Graphic designer resume tips
A graphic design resume is a map to the work, not a substitute for it. Reviewers want to know what you shipped, for whom, and whether you took it to a final file. The tool list should match that work.
Cover letter for a graphic designer
What to put first
Say the kind of design: brand, marketing pages, packaging, product interface, or environmental. Then the kinds of pieces: a poster series, a package, a set of ads, an icon system. Link a portfolio only if you are allowed to show the work, and keep the resume understandable without it.
Finished work
Describe pieces that were used, not only concepts. Say your role: sole designer, or one person in a team with an art director. Those are different jobs.
Constraints are the skill
Mention a real constraint: a brand system you had to follow, a print spec, an accessibility requirement, or a deadline tied to an event. Pretty is not a constraint.
Tools you can open today
List the tools you can use to produce a final file. Do not add a tool because it is fashionable if you would need to relearn it for the interview exercise.
An example line
Adapt this only where it is true for you. It is a shape for a bullet, not a claim that a particular person did this work.
Designed the in-store poster series for a seasonal promotion, inside an existing brand system, and delivered print-ready files the vendor used without a redraw.
What to leave off
Leave off student exercises presented as client work, tools you do not know, and a visual resume so designed that the text cannot be copied out. Leave off work you are not allowed to show, described in enough detail to break that promise.
Questions
- Is a portfolio required?
- For most design jobs, yes. The resume should say what kind of work is in it. Do not send a link you would be embarrassed to open in the interview.
- Should the resume itself be highly designed?
- A clear file beats a layout that hides the words. If you design it, keep the text selectable.