How to add informal work to a resume
Put informal work on your resume as a normal experience entry: describe the activity as a job title, name yourself or the family business as the employer, give honest date ranges, and describe the tasks and results — you never have to claim a contract you did not have.
By Nikolas Larrucea · · · 6 min read
Leaving informal work off a resume creates two problems at once: the page looks empty, and it produces gaps you then have to explain. Informal work is work. It can be described accurately without pretending it was a registered job.
Why it belongs on the page
According to the International Labour Organization, informal employment accounts for roughly 58% of global employment, and the share is substantially higher in many low- and middle-income countries. Recruiters in these markets read informal experience routinely. What they cannot read is a blank page.
Choosing a job title
Use the plain name of the activity, not an inflated one. The title should describe the work, and a hiring manager should recognise it instantly.
| Do not write | Write |
|---|---|
| Sales Executive | Street market vendor |
| Logistics Manager | Motorcycle delivery rider |
| Beauty Entrepreneur | Self-employed hairdresser |
| Construction Director | Bricklayer's assistant |
| Household CFO | Family shop assistant |
What to write as the employer
- Working for yourself: write “Self-employed” and the city.
- Family business: write the business name, or “Family business” if it has none.
- Regular private clients: write “Private clients” and the approximate number.
- Through an app or platform: write the platform name — it is verifiable.
Dates and gaps
Give the years, and months when the period was short. If the work was seasonal or occasional, say so — “weekends”, “harvest season”, “evenings while studying”. An honest qualifier reads better than a date range that collapses under one question.
Making it verifiable
Informal work has no HR department, so credibility comes from specifics: volumes, frequency, tools, money handled, people coordinated.
Self-employed delivery rider — Private clients, São Paulo · 2023–2025
Delivered 20–30 orders per day on a fixed route for three neighbourhood restaurants. Handled cash and card payments, tracked daily earnings in a spreadsheet, and maintained my own motorcycle to keep the route running six days a week.
Talking about it in the interview
Prepare one sentence per entry explaining what the work required of you: turning up early, handling money, dealing with unhappy customers, working unsupervised. Those are the qualities the employer is testing for. The related guide on turning everyday responsibilities into transferable skills covers the wording in detail.
Once your entries are written, you can build your resume for free — it takes a few minutes and nothing you type is stored.
Sources
- Share of informal employment in global and regional labour markets — International Labour Organization