Whether you’re a seasoned project manager with ten years of experience in the construction industry or a recent graduate with a degree in software development, projects are the core foundation of your resume. Employers want to see engaging descriptions of what you’ve accomplished throughout your career, not mundane job responsibilities. They want to see tangible examples of how your expertise can create value for their organizations. In this guide, we’ll provide expert tips and insights to help you feature projects on your resume.
How to Feature Projects on a Resume
In most situations, the best approach is to simply highlight projects as bullet points in your professional experience section. However, in certain circumstances, you might need to feature your projects differently on the resume. For instance, if you’re a recent graduate, you might benefit from having a unique section for your academic and independent projects. If your recent work history is less impactful than your previous roles, you could consider leading with a career highlights section that allows you to feature older projects more prominently.
1. Quantify your achievements
Leveraging hard numbers, monetary figures, and metrics is a great way to tell your story. When describing your projects, take time to reflect on the size and scope of what you’ve accomplished. For example, if you led a major construction build out, draw attention to the total budget or the square footage of the building. If you collaborated with a cross-functional team to launch a mobile application, highlight the number of users and satisfaction scores. Industry expertise would be a genuine asset to their organizations.
2. Provide context for your projects
In addition to featuring numerical data, you should also establish context for the projects you’ve led. For instance, did you develop effective strategies to reduce overall project costs? Did you overcome major challenges to ensure on-time delivery? By providing deeper insights into the circumstances surrounding your projects, your contributions will appear all the more impressive to the hiring manager.
3. Emphasize your leadership capabilities
Whether you’re a project manager or a single contributor, your projects should illustrate your leadership strengths and interpersonal skills. Highlight your background liaising with stakeholders to discuss project milestones and critical roadblocks. Demonstrate your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to execute complex initiatives. Even if you aren’t pursuing a managerial role, it’s important to show employers that you can excel in fast-paced team environments.
Academic Projects
The early stages of your career are often the most challenging, as it can be a struggle to break into your field after graduation. Even without an internship, you can showcase your industry knowledge and expertise through your academic projects. For example, you might draw attention to an application you designed or a website you built to demonstrate your programming talents. If you’re pursuing a career in finance, highlight engaging projects where you developed a business model or performed high-level financial analysis.
Academic Projects Example #1
Academic Projects
Business Model Development – Sustainable Coffee Startup
University Capstone Project | January 2024 to May 2024
- Designed a complete financial model for a hypothetical direct-to-consumer coffee company, including revenue forecasts, operating expenses, and breakeven analysis
- Conducted market research on sustainable supply chains, projecting profitability within two years under three different pricing strategies
Risk Analysis – Cryptocurrency Volatility Study
Financial Risk Management Course | September 2023 to December 2023
- Analyzed daily price fluctuations of Bitcoin and Ethereum over a five-year period using Monte Carlo simulations and Value at Risk (VaR) models
- Presented findings that demonstrated how market shocks increased VaR by nearly 50% during high-volume trading weeks
Academic Projects Example #2
Academic Projects
Equity Research Report – Renewable Energy Sector
Investment Analysis Course | March 2023 to May 2023
- Evaluated financial statements of three solar energy companies and built a discounted cash flow (DCF) model to estimate fair value
- Recommended a buy strategy on one firm based on projected earnings growth of 12% annually, supported by sensitivity analysis
Portfolio Diversification Strategy – Student Investment Club
Extracurricular Academic Project | September 2022 to December 2022
- Created a diversified mock portfolio of equities, bonds, and ETFs and tracked performance against the S&P 500 for one semester
- Outperformed the benchmark by 3% through sector rotation into defensive stocks during periods of increased volatility
Academic Projects Example #3
Academic Projects
E-Commerce Checkout Optimization
Interaction Design Course | September 2023 to December 2023
- Analyzed user drop-off points in an e-commerce mock checkout process and designed wireframes to streamline form fields and payment options
- Implemented A/B testing with two design variations, showing a projected 15% improvement in conversion rates
Campus Navigation App Prototype
UX Studio Lab | March 2023 to May 2023
- Created an interactive prototype in Adobe XD to help new students navigate campus, integrating maps, schedules, and building directories
- Conducted heuristic evaluations and improved information hierarchy, which increased navigation accuracy by 30% among test users
Academic Projects Example #4
Academic Projects
Inventory Management System – Capstone Project
State University | January 2024 to May 2024
- Led a four-person team in developing a full-stack inventory management system using Java, Spring Boot, and MySQL, with role-based authentication
- Implemented search and filtering features that reduced query times by 35% during testing and improved usability across 500+ mock records
Personal Finance Tracker App
Mobile Application Development Course | September 2023 to December 2023
- Built an Android app in Kotlin allowing users to log expenses, set budget goals, and visualize monthly spending through dynamic charts
- Integrated local SQLite storage and created a notification system that reminded users of spending limits, increasing engagement in trials
Academic Projects Example #5
Academic Projects
Market Research Report – Sustainable Fashion Industry
Consumer Behavior Course | September 2023 to December 2023
- Conducted a survey of 150 participants and analyzed consumer attitudes toward sustainable clothing brands using SPSS and Excel
- Identified three key customer segments and recommended targeted messaging strategies, supported by statistical analysis of survey results
Brand Identity Redesign – Student Startup
Advertising & Promotions Class | March 2023 to May 2023
- Collaborated with a team of five to rebrand a student-led business, creating logos, social media templates, and updated brand guidelines
- Proposed a new positioning strategy that emphasized community and sustainability, validated by focus group feedback from 30 peers
Work-related Projects
Provide engaging descriptions of your industry projects and accomplishments in the professional experience section of your resume. Your bullet points should establish appropriate context for your contributions, featuring eye-catching numbers and hard data. You should also use this opportunity to show employers you can manage personnel, interface with stakeholders, and collaborate cross-functionally.
Work-related Projects Example #1
Professional Experience
Construction Manager
Summit Build Group | Dallas, TX | June 2022 to Present
- Directed the completion of a $25 million mixed-use development, coordinating a 40-person team and delivering the project two months ahead of schedule, which reduced projected labor costs by 12%
- Oversaw the installation of green building systems, including solar arrays and high-efficiency HVAC, resulting in annual energy savings of over $100,000 for the client
- Implemented a new project tracking system that reduced reporting errors by 35% and ensured weekly progress updates were distributed to all stakeholders
Work-related Projects Example #2
Professional Experience
Technical Project Manager
Innovatech Solutions | Boston, MA | July 2021 to Present
- Led the rollout of a company-wide cloud migration project, coordinating five cross-functional teams and reducing infrastructure costs by 28% annually through AWS optimization
- Managed the development and launch of a customer-facing web portal used by over 15,000 clients, improving average response times by 40% and reducing support ticket volume by 25%
- Introduced Agile frameworks across three departments, increasing sprint completion rates by 18% and improving on-time delivery of critical features for enterprise clients
Work-related Projects Example #3
Professional Experience
Marketing Manager
BrightWave Media | Chicago, IL | March 2021 to Present
- Spearheaded a multi-channel product launch campaign that generated $3.2 million in revenue within the first six months, surpassing projections by 18% and expanding the customer base across two new regions
- Implemented a content marketing strategy that increased organic web traffic by 55% year-over-year and improved lead conversion rates by 22% through targeted SEO optimization and audience segmentation
- Managed a $1.5 million annual advertising budget, reallocating spend to high-performing digital channels, which reduced cost per acquisition by 30% while maintaining campaign reach and engagement
Work-related Projects Example #4
Professional Experience
Product Manager
NextWave Technologies | San Francisco, CA | May 2021 to Present
- Directed the development and launch of a mobile productivity app that achieved 50,000 downloads within the first three months, earning a 4.7-star rating on both iOS and Android stores
- Collaborated with engineering and design teams to implement a new onboarding flow that reduced customer churn by 22% in the first 30 days and improved user activation rates by 35%
- Managed a $2.5 million product roadmap budget, prioritizing high-impact features through data-driven analysis, which accelerated release cycles by 20% and boosted subscription revenue by $1.8 million
Work-related Projects Example #5
Professional Experience
Interior Designer
Studio Harmony Interiors | New York, NY | April 2021 to Present
- Designed and executed interiors for a 20,000-square-foot corporate office renovation, completing the project under budget by 12% while improving space utilization for 300 employees
- Led the redesign of a luxury residential property valued at $5 million, coordinating with contractors and vendors to deliver a cohesive aesthetic that increased the client’s property appraisal by 18%
- Introduced sustainable material sourcing into three major projects, reducing environmental impact and lowering long-term maintenance costs by 15% for clients
Independent Projects
Another way to showcase your industry knowledge is by showcasing independent projects. For instance, if you’re pursuing a career in content writing, you might feature blogs or freelance articles you crafted. If you’re a graphic designer, you might feature a link to your online portfolio in addition to describing the logos and designs you created.
Independent Projects Example #1
Independent Projects
Accessibility Audit – Local Nonprofit Website
Human-Centered Design Project | October 2022 to December 2022
- Performed a WCAG accessibility audit of a nonprofit organization’s website, identifying over 20 areas for compliance improvement
- Proposed design solutions including color contrast adjustments, alt text policies, and keyboard navigation enhancements to broaden accessibility
Accessibility Enhancement Concept – Community Organization
- Volunteered to audit a small nonprofit’s event registration site, identifying pain points for screen reader users and color contrast violations
- Delivered recommendations and mockups that improved accessibility compliance and helped broaden the organization’s potential participant reach
Independent Projects Example #2
Independent Projects
Brand Identity Package – Local Coffee Shop
- Designed a full visual identity including logo, typography, and packaging, which was adopted by the client and helped increase brand recognition across digital and print channels
- Delivered mockups for signage, menus, and merchandise, receiving client approval on the first draft and leading to a 30% increase in customer engagement on social media
Freelance Poster Design – Music Festival
- Created promotional posters and digital assets for an independent music festival, using bold color schemes and layered illustrations to capture the brand’s energetic tone
- Campaign materials were shared across multiple platforms and helped boost event attendance by 18% compared to the prior year
Independent Projects Example #3
Independent Projects
Freelance Blog Series – Personal Finance Website
- Wrote a series of 15 blog posts on budgeting and credit management, increasing the client’s monthly organic traffic by 40% through keyword-optimized content
- Researched SEO trends and integrated internal links, helping the site rank on the first page of Google for three competitive keywords
Nonprofit Newsletter – Independent Contract
- Created biweekly digital newsletters for a local nonprofit, writing donor spotlights, event recaps, and community success stories
- Improved audience engagement by 25% through optimized subject lines and personalized calls to action
Independent Projects Example #4
Independent Projects
Promotional Video Series – Local Restaurant
- Produced and edited a three-part video series showcasing menu highlights, chef interviews, and behind-the-scenes content, boosting the restaurant’s social media engagement by 40%
- Utilized Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects to create motion graphics and captions, ensuring accessibility and brand consistency
Music Video – Independent Artist
- Directed and filmed a narrative-style music video for a local hip-hop artist, combining multi-location shoots with creative lighting design
- Video was uploaded to YouTube and reached 10,000+ views in its first month, expanding the artist’s subscriber base by 25%
Independent Projects Example #5
Independent Projects
Indie Puzzle Game – Unity Development
- Designed and built a 2D puzzle game in Unity with original mechanics, incorporating C# scripts for dynamic level progression and player scoring
- Published the game on itch.io where it was downloaded over 2,000 times in the first three months and received positive community feedback
Multiplayer Card Game – Personal Project
- Developed an online multiplayer card game using Unreal Engine and Photon networking, focusing on gameplay balance and matchmaking systems
- Hosted beta testing with 50 players, collecting user feedback that drove refinements to UI flow and card mechanics
Frequently Asked Questions About How to List Projects on a Resume
Projects should usually be featured as bullet points in your work history. However, recent graduates are better off creating an academic or independent project section. You can also showcase projects in a career highlights section to ensure your most impressive achievements are placed closer to the top of your document.
While academic projects are a great way to break into your field, you don't need to include them once you've cultivated enough industry experience. Hiring managers are always going to be more interested in your work history, so it's best to avoid cluttering your document unless the academic projects are highly prestigious or valuable.
Using AI tools to describe your industry projects is generally not recommended. While ChatGPT has continued to improve, it isn't capable of producing unique content that can adequately capture your story. That said, if you're struggling with a blank page, using AI could give you a starting point to build off of.
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