6 Killer resume tips from a Graphic Designer
You’ve got the skills, but how do you make them stand out to potential employers? It might be tempting to enhance your CV with pictures and fancy designs, but ultimately all you need is a document that is cleanly designed and easy to read. A good graphic designer will steer you away from fancy embellishments despite the temptation, because it takes away the focus of the subject; YOU! Here’s 6 resume tips straight from our team of designers.
White space is your friend
Most people are so keen to put as much information as they can into their resume that it ends up looking like a cluttered mess. Graphic designers love using white space because it gives the content room to breathe. Always use margins and never have text sitting right to the edge of the paper. The reader will be quietly cursing you for it! A design does not always need to be filled up with content and imagery. Some gaps and spaces are normal and often necessary to bring balance.
Break up your content with headings and sections
Like everything in the design world, there should always be a hierarchy in your content, to keep it from looking like one big blur. Make sure you are breaking up your text with headings and subheadings to allow people to easily skim through your resume and take note of the most important points.
Avoid images unless they serve a purpose
Remember, a CV is not a portfolio. Adding images and graphics to the design in order to make it seem ‘more exciting’ is adding nothing important for the reader. It only takes focus away from the important information, which is your skills and work history. Using a small image of yourself is up to personal preference but again should not be what stands out.
Stay away from large blocks of text
Nothing turns people off more than lengthy rambling paragraphs on a CV. Resumes shouldn’t contain large essay-length paragraphs, but single sentences and dot points instead. Think like a minimalist when you’re putting together your resume content, and only keep the essential points. Trust us, employers will love you for it. If someone really wants to know your life story, they can ask.
Save your final resume as a pdf
Remember to make everyone’s life easier when saving your final file. Exporting properly is crucial as your resume will no doubt travel to people with different computers, different systems, different software etc. Never send through your resume as a word document, because the risk is too high that someone will open it in a different program, causing your formatting to have a mental breakdown. Always save it as a pdf and a small one at that. Potential employers won’t appreciate a 20mb file that takes up their inbox! A low-resolution pdf will retain the nice formatting you have implemented while also being a breeze to view and download.
A resume is a representation of you on paper and needs to hone in on your best features and strengths. Considering these 6 resume design tips when creating yours will be beneficial to you and every other person that it comes into contact with. Stick to the basics, implement some balance and then apply for that job with gusto!
