In addition to your portfolio your graphic design resume is going to be just as important if not more important when job hunting; after all your resume is what will be looked at before they even decide if they want to see your portfolio! Remember employers may be looking through hundreds of resumes during the hiring process, this is why it is important to make sure your resume stands out.

Creative and/or art directors may pick out the smallest glitches in your resume which could cost you the job. This is why you need to be very thorough when putting together your graphic design resume. In this article we will go over everything you will need to know (including graphic design resume samples) in order to put together a top notch graphic designer resume.

Paper

Paper choice for any resume is important, but when it comes to a graphic design resume it is even more crucial. The type of paper you choose needs to compliment your personality, resume layout and design. Your choice of paper can immediately tell a potential client/employer a little bit about your personality and ability to choose things which compliment each other. Your paper choice will be the first thing which will either put you step above or below the competition.

You won’t want to use standard weight, white paper which you can find in most computer printers; rather you will want to choose something that isn’t so standard. I would recommend visiting some paper specialty stores, or a print shop, and looking through their selection of paper. Additionally these types stores can usually make some recommendations, so remember to bring in a copy of some potential resume layouts and designs you have created.

Papyrus is a great place to get stationary, but I would definitely recommend choosing your paper in-store and not online. Although you can visit their website for ideas and location information.

Layout and Design

You will want to show off your talents here, after all you are a graphic designer. Adding visual elements to display your skills and express your personality is a must. Some might say don’t go overboard here, but if your personality is overboard, I say maybe your resume should be too! Just remember “overboard” still needs to be organized, and not too confusing, make sure things are easy to find, and in logical order. The visual elements should compliment your credentials not drown them out or overshadow them.

Visual elements to help kick your resume up a gear could be grids, graphics, typography, images, color choices, and so forth.

Standard Resume Elements

Just like any other resume there are going to be the standard elements which you will need and want to include.

Name and Contact Information

This information should be easy to identify preferably near the top of your resume or in large font. You want anyone to be able to find this information quickly and easily at a glance.

Personal Statement or Objective

This will most likely be underneath your contact information and should be headed with your title “Graphic Designer”. This should be a brief statement which tells employers a little about your experience and what you can do to help them, or fill their needs. People often make the mistake of stating what kind of job they are looking for in this statement; don’t make that mistake.

Skills

I would first start with technical skills, software knowledge, and so forth; and then finish with soft skills like “strong interpersonal written and verbal…”

Professional Experience

List your past job experience here. At the top of each section you should state what your position was/is, the company, location and the dates if possible (design and spacial factors may require you modify some of this). Underneath this you should list your bullet points which should all start with action words like: managed, supported, supervised, aggregated, communicated, and so forth.

Education, Awards, Affiliations, Accomplishments

You may want to break all of these out into their own separate sub topics; however, if you don’t feel you have enough to fill each section then put them under one heading.

Final Thoughts

Graphic designer resumes don’t have many rules that need to be followed; however make sure the information is easy to see, in logical order, and the creative doesn’t overpower your credentials or make it impossible to find/read. Make sure to have someone or many people proofread your resume for grammatical errors. If possible you will want to have some other graphic designers or colleagues critique your resume’s design aspects. If you have the time, and the motivation, create several different resumes, and have people choose the one they like best. If you turn the process into a fun project you will have a much better chance of creating a successful graphic design resume, as opposed to if it feels like a chore. We hope you’ve found these tips and graphic design resume samples helpful!

You may also want to check out our Graphic Design Salary Figures and Graphic Design Job Description articles.