Write a Resume that gets interviews
67.
That’s how many jobs I applied for to get my first UX design job.
I’ve got my first CV up on my other monitor as I write this post (I searched through my old files to find it) and I can definitely see why it took 83 attempts 😂
I’ve written a personal statement which I took from my CV to apply for my Topshop job when I was at college. So it doesn’t apply to design at all.
I have a weird structure where my Education information is at the top and takes up most of the space.
My experience section doesn’t sell any of my design skills.
I can keep going..
I remember my interview for that first job.. They were surprised as my ability as a designer which further validates how poorly my CV was communicating my ability. I wondered if there was a mistake when I was invited to the interview based my CV. Thankfully I was able to communicate my abilities and showcase what I am capable of in the interview.
The CV is your foot in the door. You need to get them interested enough to think there is potential and the rest of the work is done in the interview. Remember this when writing your CV - you don’t need to add everything - you can tell them all the details in the interview!
What is a CV/Resume?
It is a summary of all of your past work experiences and education and the skills and knowledge you have gained from this experience. It is the document you send to companies and recruiters to show them you are right for a job they are advertising (along with your portfolio in the design industry).
You need to see your CV as your sales pitch to the company. What are all the things you want them to know about you to show them you can do the job. How can you portray yourself in the best light and highlight all the great things about you as a designer?
So how should you approach writing your CV?
I asked you on Instagram what questions you would like me to answer about this topic and here were the most common questions:
How long should I make my Resume?
It’s important to remember that your CV needs to be one page if you are early in your career and only have one or two years experience. There are very rare scenarios where it is justified to make it longer than one page for example if you have a lot of experience with companies you want to tell your new employer or if you had a career change and the previous career is very relevant to your new career.
What things do I need to include in my Resume?
So now that you know you have one page to work with - you need to pick sections that will fit on that page. The goal here is to work out what pieces of content are most relevant for that job role.
Here’s a list of some common sections designers include in their CV:
Personal statement
Experience
Achievements
Recognition
Education
Skills
Tools
Contact details
What are some do’s and don’ts with the CV/Resume?
Make sure you write your CV so it matches what the industry is looking for with your desired role. So if you’re applying for a junior product designer role, make sure you research what companies are looking for so you can talk about your skills and experience in a way which shows you can do the role.
Only add things which are relevant to the role. So if you have an accomplishment or experience which you’re really proud of but it isn’t relevant to the role then don’t feel the need to add it. The goal is to keep the CV as succinct as possible so adding irrelevant information will risk the important information not being seen.
Do not clutter your CV. This is one of the things designers struggle with when first writing their CV - they want to try to add everything and the CV becomes very cluttered. Again the recruiter is going to spend literally a few seconds looking through your CV so the more white space, the easier it will be for them to scan.
Communicate your outcomes! Saying you did a task is not enough. Eg “Conducted user research sessions”. You need to highlight the outcome or value the company got from this. So that sentence would be “conducting user research sessions to identify customer problems to define project direction”
Talk about how you bought value to the business with the designs you have created so the hiring manager can see the value you can bring to their business.
Try to avoid big paragraphs, instead break your sections into bullet points so it is easier for the reader to scan and digest the information. I often highlight a specific word or phrase in bold so if the hiring manager is scanning, they can pick up what I want them to see.
Checklist
✅ Avoid having more than 2 types of typefaces or fonts.
✅ Don’t use too many different colours
✅ Add white space in between different sections
✅ Don’t add too little information (I’ve seen designers list their skills in their experience section instead of providing examples)
✅ Have a minimum of 3 bullet points for each place you have worked
✅ Your bullet points need to be 1 sentence not multiple sentences
✅ Please don’t add your photo - hiring managers and recruiters have subconscious biases
If you’re interested in learning more about how to create your perfect CV, take a look at my CV workbook which goes into all of the things I’ve mentioned in this post in more detail with step by step guidance on how to tackle each of the points.
Things I include in the workbook
How to structure your Resume
How to write your experience
How to communicate your skills
Good luck with writing your CV and feel free to message me if you have any questions or need some support!
Ari
