I remember putting together my design resumes/curriculum vitaes in the past, I never quite knew how creative, or not I should make it. Mine started from the downright bizarre creative resume when I was in college (a pop up of my head) to something more formal with the addition of an icon or logo. Designing a resume for yourself is one of those things that’s always tricky, just like designing anything for yourself. You are your own worst client who doesn’t have a proper brief 
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And just in case you were thinking about it, DON’T send a covering letter like this (apparently a real covering letter sent by fax for a graphic design job 
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Found via http://www.information-technology-career.net
I have put together some resources I have found which may help any designer currently putting together their CV
CV Shelf as its name suggests has samples of Graphic Design CVs/Resumes
Flickr has a large selection of graphic design resume examples for inspiration
One of many Design resume examples at Deviant Art
Some other posts about Graphic Design Resumes
A great graphic design CV found over at the TrulyAce blog.
The Graphic Design Resume Guide
A comprehensive blog post, going through everything you need to consider when designing your resume from choosing paper, layout, typograpy and required content.
Graphic Design Resumes: Plain or Different? Part I
Another debate on how creative a CV/resume should be with examples.
How Creative Should A Designer’s Resume Be?
Another argument for the creative resume with some design examples.
Graphic Design Sample Resume
For resume content rather than style.
Graphic Designer Resume Sample
Again for content rather than style.
Graphic Designer Resume Tips
Tells you the information to include in your resume and what order it should go in (not for design style).
If you want to promote your self as a Graphic or Web Designer also take a look at the book mentioned in my previous post 10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives
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22 Comments
very neat article. thanks for sharing.
Really very nice curriculum templates, a lot of creativity and sense.
Great article, good to see other peoples resumes and CV’s. Those sites are an excellent source of inspiration.
Thanks.
Great collection of resume templates. However, I am more into just simple resumes rather that too overly decorated ones. It’s more appealing to the interviewers the simple ones rather than those that strains they’re eyes.
Great tips in this post. I wonder if the person who sent the fax covering letter got an interview, or even a job? They say simplicity works, but I think in that case it may have backfired, next time they better not get a six year old with a crayon to do up there cv!
Great tips of writting a good resume. But sometimes employer will be mad if you have a messy resume. Just my two cents. =)
Thanks for sharing.
A creative resume is fairly important. Not only it resembles your personality, it also speaks your capability and creativity. Putting more effort and thoughts into creating an impressive resume is definitely worthwhile, as it is usually the first thing any employer sees before flipping through your entire portfolio.
There is some really creative stuff here and very useful too. I agree that it is good to see others C.V’s as have not seen many before. Thanks for sharing.
The “Ryan Thomas” resume is by far my favorite on this list (but it might not print very well), but I guess the best one would depend on what job the designer is applying for.
Hi Brad, Thanks for you comment. Like you suggest I definitely think the type of CV should be targeted at the type of job you are going for.
Hi Tara, thanks for sharing these, it’s always a great insight to be able to see other designer’s resumes. My favourite is Michael Tighe’s cover letter, would certainly impress me if it landed on my desk!
I am very impressed with the topic of resume of the designers. Now i a got a new way of designing my resume for the job. I like the resume of carson wright. Nice share any ways.
Ha ha, can you imagine if that faxed covering letter was actually them trying to be grungy and ‘creative’?
It’s possible isn’t it! But best backed up with a really professional creative CV coming through the fax afterwards, to show that the covering letter was part of the ‘creativity’
You can only hope it was! By the way love the CV from one of your work experience people over on your design blog. I have added a link in to my post
Hi, Tara thanks for writing this article on resumes. I like the fact that you gave me information on what not to do when you are going to write a resume, and I like the fact that you gave examples on how to write a resume. I felt this article was helpful for me because I am a Graphic Design student at South University-Columbia Campus, and I am taking a class right down called Professional Development for Graphic Design. I will be learning how to write a resume, so these tips on how to write a resume are good for me.
Hi Thelma, Thank you I am glad it helped yout. Have you looked at my design resources section and sample design briefs for students you might find these useful too.
Those are some AMAZING looking resumes… I wonder if an HR person/Empoyer might think you were over qualified because your resume looked so amazing?
Much better than some I’ve seen – such as a resume written (not typed) with a pencil on lined notebook paper.. give me a break! hah
very nice article, thanks alot
I’m actually looking for some advice on freelance work. Basically, im 19 years old, im a 3D graphics designer (im quite advanced with autodesk Maya, 6 years of experience and rigorous learning) also adobe photoshop and illustrator. What do you think i can do with this sort of knowledge?
@ the comment above. You can do a lot of freelance work on online services like RentACoder.com. you can also make a portfolio website for yourself, showing some of your designs and graphic work so clients can get in touch with you professionally.
Even if you have a creative resume don’t forget about keywords. Your resume often has to go through HR and they are given a list of keywords to screen. Even though you probably have those skills, if you don’t use the precise keywords, the hiring manager will never see your resume.
Most of these CVs are very attractive but I’m afraid they don’t fax well; what are the chances of them getting picked up if they are sent in with a CD/Mini CD/DVD/USB or any digital media together with the designer’s portfolio? Any HR experts here?
My goodness, do people still use faxes!?
I haven’t used one in at least five years, and even then it was one of those fax-to-email services rather than an actual fax!
I would have thought all CVs would be emailed or sent online electronically in some way nowadays?