In addition to your graphic design portfolio, you will need to create a graphic design resume to outline your skills, experience, and education for prospective employers and clients. The most important thing to remember when creating your graphic design resume is that your portfolio is a separate item. Don’t try to showcase your skills as a graphic designer within your resume by using fancy fonts, graphics you have created, page borders, or graphic page dividers. Keep your graphic design resume simple, professional, and organized.
Your graphic design resume should be tailored to showcase the skills requested for the opportunity or job offer that you are seeking. It is okay, and actually a good idea, to keep a stock graphic design resume on hand, updating it whenever you change positions or complete a significant freelance assignment. However, be prepared to make changes to the organization of your graphic design resume if it seems warranted by the opportunity you are seeking.
There are many things you should be sure to include in your graphic design resume. Make sure you list all of the computer software, technologies, and skills you have acquired, your level of expertise, and how long you have been familiar with the skill, software, or technology. You should also list any certifications or degrees you have received. If you do not have a college degree but do have professional certifications or awards, you do not need to list your high school education on your graphic design resume.
Your graphic design resume should also include information about your previous employers or projects. This may sound obvious, but many graphic designers are not aware of what information should be included in their experience. Any significant freelance assignments and any industry related work experience should be included in your graphic design resume. Do not list jobs like fast food or retail in your graphic design resume. It should be geared to showcase your talents in the graphic design field, and other jobs you have held on your way to your chosen career as a graphic designer are unimportant.
Your experience section of your graphic design resume should show the month and year of employment or the freelance assignment, and the month and year that the employment ended. Your graphic design resume should also highlight specific achievements at each position, or ways that the work you did or the freelance assignment you completed benefited the company you were working for.
Make sure that in addition to any educational references and mentions that you list all of your academic and professional achievements, significant projects, awards, and certifications on your graphic design resume. Many graphic designers neglect to include specific information in this section of their graphic design resume.
Finally, the best thing you can do to make sure that your graphic design resume is perfect is to proofread your graphic design resume. If you’re not sure that you have caught everything, have someone else proofread it as well. If you submit a graphic design resume with errors of any kind, you will be labeled as not being detail oriented, and you will not get the job or project that you are applying for, regardless of your skills or talent.
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