Writing a proper CV for Graphic Designers

Hey,

First of all sorry for not publishing a story for a long time, I was swamped with job searching, interviews etc. That is why I choose to help you with a short guide to writing, desgining a great CV. I will try to make this short and point out the crucial points to write a succeseful CV, but I can't write all the info about writing CV, so I would reccomend that you do your research and read few best examples.

1. Design your CV

As you apply for the graphic design jobs, you should design your CV in the way that attracts people to it. And when I say design, I really mean design it - do not use word processor, and rather use Adobe Illustrator or InDesign instead.

CV should be simple for the eye, but complex enough to show your personality and basic skills alongside. The ideal CV should not be more than 2 pages long. Trying to achive this, you should use your words carefully, try using bullet points to minimize word count.

The next important point when designing the resume is the risk of becoming chaotic. What I mean by that is that you should keep it to 1 color only resumes, and just keep things simple when giving out information

2. Including relevant information

I know it is hard to choose what you should include as you would like to write everything about yourself. Another "rule" here is - less is more. I noticed that all of the best CVs for the graphic designer have almost the same info. And this info is:

• Contact info of yourself and the company that you are applying to! And also include link to your portfolio.

• Introduction - here you should take care of the word count, try using no more than 5 sentences, you must write your cover / motivational letter anyway.

• Edcuation

• Work experience and qualifications- here again, if you have none, try with something that attracts people to read it, or simply tell the truth

• Program skills / Graphic Skills - as a graphic designer you should always show in which programs do you work. I personally made a little precentage graph of how much do I master a program - but this can be a bad thing too if you don't clarify the precentage. For example, you shouldn't mark your skills for Photoshop as 3 out of 5 carrots, that is irrelevant info.

• Hobbies and interest - This is something by which you can show a bit more informal about yourself.

• Languages - Eve if it is not relevant to some jobs, it is always good to know in which languages can you communicate.

• Personal tab - This tab is dedicated to every CV for itself. Popular themes here are personal skills, where do I see myself in 10 years etc.

This is enough for your employer, because they won't read the whole thing anyway. And at this point I should say that you must be objective, specially when you write about skills. And another thing is - DO NOT LIE.

3. Photos and qoutes

Nowadays people are really focused on looks. So putting a profile picture or logo, you should be very carefully with your pick. If you include it, the possibility is that someone is going to refuse to read your CV just because of your looks - you can strike them as unprofessional. But if you do include a picture, it shows confidence. So I would recommend that you include the profile picture, but you should include a professional picture, not just some random selfie.

Quotes. You should only include them if they are relevant to your story. Therefore I mean, include a quote if the whole CV or cover letter will reflect that quote. Otherwise keep your motivation to yourself-

4. Check spelling

Even if the employer won't read everything, it is a huge turndown that you make a spelling mistake. It shows that you are not precise, which is very important in graphic design, and that you didn't take your time when writing and designing, even if you did.

5. Motivational / Cover letter

I will talk about cover letter in the next sentences as it is more popular, but the same goes for motivational. So cover letter should reflect your CV. As you know, you should be persistent when designing, so use some features of your CV and include them in your cover letter. I'm talking about the lines, colors etc. As for the length, you should write no more than 1 page, where you should prove them why are you the best candidate. Every sentence more is a waste of time. If you don't have a lot of experience, half a page should do it.

6. That is all?

Yes, this are the key points, but again I do recommend that you search the internet, check some inspiration and just try to be creative and simple.

Here is my CV mockup, and it had a good impact on the employers so far. I applied for several different jobs, but in some ways, it attracted people. You are free to use it only as inspiration for design.

I hope this will help someone in the graphic design world, and hopefully you'll get the job you've wanted.

I hope it won't take as much time for the next blog :)

Please suggest some themes for graphic design that you would like to read about.

Thanks, Sebastjan