Resume Writing

How to Show Side Projects on Your Resume (2026)

Which side projects belong on a resume, where to place them by career stage, how to write the bullet so it signals shipped-not-toyed, and the 6 mistakes that turn a projects section into filler.

By Surya L.Updated Jul 16, 2026.11 min
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Why this section earns interviews

For freshers and early-career candidates, a side project often decides the callback. A shipped project with real users beats 3 years of classroom grades. For experienced candidates, one sharp project covering a skill your day-job does not show can open doors your work history cannot. But a cluttered Projects section (8 items, all tutorial clones, no links) actively hurts. The goal of this guide is to make yours count.

There is a narrow window where side projects move the needle. Too few and the hiring manager wonders what you do outside required work. Too many or too weak and you look like a hobbyist who never finishes. The sweet spot is 2 to 4 projects that are shipped, quantifiable, and technically relevant to the role. Everything else in this guide is about getting you to that sweet spot.

5 tests for whether a project is worth listing

If a project clears at least 3 of these 5 tests, list it. If it clears 2 or fewer, drop it or revive it before the next application.

1.Does it have real users (or real commits)?

100+ users or 50+ GitHub stars is the rough bar for public traction. For internal or solo projects, a stable commit cadence over 3+ months is a proxy. A repo with 2 commits from a weekend is not worth listing.

2.Did you ship it end to end?

A project that is design-only or code-only signals partial effort. Something live (deployed URL, app store listing, published npm package) signals you can finish.

3.Does it show a skill your resume needs?

If the JD wants React + Postgres and your project is a React + Postgres app, list it near the top. If the project is unrelated (a 3D printed planter), move it to a personal interests footnote or skip it.

4.Did you solve a problem someone cared about?

Hackathons, client work for a campus club, or an OSS PR that fixed a real bug all clear this bar. Tutorial clones do not.

5.Can you explain it in 60 seconds?

If you cannot articulate what it does, who it is for, and one tradeoff you made, do not list it. Interviewers will ask.

Where to place projects by career stage

Fresher / final-year student

Projects section, above Experience. Make them the star. 4 to 6 projects, each with 2 to 3 bullets.

0 to 3 years experience

Projects section, below Experience. 2 to 3 projects, 1 to 2 bullets each.

3 to 7 years experience

Only if directly relevant to the JD or demonstrates a skill not covered by day-job. 1 to 2 projects, 1 bullet each.

7+ years experience

A one-line Outside Work section if the projects carry real weight (conference talks, popular OSS, published book). Otherwise skip.

4 formats for the Projects section

Name, one-line description, tech stack, outcome

Tasknotes: Kanban + calendar task manager for solo freelancers. Next.js 15, Postgres, Stripe. 2.1k signups, 340 WAU. github.com/you/tasknotes

Hackathon win with team credit

ETHIndia 2025 Winner (1st of 340 teams): Co-built a gasless NFT marketplace (Solidity + Node). My scope: smart contracts and backend indexer. Team: 3 engineers.

OSS contribution list

Open source: 11 merged PRs to pandas and numpy (2025). Notable: fix for DataFrame.groupby edge case, new timedelta helper. Listed in pandas 2.3 release notes.

Research / publication

Published: A fast BM25 alternative for hybrid search, in-house blog post, 12k reads, 230 HN upvotes. Work reused by 3 teams at previous employer.

4 weak vs strong bullet rewrites

Weak

Built a task manager app using React and Node.js.

Strong

Built and launched Tasknotes, a Kanban + calendar task manager (Next.js 15, Postgres, tRPC). 2.1k signups in 4 months, 340 weekly actives. Handled auth, billing (Stripe), and 99.9% uptime solo.

Weak

Open source contributor to various Python libraries.

Strong

Shipped 11 merged PRs to pandas and numpy in 2025 (doc fixes, 2 bug fixes in DataFrame.groupby, 1 new method in timedelta arithmetic). Listed in pandas 2.3 release notes.

Weak

Won a hackathon with a team project.

Strong

Won DevFolio ETHIndia 2025 (1st of 340 teams). Led backend for a gasless-NFT marketplace: Solidity smart contracts + Node indexer processing 12k txn in the 36-hr event.

Weak

Built a chatbot for fun.

Strong

Shipped Lexa, a WhatsApp bot for local tutors to auto-schedule trial classes. 38 tutors onboarded, 400+ bookings in Q1 2026. Python + FastAPI + Twilio + Postgres. Paying users: 12 at INR 299/mo.

GitHub, demo links, and the 10-second check

Every project bullet should end in a link a recruiter can click. The recruiter will spend 10 seconds on the other side of that click. What they see in those 10 seconds decides the callback.

  • GitHub: Pin 3 to 6 repos on your profile. Each should have a README with a screenshot, a 2-paragraph description, and clear run instructions. A repo with no README actively hurts.
  • Live demo: Host on Vercel, Netlify, Railway, or Fly.io. Free tiers handle resume traffic easily. Add basic analytics so you can tell a recruiter "hit 40 visits this week" in a follow-up.
  • Video demo: A 60-second Loom or YouTube clip is a strong fallback if your project cannot be live (internal tool, mobile app that needs install). Link it from the README.
  • Custom domain: A custom domain (yourproject.com) signals commitment. A .vercel.app URL is acceptable but less polished.
  • Build badges: A green CI badge and a test-coverage badge take 5 minutes to add and raise perceived quality noticeably.

6 mistakes that waste the section

  • Listing 8 projects with 1 line each

    Pick 3 to 4 strong ones and give each the detail space to show outcome and stack.

  • Using adjectives instead of numbers

    2.1k signups beats a popular side project every time.

  • Including a tutorial clone

    Todo apps and Netflix clones signal you have watched a tutorial, not that you can ship. Skip.

  • Forgetting the live link

    A working URL or repo link doubles the credibility. Dead links halve it.

  • Claiming team work as solo

    Always credit collaborators and specify your scope. Interviewers verify.

  • Listing abandoned projects

    A repo with last commit 18 months ago signals you lose interest. Either revive it or drop it.

External references

Frequently asked questions

How many side projects should I list?+
Freshers: 4 to 6. Early-career: 2 to 3. Mid-career: 1 to 2 if relevant. Senior: skip or one line if unusually strong (book, popular OSS, conference talk).
Do open source contributions count as side projects?+
Yes, if they are merged and non-trivial. One-line typo fixes do not. Multi-PR work on a well-known library does, and carries weight.
Can I list a hackathon project I did not win?+
Yes, if you shipped end to end. Say Built at ETHIndia 2025 and describe the outcome. Skip it if the demo does not run or was never deployed.
What if my project has no users yet?+
Show the work: commit count, test coverage, a live demo link, a 60-second video. Traction is ideal but shipped + documented is still a lot better than nothing.
Should I include tutorial clones?+
No. Todo apps, Netflix clones, and the standard tutorial projects signal you followed instructions. Build one novel feature on top before listing.
Is a blog a side project?+
A technical blog with 20+ in-depth posts and measurable readership (RSS subscribers, Medium claps, HN appearances) is a project. A blog with 3 posts and no traffic is not.
Does ATS read the Projects section?+
Yes, if labelled Projects, Personal Projects, or Side Projects. Unusual headings (My Builds, Playground) may not be detected.

Add a Projects section that earns interviews

ResumeBuildz gives the Projects section first-class layout with tech-stack tags, live-link fields, and ATS-safe headings. Build yours in 10 minutes.

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