freelance graphic designer

• Client: Confidential, January 2022 - March 2022
• Successfully completed brand redesign project for client—a leading global company in the manufacturing industry—to enhance their visual identity and market positioning.
• Developed a comprehensive brand strategy, including logo redesign, color palette selection, and brand guidelines, resulting in a 20% increase in brand recognition and a 15% growth in customer engagement.
• Respected all non-disclosure agreements and maintained strict client confidentiality.

Example 6: New product launch - contract-based project manager

• Client: CuttingEdge Video, Project Duration: May 2021 - December 2021
• Title: Launch Operations Lead 
• Led a cross-functional team of 20 members to successfully launch CuttingEdge's new video automation product, exceeding revenue targets by 25% and achieving a 90% customer satisfaction rating.
• Oversaw project planning, resource allocation, and risk management, ensuring seamless execution and adherence to timelines.
• Received commendation from CEO, COO, and VP for effective stakeholder management, problem-solving skills, and the ability to deliver high-quality results within a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Professional summary projects for career changers

Example 7: Former teacher transitioning to corporate training 

Formerly a dedicated teacher with 15+ years of experience, I'm transitioning into a corporate training role, leveraging my expertise in curriculum development. I've successfully designed and implemented an innovative training program, significantly improving employee performance and knowledge retention by 20%. My proficiency in instructional design, needs assessment, and adult learning principles allows me to deliver engaging and impactful training sessions.

Example 8: Former salesperson transitioning to project management 

With 9 years in SaaS sales, I'm now transitioning into a project management role, showcasing my ability to drive successful product launches. I've led cross-functional teams in executing a highly successful Stock Forecasting product launch, resulting in a remarkable 30% increase in sales revenue within the first quarter. My strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and experience in developing effective marketing strategies contribute to the seamless execution of projects and achieving exceptional market penetration.

"Project" section examples for professionals returning to work

Example 9: Volunteer project for a professional returning to work after a sabbatical

• Project Title: Fundraising Campaign for Local Non-Profit Organization
• During my career sabbatical, I dedicated my time and skills to spearheading a successful fundraising campaign for a local non-profit organization focused on children's education.
• Utilized my expertise in marketing and event management to develop and execute a comprehensive campaign strategy, resulting in a 50% increase in funds raised compared to the previous year.
• Demonstrated strong leadership and project management skills by coordinating a team of volunteers, fostering community partnerships, and effectively leveraging digital platforms for campaign promotion.

Example 10: Personal Project for a professional returning to work after COVID-19 layoffs

• Project Title: Website Development for Freelance Portfolio
• During my unemployment period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, I undertook a personal project to develop a professional website showcasing my skills and portfolio as a graphic designer.
• Designed and implemented a visually appealing and user-friendly website, highlighting my expertise in web design, branding, and digital marketing.
• Demonstrated adaptability and self-motivation by continuously updating and expanding the website to reflect new projects and industry trends, ensuring relevance and showcasing my commitment to staying current in the field.

Add projects to your resume today

Including projects on your resume highlights your skills and accomplishments in a way that impresses a recruiter or hiring manager and differentiates you from the competition in today's market.

With Teal's suite of tools, you can incorporate projects into your professional summary, work experience, or education quickly and easily.

Want to see just how easy it is to showcase your unique experiences in a professional, clear, and polished way?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are project examples for a resume.

Examples for a resume could include software development projects, marketing campaigns, engineering designs, research papers, community service initiatives, or event planning experiences.

How many projects should I list on my resume?

What's more important that a specific number is that the projects you list on your resume are 100% relevant to the position you're applying for, ensuring your resume remains concise and tailored to showcase your most applicable skills and experiences.

Should I include personal projects on my resume?

Yes, if they're relevant! Personal projects can be a great way to demonstrate passion, initiative, and relevant skills, especially for early-career professionals, career changers, or those re-entering the workforce.

Kayte Grady

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How to List Projects on a Resume: A Concise Approach

In This Guide:

What are the benefits of listing projects on a resume, types of projects to include on your resume, how to list projects on a resume, how to avoid sounding boastful, how can i talk about a confidential project on a resume, how many projects should i include in a resume, summary & key takeaways: how to list projects on your resume.

You want to list projects on your resume, but you’ve got no idea how to do it?

Keep reading and you will learn:

• What are the benefits of listing projects on your resume
• What types of projects should you include on your resume
• How to list projects on your resume
• How to avoid sounding boastful
• How to talk about a confidential project on your resume
• How many projects should you include on your resume

If you want to save some time, you should definitely check out our Resume Builder .

But if you really want to really dig into the issue of listing projects on your resume, just keep reading.

Let’s dive in.

Why should I include projects on my resume, how would that help me?

The main goal of listing projects on your resume is to show potential employers that you have gained skills, experience and professional achievements that fit perfectly into their role.

What is important to do when listing your projects, is to highlight hands-on examples of how you applied your capabilities to find solutions.

Describing your experiences in the projects can also show potential employers if your character would be compatible with the company.

What is more, you can use these highlights to show that you have leadership skills, project management expertise and the ability to take initiative.

If you play your cards right, potential employers will start to picture you in a position that requires you to use the skill set you have gained in your previous projects.

There are a few types of projects you can include on your resume.

Keep in mind that whatever project you list, should apply to the job you are applying for. Its purpose is to increase your chances, so choose wisely.

We are going to take a look at the three most common types of projects that you can list on your resume:

Work projects

Your relevant work experience always works in your favour.

The way you can strengthen its effect and catch the recruiter’s eye is to list projects from your previous places of work on your resume.

Keep in mind that you should only highlight projects and accomplishments that show a set of skills relevant to the position you are applying for.

Personal projects

Another way to go is to list personal projects that show skills and personality traits that your potential employer might be looking for.

The project can be anything from community service and volunteering, to a personal project such as a blog.

Personal projects can make a really powerful impression on potential employers. They show that you take personal initiatives that develop your skills and personality traits.

When you have little or no work experience, personal projects can make an excelent addition to your resume.

Academic projects

The third main project type you can include in your resume are academic projects.

These projects can greatly highlight the skills and competencies relevant to a position you are applying for.

Academic projects can show your technical expertise or demonstrate soft skills such as teamwork and leadership.

Don’t hesitate to include any of these three types of projects on your resume. They can only work in your favour.

When listing projects on your resume, your best choice would be to write them below a job description as accomplishments.

Another way to go is to list them in a separate section. You can name it Projects, Academic Projects or Personal Projects, depending on their type.

If your projects are Academic, it’s better to list them in the education section on your resume.

If your projects are the strongest thing in your resume, we advise you to create a project-based resume.

Let’s take a look at all these scenarios.

Project-Based Resumes for Freelancers

When you are a freelancer, you will need a slightly different approach to building your resume.

A reverse chronological format works perfectly for most resumes.

It makes your resume easy to read by recruiters and it shows them if your experience is relevant in no time.

But when you are building a project-based resume, this format will probably not work so well.

As a freelancer, you probably work on lots of projects, and in many cases, the last one in reverse chronological order would not be suitable for the position you are applying for.

The actual problem arises because of the fact that recruiters have to look through lots of resumes every day.

That’s why a recruiter only spends about 7 seconds on a single resume, so chances are that a freelancer with a standard reverse chronological format resume would not be noticed.

The best way around that is to remove your work experience section, and replace it with Projects section.

Make sure you include details for every project in the section. That includes an overview of the project, time and numerical results/achievements.

Here is an awesome example of what you need to do for every project on your resume:

Adding Projects to a Resume—Traditional Employment

Even if you are not a freelancer, you might feel like you should include some of your side projects.

Don’t hesitate, but list them.

Projects are a great addition to traditional employment types of resumes as well.

What you need to do if you have extensive experience, is to create a separate section for your projects only.

Recruiters love extra sections. Having an extra section for your projects can only work in your favour.

As projects are not the main strength of your resume, you need to keep the project description brief.

Here is one example to get you going:

Key Projects

Spearheaded a cost-cutting project achieving a $50,000 dollar annual saving by replacing paper towels with hand dryers in all bathroom facilities as National Operations Manager with Redbridge Systems.

Adding School, College and Academic Projects to Your Education Section

If you recently graduated high school or college, or you are still studying, you might find it difficult to write your resume.

What you can do in this situation is list School, College and Academic Projects on your resume.

By shifting the focus from the lack of work experience to the projects and the skills you have gained from them, you can easily get some bonus points with the recruiter.

Here is an example of how to include project, such as volunteer work, on your resume:

There is also a slight risk, that listing projects on your resume might sound rather boastful.

In order to avoid that moment, you might want to stick to the advice of keeping it simple.

What you need to mention is an overview of the project, time and numerical results/achievements.

When you are using a confidential project on your resume to land a new job, caution is advisable.

It’s one thing to list a project on your resume when it has already gone public, but mentioning a confidential project is a good way to wreck your chances of getting the job.

Keep in mind that no employer wants an employee who would be willing to share a confidential project on a document that any stranger could potentially see.

You might think that you would be safe if you leave out most of the information.

However, the truth is that the recruiter may feel like it would be right to call your former employer and tell them that you are leaking confidential information.

Your week would probably not improve from there on, especially if you have a confidentiality agreement signed in the past.

So, all in all, you should focus on your public projects and accomplishments. Doing so will make your life much less complicated.

You should consider including a link to your online portfolio, website or blog if you have any.

This would encourage the hiring manager to review your projects in greater detail, and allow them to see the skill set you have acquired while working on the projects.

You should also focus on the projects that present your skill set in the best light,

What you need to do is list only a few important projects on your resume. If you have more to show the potential employer, you should definitely include a professional portfolio.

So, all in all, in most cases it is a good idea to include projects on your resume.

No matter if your projects come from former work, high school, college, or if they are personal, they can only work in your favour.

The key points you need to take out at the end of the day are:

• If you are a freelancer, you might want to consider building a project-based resume, instead of using a reverse-chronological format
• If you have some additional projects to your work experience, you should include them in your Work Experience or Education sections. If you have more projects, consider creating a separate section for your projects only.
• If you have too many projects you want to mention on your resume, consider mentioning the most important ones and include a link to a professional portfolio
• If you have worked on a confidential project, better leave it out of your resume

So, there you go, you are ready to get your resume to the next step.

Include the projects you have worked on and get the interview for your dream job.

*** What are your thoughts? Did you list your projects on your resume? Give us a shout out in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

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How—and When—to Include Projects on Your Resume (Plus Examples!)

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How—and When—to Include Projects on Your Resume (Plus Examples!) was originally published on The Muse , a great place to research companies and careers. Click here to search for great jobs and companies near you.

If you’ve completed a project you’re especially proud of, it’s natural to want to show it off on your resume—and it might even help you land your next job. Projects that potentially belong on your resume can come from your past jobs, paid and unpaid side ventures, and—if you’re a recent grad—your academic coursework.

Read on to see why, when, and how you should put projects on your resume.

Why You Should List Projects on a Resume

Like everything else on your resume, projects can help highlight experiences that qualify you for your next job. You may have used skills— hard or soft —in a certain project that are key for the role you want. And including a successful project is a great way to tie those skills directly to results, which employers want to see on every resume.

When You Should List Projects on Your Resume

Adding projects to your resume “can be a great way to highlight experience outside of your daily role, enhance a recent grad resume, or bridge the gap from what you’re doing to what you want to do” if you’re looking to change or pivot careers, says Muse career coach Tara Goodfellow , owner of Athena Consultants .

Projects are an especially helpful addition to your resume when your experience section doesn’t already show that you have the background you need to get the job you want next, which is most common for two groups of job seekers:

• Recent graduates : Entry-level candidates by definition lack professional experience. But if you just finished college, a big project—whether you did it for a class, an honors or capstone program, an internship, or your own research—can show that you have a lot of valuable workplace skills such as leadership, collaboration, presentation, and public speaking, Goodfellow says. After your first-full time role, Goodfellow recommends removing school projects from your resume.
• Career changers or pivoters: When you’re looking to switch or pivot your career, you want to show any experience you have that relates to the role, field, or industry you want to go into. This might mean highlighting projects you did within a current or past job or adding a volunteer, side, or freelance project to your resume. What matters is that your project helps prove to employers you have relevant experience for the job you’re hoping to land.

Which Projects You Should Include

When you’re deciding which projects to add to your resume, “you want to be strategic,” Goodfellow says. “Don’t just dump every project you’ve been part of hoping something will catch the hiring manager’s attention.” Instead, carefully go over the job description for any role you’re interested in. Highlight any skills or qualifications the company is looking for that you have, as well as any job duties they list for the role that you’ve performed in the past. Then note any that can only be proven by including a certain project on your resume. If a project doesn’t meet this threshold, it probably doesn’t need to be called out.

Even if you’re in a more project-based field, like engineering, IT, or consulting, consider whether all or any of your projects can emphasize your accomplishments in a way that general bullet points under each job entry can’t. With too many projects crowding your resume, recruiters might not find the most important details. For example, if you generally do consulting for larger clients, but once worked with a small business and got great results, listing details for that one project might help you land a job at a consultancy with a small-business focus. But if most of your clients are small businesses, mentioning a slew of individual projects rather than overall achievements will take up valuable resume space without necessarily adding to your qualifications.

How to List Projects (Plus Examples)

List your projects wherever they’re most relevant, Goodfellow says. For recent grads, this often means your education section. If the project was part of a past job, freelance work, or volunteer work, it likely belongs under that specific entry in your experience section . If you’re thinking of a personal or side project or you have multiple projects that you want to include on your resume, you might consider adding a dedicated “Related Projects” or similarly titled section.

Regardless of where you list your project, you should follow these general tips:

• Include important details. You should add enough information about each project that it can be easily understood by anyone who reads your resume. Depending on the specific project, consider listing a project title, a project description, and project dates, as well as who you did the project for and with, what your role was, and what the results and impact were.
• Focus on your achievements. Whether your project description is contained to one bullet point or has several bullet points underneath it, employers want to see what results you’ve gotten with your skills so they can see how you might drive results for them. Use achievement-oriented , quantified bullet points to really put your accomplishments front and center.
• Tailor your project description for every job application. You should only include projects that are relevant to the specific job you’re applying for and, even more than that, you should make sure your description of a project highlights the pieces of it that are most relevant. So if a company is looking for someone with website design experience, focus on the design aspect of your side project, not how you attracted customers to your site. And try to use the same language and keywords as the job description.
• Include links to your work when possible. Almost everyone who reads your resume will do so for the first time on a computer, so links to work that’s live online are fair game. Just make sure you hyperlink an unimportant word like “Project” or even “Link” to avoid any applicant tracking system (ATS) issues.

What does this all look like in practice? Here are a few examples based on where you’re listing a project.

In an Education Section (good for a senior capstone)

This is how an entry-level applicant looking to emphasize their research, writing, and presentation skills might include a capstone project on their resume.

Bachelor of Arts in English | Colgate University | Hamilton, NY Expected Graduation: May 2022 Capstone Project: “Voices Missing From the 19th-Century Literary Canon”

• Wrote a 40-page dissertation on three minority writers who are not commonly taught in U.S. K-12 schools or colleges, exploring literary devices and techniques used before other writers who are commonly taught
• Presented research findings at Nineteenth-Century Studies Association 2021 Conference as one of five undergrads selected to give a 10-minute talk
• Researched writers’ lives and work by analyzing newspaper archives (via LexisNexis), conducting interviews with literary scholars who focus on the 19th century, and traveling to review old correspondence and writings not widely reproduced
• Analyzed 12 total texts to compare literary devices and techniques between focal writers and their contemporaries

Within a Dedicated Section (typical for current students and new graduates) 

Here’s how an aspiring software engineer might describe a project they did in their free time to show off their coding chops to prospective employers.

RELEVANT PROJECTS

TheTradingPost.com | March 2020–September 2020 | Link

• Designed and coded a website (using CSS, Python, and JavaScript) where players of popular video games could arrange trades for virtual items, receiving an average of 1000 hits monthly
• Responded to user feedback and issues to improve site functionality and build additional features including a search function

Within Your Experience Section

Here’s how a marketer looking to pivot into project management might include a project under a past job immediately after the bullet points describing their overall duties and accomplishments.

Key Project

• Led $200k digital marketing campaign from conception to launch, resulting in 120% of target signups in first two months of campaign
• Managed cross-functional team of seven marketing coordinators and analysts, content creators, and designers through market research, content creation, campaign launch, and analysis of results, setting deadlines, adjusting to changes in schedule, and resolving conflicts and miscommunications among teams

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Project Details in a Resume: What Yours Needs To Include

Want to include projects on your resume, but not sure how much detail is too much? Here are the project details you do (and don’t) need in your resume.

a year ago   •   4 min read

Projects are a frequently overlooked but potentially high-value resume addition. This is especially true if you’re an entry-level job seeker or c onsidering changing careers — the right project can help fill out a less than robust work experience section and prove to hiring managers that you have the essential skills for the job you’re applying for.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Exactly which project details need to go on your resume — and which don’t

How to write project details in a resume

• What part of your resume projects belong in
• Project-based resume templates and examples
• Selected project ideas that look great on any resume

Let’s start by looking at the most essential project details to list on your resume.

Essential project details to include in a resume

At a minimum, projects on your resume should include:

• The project title
• A short description of the project
• The dates you worked on the project
• Who or what the project was for, e.g. your employer, school, or personal project
• Your specific role
• The specific task(s) you performed
• Key technologies used
• The results or impact of the project
• The people you collaborated with (if appropriate)
• A link to the project

That seems like a lot of information, but it doesn’t have to take up a huge amount of space on your resume — keep scrolling for details, including templates and examples.

• In your Work Experience, Projects , or Additional section, create a “Key Projects” subheading.
• Write the project name and/or a brief description of what it did.
• List your employer, staffing agency, or consulting firm.
• List your job title. If you were self-employed , give yourself a standard job title.
• List the dates of employment.
• Include 1-2 accomplishments in bullet point format .
• Add a link to a GitHub profile , website, or online portfolio.
• Double check that you haven’t missed anything (including essential keywords or hard skills) by using our free ATS resume scanner .

Here’s an example of including project-based experience in your work experience section:

If your projects weren’t work-based but are still highly relevant, you could create a separate projects section:

If the project wasn’t directly relevant to the job you’re applying for — or if you’re running low on space — include it briefly in an additional section:

I’d recommend uploading your resume to the tool below to find out if you have structured your projects (and project details) the right way. It’ll also scan your resume sections and let you know which details belong on your resume and which ones to leave off entirely.

Sample project-based resume

Let’s take a look at a resume template that’s ideal for showcasing specific project-based experience:

This resume example has taken selected project experience and extended it out to include specific accomplishments , including project details and key metrics . Because these projects were essential to the role, here they’re included in the work experience section, but you could easily move them to a projects or additional section if they’re less relevant.

Download this free template (and others) from our ATS resume templates page.

Frequently asked questions

Should i put projects on my resume.

Short answer? Yes!

Longer answer? If:

• The project was relevant to the job you’re applying for
• You don’t have a lot of other, more relevant experience
• You want to highlight key technical skills necessary for the role

Then you should definitely make space for a projects section. If you already have extensive work experience without including projects, you can probably leave them off.

What kind of projects should I include on a resume?

Any kind of project can go on your resume. This includes work projects, university projects, and even personal or hobby projects.

Do personal projects count as experience?

Not in the strictest sense — meaning, you shouldn’t list them under a “Work Experience” heading unless you’ve actually used them at work. But yes, they do show hiring managers that you have some experience using relevant software, programming languages, or other technical skills, and they can count toward your years of experience or level of proficiency .

Should I list project roles and responsibilities in a resume?

Yes, but don’t list them as “roles and responsibilities.” Your role in the project can double as your job title, but try to focus on your accomplishments rather than your responsibilities.

What kind of projects look good on a resume?

Any — as long as they’re relevant! If you’re just starting out, you could include:

• Projects you completed as part of your university coursework
• Extracurricular projects
• Capstone projects
• Personal projects, hobbies, or side gigs
• Career Advice

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• Post-Election

What is Project 2025 And Why Is It Alarming?

By Matt Cohen

June 28, 2024

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The general election is still about four months away and, with the latest polls showing an incredibly tight race , anything can happen in that time. But that hasn’t stopped former President Donald Trump who, in concert with top Republicans and conservative figures and organizations, already sketched out a plan to reshape the federal government in their image. 

The plan is called Project 2025 — a collection of policy transition proposals that outline how, should Trump win the November election, he can vastly remake the federal government most effectively to carry out an extremist far-right agenda. 

“It is not enough for conservatives to win elections,” the project’s website states. “If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration. This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project.”

What, exactly, is Project 2025?

Simply put, Project 2025 is a massive, 920-page document that outlines exactly what the next Trump presidency would look like. This doesn’t just include policy proposals — like immigration actions, educational proposals and economic plans — but rather a portrait of the America that conservatives hope to implement in the next Republican administration, be it Trump or someone else. The document is a thorough blueprint for how, exactly, to carry out such a vision, through recommendations for key White House staff, cabinet positions, Congress, federal agencies, commissions and boards. The plan goes so far as to outline a vetting process for appointing and hiring the right people in every level of government to carry out this vision. 

The opening essay of the plan, written by Heritage Project President Kevin D. Roberts, succinctly summarizes the goal of Project 2025: a promise to make America a conservative nation. To do so, the next presidential administration should focus on four “broad fronts that will decide America’s future.”

Those four fronts include:

• Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.
• Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.
• Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats.
• Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls “the Blessings of Liberty.”

The rest of the document sketches out, in detail, how the next Republican administration can execute their goals on these four fronts. That includes comprehensive outlines on what the White House and every single federal agency should do to overhaul its goals and day-to-day operations — from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Defense, Small Business Administration and Financial Regulatory Agencies. Every sector of the executive branch has a detailed plan in Project 2025 that explains how it can carry out an ultra-conservative agenda. 

Project 2025 is supported by the same right-wing groups bringing dozens of anti-democracy lawsuits that will impact the outcome of this year’s election.

Democracy Docket is the only news outlet tracking and reporting on these cases — sign up for our free daily and weekly newsletters to get the latest updates sent straight to your inbox.

Why should we be worried about Project 2025?

As The New Republic notes , Project 2025 is “a remarkably detailed guide to turning the United States into a fascist’s paradise.” The primary document of Project 2025, the magazine explains, lays out what is essentially a “Christian nationalist vision of the United States, one in which married heterosexuality is the only valid form of sexual expression and identity; all pregnancies would be carried to term, even if that requires coercion or death; and transgender and gender-nonconforming people do not exist.”

It’s a terrifying vision of what American life could look like, but what’s most concerning about Project 2025 is its playbook for the first 180 days of a hypothetical second Trump term. “The time is short, and conservatives need a plan,” the playbook states. “The project will create a playbook of actions to be taken in the first 180 days of the new Administration to bring quick relief to Americans suffering from the Left’s devastating policies.”

Among the numerous troubling suggestions laid out in the playbook is a detailed plan to essentially purge the federal workforce of tens of thousands of workers in favor of hiring ones who will adhere to the conservative principles of Project 2025. Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official who’s director of Project 2025’s Presidential Transition Project, told the Associated Press the 180 day transition plan is a “clarion call to come to Washington… People need to lay down their tools, and step aside from their professional life and say, ‘This is my lifetime moment to serve.’”

Much of the 180-Day Playbook reads like a cult’s recruiting pamphlet, explaining how department and agency heads should be vetting potential candidates. “This book is functionally an invitation for you the reader—Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith, and Ms. Smith—to come to Washington or support those who can,” Dans writes in the intro to the Playbook . “Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State.”

Who’s behind Project 2025?

Project 2025 is the brainchild of The Heritage Foundation , the 50-year-old conservative think tank that’s among the most influential right-wing organizations in the country. 

In its nearly half century of existence, The Heritage Foundation has used its resources, influence and money to push its conservative agenda in just about every facet of American life: anti-abortion advocacy , voter suppression , anti-climate policies , and anti-LGBTQ advocacy . 

Though The Heritage Foundation organized Project 2025 , the initiative is actually a coalition made up of more than 100 right-wing groups, including notorious groups like America First Legal , the Public Interest Legal Foundation and Moms For Liberty . According to NBC News , a huge web of right-wing dark money groups connected to Project 2025, led by the Leonard Leo-connected Donors Trust, has seen a large bump in donations since the project was announced. 

The chapters in the Project 2025 plan and 180-Day Playbook were written by “more than 400 scholars and policy experts from across the conservative movement and around the country,” the group says. That includes former Trump administration officials and notable right-wing figures, like former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller , former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli , and Peter Navarro , a former top trade advisor to Trump.

Read the full 2025 Project plan here.