Designs on your CV

When we recruit I see a lot of CVs from web designers. Some are amazing, but unfortunately the majority suffer from one or all of a checklist of issues. A few improvements really could make all the difference.

The basics

Whoever receives your CV is likely to be staring at a large stack of them on their desk. They need to be whittled down to a few for interview and brutal decisions have to be made. Make it as easy as possible for the person reviewing those CVs:

• A killer first page – like a good book cover the first page needs to grab the attention and make me want to read the rest.
• Enough, but not too much – one page is too little, five too much. This, like a few of these points, is a balancing act, with a dose of personal preference thrown in for good measure! Work towards a layout and content you feel happy with then get other people to read it.
• Your CV shouldn’t raise too many questions – why is there a gap between jobs? You have a degree, but what classification did you get? Some people might take the time to go back, give feedback and ask questions to get all the information they need from a candidate. Others will be staring at that huge stack again and decide they will probably find other candidates in there and dismiss your CV.
• Tone of voice is key – be optimistic and confident, but don’t be too cocky.
• Be realistic – if you call yourself an expert in Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, php, .net, python, etc you’re either a king among designers, you’re exaggerating or, more likely, you have dabbled in lots of things. Break this list up – list your core strengths and be honest about which you have less experience in.
• Tailor it – if you know web and print, but are applying for a web position then major on that – lead with your web experience.

Some CVs just flow. Others feel like you are eking out details and having to really search for what you are looking for as an employer. It’s not hard to guess which is more likely to hold attention for longer and get the interview.

Designing your CV

CVs generally all look the same – a black and white Word document set in Times. This is the norm if you want to be an accountant. As a designer would you want something which represents you to go out into the world looking like that?

This is your first opportunity to show something creative, and I am always surprised so few designers take it.

Saying this, it still needs to satisfy the first point – make it easy. As you would any clear piece of design work, pay attention to clarity. It needs to be very easy to read – look carefully at font choice, line spacing, sizing and line length.

Being ‘Freelance’

Freelancing is quite often code for being unemployed. If you don’t want an employer to think that then you need to back it up. List clients, some key achievements and maybe show some work examples. Also make sure there is enough to cover the timeframe – one website in three years – what have you been doing?!

At the other end of the scale some applicants put so much focus on their freelance work/website that you question how interested they would be in their day job. Doing some freelance work on the side is cool, but not when it impacts your 9-5.

Recruitment agencies

If you are planning to use a recruitment agency to find work, or apply to a job advertised by one, there a few things worth noting.

A lot of recruitment agencies will send your CV out in their own template, adding their logos and styling and stripping out any formatting and styling you have added. To make sure all the effort you have put in to stand out is not lost, ask your agency to send out the CV you want a potential employer to see.

Another recruitment agency trick is to remove any and all clues to your identity. They do this to protect themselves and it does make a certain amount of business sense for them – clients then cannot approach candidates directly to avoid paying fees. But really, if I am looking to employ someone, I want to see their website, Linkedin profile, Twitter account – everything! If a CV drops onto my desk without it – they will be the first thing I will ask for. No work, no interview.

Different versions

When I was looking for my first full time job I didn’t know what kind of gig I was looking for – agency or in house. I was also quite open to the type of business – I really just wanted to get experience designing and working on websites. This meant I applied to some quite corporate companies and some smaller, edgier agencies.

The same CV for both places would have had to tread a very careful line. One CV would have to get past the vetting of a possibly stuffy HR department. The same CV could then be too formal for an agency role. My solution was to have two versions – one traditional and formal and a second with its top button undone.

Risky tactics

Are you desperate to get a job, or really looking only to move if your dream job is on offer?

If it is the latter then you can almost start to interview employers with your CV. If you have some key viewpoints you feel very strongly about – list them in your CV. Only want to work somewhere that believes strongly in web standards? Put that! If the company you have applied for doesn’t agree with you then maybe it’s not the right place for you to work.

This is definitely a risky tactic, and certainly not for everyone…!

Disclaimer

These are obviously my own personal opinions, based on recruiting in-house designers in the UK, but I think a lot of these suggestions are broad enough to be useful for most people, but go with your gut – at the end of the day your CV needs to represent you.