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Practically speaking, the primary point of contact while looking for a job as a designer is your resume or curriculum vitae. This document is so important because it serves as the sole criterion used to determine whether you will be interviewed for the job or not. There are numerous guidelines for creating this one document because it differs from industry to industry.
Despite this fact, some individuals are often found applying for jobs using the same resume format. In my perspective, this document is not a one-size-fits-all, for instance, a business development professional would write their resume differently from a developer.
Additionally, a resume for academic pursuit differs greatly from a work resume. There are many templates available online that you can follow but I want to draw your attention to common mistakes in design resumes. From my experience applying for graduate school, to lecturing and also going full time on UX design, I share resume tips to guide you as you craft your resume.
Remove Unnecessary Personal Information 🚮
When you meet someone for the first time, it’s normal to introduce yourself and discuss where you’re from, your hobbies, and other topics but these are not details that should be in your design resume. Things such as your nationality, local government area, state of origin, religion, date of birth, gender, marital status, watching TV or reading books as a hobby e.t.c are not essential information to disclose.
The list is extensive but I’d say, except you’re applying to work in your local government or political office that requires such background checks, remove such details from your resume. I’d like to stress that it’s risky to provide such personal information about yourself in this day and age of job and internet scams, so take caution.
In addition, It’s not a good idea to stuff your resume with lengthy details such that it’s 2–3 pages long. While it’s acceptable to go into great detail about your education, research, publications, interests and references in an academic resume, which might have numerous pages — keep in mind that a UX design resume should be concise and to the point. Your portfolio link, email address, and phone number are the key personal details a recruiter needs to get in touch with you.
Make your resume easy to scan 🔦
The truth is, recruiters often don’t have the time to read through your lengthy paragraphs because they have to sift through many resumes in search of a prospect to hire. Therefore, you want to make it easy for them to quickly read about you from your resume. Some companies utilize AI to check for pertinent keywords. If your resume doesn’t contain any of these, it gets discarded. So, when describing your prior work experiences and skills, you should include relevant keywords especially those written in the job description.
One common mistake I see designers make is gauging their skills by point scales. These metrics are a poor choice to describe your skill set because they don’t provide context. Listing your skills and referencing the things you’ve built with those skills is a much better alternative to demonstrating your proficiency.
Tell the truth about your experience 👩🏽💻
You've probably heard people tell you to "tailor your experience to a job or company". Nevertheless, I urge you to be honest and refrain from claiming experience you don't truly have. In a situation where you transitioned from a different industry, not having any UX work experience and are unsure of what to put in the experience section, use that section to write about your impact at your previous job, your transferable skills, and any UX projects you have completed while enrolled in a course or bootcamp.
For instance, if your background is in education, marketing or law, emphasize on your research, communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills you developed while working in those fields. People often question whether they should include their education in their resume even if they didn't pursue a degree in tech; the answer is yes.
If you are still a student and just finished a bootcamp or UX course, try to volunteer or collaborate with other designers like yourself and build a project that you can add to your resume. Back it up with some personal projects and certifications to show that you have potential. In the education section, you can indicate that your degree is in view since you are still in school.
Free resume templates 📑
When it comes to utilizing templates, I advice that you customize it to suit your own experience and style. Don’t just copy everything you see in a template; templates are there to guide you, not act as a strict rule to follow. That being said, below is a resume template I created this template for designers; it contains template for both designers with and without experience.
🔗 Resume template for product designers (UX/UI)
Take Away 🎁
Over the years, my resume has evolved into a document made mainly of links. This is due to my experience and digital footprints, which I believe are more credible ways to demonstrate my expertise and skills than outlining in detail all I have done in a single document, which, of course, would not contain a single page. Below is my gift to you 🤗, my very own resume for you to draw inspiration, although I must mention that the contact infomation displayed is not accurate so don’t bother dialing the number or sending a mail 🤪.
Observe how my resume appears simple yet contains numerous UX keywords, including tools you may find in a UX job description. I included this on purpose in case the first point of contact is A.I rather than a human. That said, I was very hesitant about including my resume to this article. I must mention that my resume is not a standard neither is it static, use it as an inspiration. I implore you to be creative and express your own unique experience and personality in your resume. I hope you found this article helpful.
Check out my article on job hunting — here. You can also schedule free mentorship sessions with me on ADPlist — here
Thanks for reading to this point and I wish you success 🥳.
🖤 Nabhel
