Whether you are applying for an internship as a design student or for a full-time position as a professional designer, you will need a resume. Often times resumes are shared with prospective employers as pdf files (e.g. attached to an email) because they are easy to print and can serve as helpful physical resources during the interview process. As a designer, it is important to thoughtfully craft your resume to demonstrate your design skills, clearly communicate your experience, and showcase your unique personality.
Instructions
- Gather your content (copy/text) first. I recommend using Google Docs.
- Use design software to layout your resume visually. I recommend Adobe InDesign. Your document/page should be setup for print: 8.5″ x 11″ and the final export should be a pdf. Be sure to use a grid for layout and strong typography.
Essential Elements to Include
- Your Name (big)
- Contact Information
- Phone
- Mailing Address (if you are concerned about privacy, at least state your city)
- Email Address
- Portfolio url
- Education
- Work Experience
Recommended Elements to Include
- Intro Statement/About Statement
- Software/programs/technologies you are familiar with
- Skills (eg photography? illustration?)
- Achievements / Awards
- References
Other Elements to Consider (Optional)
- Activities/Extracurricular (eg Volunteer Work)
- Languages Spoken (if you speak multiple languages)
- Memberships (eg AIGA)
- Photo of Yourself (this is up to you?)
- Social media handles (this is up to you?)
- Infographics/charts (this is up to you?)
Examples from previous students
Advice from Ailed
None of the traditional books on resume writing are truly worth squat to the creative. While very important, your resume is secondary to your portfolio. A well-written resume can get you in the door at human resources, but won’t get you the job. However, if poorly written, your resume can get you rejected at the door!
Keep it clean, visually and verbally. Then make sure it contains no errors. Spell check every time you edit. Have many other eyes read it as well. Clean means spare. Few resumes need to be longer than one page, even if you have a long career, older experience tends to be less relevant.
Text-heavy resumes for creatives don’t get read. No paragraph should be longer than 4 sentences, and no sentence should run longer than four lines. Shorter is even better. Watch your line lengths also and remember the typographic rule of min 39 to max 52 characters rule—so use columns as necessary to keep your line-length within that rule.
In terms of content, stick to your responsibilities, your range of work, and most significant accomplishments. Or simply take a sentence to explain what you did and then list the clients you did it for. You can always elaborate in person. A resume is best written to be printed and read offline. Don’t over design it graphically, as that will just slow down the connection to it. Use your name as the file name and not resume so when they download they know who’s it is. While writing the content for your resume, work in Microsoft Word. Once content is approved, you will design in InDesign and convert to a downloadable pdf which is quite advantageous to storing to including them in your site because people are able to find out more about you while your work is fresh in their minds (you may omit your address if posted online though for privacy reasons). Providing contact method like phone or email is necessary, they may want to call on the spot—try not to limit they way they can contact you.
Keep in mind that you may need to continue to customize your resume when applying for different jobs, each with an emphasis in certain areas. For this assignment come up with content that is more general or that focuses on the area you wish to purse.