Resume For A Creative Professional - Tips From Creative Resume Writers

Creative careers require a great deal of imagination, original thinking and the ability to come up with non-trivial ideas. However, no matter the type of creative job, every job-seeker needs a professional resume and a cover letter to get considered for their desired position. Digital marketers, graphic designers, copywriters, multimedia managers, and other professionals should present their work history and accomplishments in a way that would compel the hiring manager.

In today's article, we are going to explain how a creative resume is different from that for a more traditional industry (for example, finance, federal, or manufacturing roles). We will also suggest some tried-and-true strategies to help you beat applicant tracking software and impress the hiring manager.

Want a new resume ASAP? Resumeperk.com offers an infographic resume service which is targeted at people in digital and creative industries. Our resume writer will partner with a graphic designer to draft a custom visual resume. We develop each infographic resume from scratch, emphasizing your unique skills and abilities. We also offer a 2-week free revision period if you believe that a brand-new resume could be further improved.

How are resumes for creative professionals different?

Before we move on to professional resume writing rules and principles, let's consider the main features of creative industry resumes:

✔ More freedom of expression. Creative agencies and IT firms are characterized by less bureaucracy and more relaxed corporate culture. This applies to recruitment and hiring process as well. As a marketing manager, content writer or graphic illustrator, you can use non-traditional resume format and visually brighter traditional resume. Using a bright design resume is often appreciated and seen as a display of your creativity.

✔ Be different, but don't violate the basic resume rules. Using an infographic resume, your personal logo or a custom template will surely draw the attention of a human resources manager. Yet, if you skip some essential career information, attach a resume that contains pictures only or send in an essay or a poem instead of a resume, this may have an opposite effect. Remember that a resume is a business document in the first place, and should outline the benefits of hiring you to employers.

✔ Portfolio is essential. As a creative pro, you have a great opportunity to display skills and accomplishments in a portfolio of works. A copywriter, creative director or a web developer can attach the link to their previous projects so that the recruiter could evaluate their skills and impact before the interview.

10 resume writing tips & strategies for creatives

Emphasize your management skills.

Creative pros in managerial or executive-level positions should emphasize their ability to run a creative team, define a strategy, or negotiate with clients. Highlight your soft skills as being a good creative manager requires the ability to organize work of others and develop every member of the team, and hiring managers seek these skills in the first place.

Include the artistic education.

If you were a student at prestigious arts college, be sure to emphasize this fact. If you were self-taught, however, it's no time to worry. List your training, online courses and certifications. Continuous education and development is valued highly across many creative fields, and listing lots of courses and workshops you took will definitely give you a head start in your job search.

Prepare accurate professional history.

Try to highlight your career progression, relevance to the target position and how you applied creative abilities to solve practical tasks of a business. Don't just say that you have "excellent Adobe Illustrator skills" - mention what types of digital and printed images you created using this piece of software, and what results they achieved for you employer. Experts recommend that you focus on 4-5 most recent and relevant jobs, and if you have sufficient relevant experience, you can skip irrelevant jobs.

Be specific about your scope of work.

The role of an SMM manager of a web designer may entail different responsibilities depending on your employer and industry. Our professional resume service recommends that you mention the type of employer or client your worked for. Was it a small SMM agency, a large advertising company or a corporation? Did you work with a niche media or a nation-wide known retailer? Being specific will help human resources manager evaluate your skillset more accurately.

List your key projects with a brief description.

If you offered services to clients as a freelancer, it makes sense to write a project-centered resume. List the longest and most important project in a chronological order. Similarly, mention the client's name, industry, company size and specify what exactly your role entailed. If you had many projects during your career, include 2-3 bullets under each project to summarize the cruical details.

Review your social media accounts.

As a creative pro, you know how impactful social media is for making an impression about a person. Therefore, take a critical look at all your social media pages, as the employer will look for them. Hide or delete any content or posts which might make an unprofessional impression. Consider setting up a LinkedIn profile. Not only it will boost your online presense, but also can serve as a place to store portfolio of works if you don't have a personal website.

Focus on results and accomplishments.

Being creative and full of bright, original ideas is essential to work in digital and arts industry. Yet, employers look for people who can apply their talent to help business grow, attract more customers and gain recognition. So, give the examples of how you successfully did this in the past. Here's an example for a design resume: "Developed 250+ graphic design projects in a year, including catalogs, brochures, logos, and presentations."

Craft a strong introduction.

Professional resume writers emphasize the importance of a good introduction for getting your resume read. Write a 3-4 sentence summary that would present your graphic design experience, versatility, and career accomplishments. If you have some unique competencies or received a prestigious certification or award, mention that as well. Use the summary as an elevator pitch in written that helps you stand out and markets what's unique about you.

Insert relevant keywords.

ATS is used by many creative companies and agencies. To pass through an electronic gatekeeper, you need to use specific keywords in a resume and cover letters. The best way to do so is to use the same language that a job posting uses and include skills and credential the employer requires. You can also include Skills section - in this case, they will work as keywords. Using keywords at the top of the document makes is more ATS friendly and can bring more interviews.

Prepare other job-search documents as well.

After resume writing it's also time to take care of other application documents. Did you know that 45% of recruiters will reject a resume for not including a cover letter? If you're not sure how to write letters effectively, our website offers LinkedIn profile, cover letters and thank-you notes writing for graphic design, arts, acting and other creative professionals. Send us a link to a job posting, and our resume writing services will take care of everything.

Why order your professional resume and cover letter from experts?

Design, marketing and arts professionals know that artistic careers are rewarding yet time-consuming. Moreover, if you want to beat the competition and get hired to the company or project, the resume should effectively present your value over other applicants.

Expert resume writers of our website help both entry-level and executive-level candidates to get noticed for their dream position. Resume writer works one-on-one with you to build a winning resume until you're satisfied. We offer 24-hour delivery for professionals who are in a rush, so that you could apply to a dream agency or client the next day.

Resumeperk.com offers a resume writing service at a cheap cost. Our resume fees start at $87. Custom writing, keywording and design are included in a single fee. At a less than a day's pay you can get your resume enhanced and open more job prospects. Moreover, we offer 20% to every new customer. Contact us via chat to claim your code today.