Free Guide to Build a Winning Resume for Creative Careers

Learn how to write a compelling CV in this PDF with advice and examples on what to include in order to land your dream job in the creative industry

For creatives, a resume doesn’t just need to provide employers with key information: it’s also a chance to show off your personality and skills through design choices.

Creative recruiter Nikky Lyle (@nikkylyle) has been connecting candidates and companies for over a decade. Here, she shares a step-by-step guide for creating a CV that will leave an impression.

Nikky has ten years' experience and her own recruitment agency, which aims to make the creative industry more diverse and equal. For the past decade, she has worked for top agencies and brands in Europe and throughout the world, connecting them with the right candidates.

What makes a strong creative resume?

In her course, Nikky explains that the most important thing for a creative to remember is that your resume is a factual document. It should match the design language of your portfolio if possible, but it shouldn’t include tons of imagery and busy layouts. Leave the fancy flourishes to your portfolio itself.

It should be clear, concise, and include your essential information as well as a hint of your personality and what would make you a great hire.

What should a creative resume include?

Nikky explains that a standard CV template is made up of five main sections. These are:

1. About Me

2. Career Experience

3. Education

4. Software Skills

5. Hobbies and Interests

She stresses that recruiters and employers can review hundreds of CVs a day. To capture their attention you need to keep it concise, preferably on one A4 page (two maximum).

What’s particularly important for artists and designers to keep in mind? Here are just a few more thoughts to get you considering how to answer this creative challenge…

1. Make sure your contact details are prominent in the design: near the top, or in a column. The font should be easily readable.

2. Tie the design of your CV and portfolio together. They should feel like a fluid document, so try using the same colors, fonts, and dividers.

3. Be careful with listing software skills: Nikky advises against “rating” them with a graph or using icons to demonstrate your skill level. Stating it in words is clearer.

4. Only include a photo if you’re in a market where that’s popular: Nikky’s general rule is yes to photos in the US and Europe, and no in the UK.

5. If you haven’t freelanced, include specific clients within your agency jobs: give an idea of the brand size you’re used to working with.

Download the free guide to craft a creative resume

For more advice on building a winning CV step by step, download Nikky Lyle's Anatomy of CV guide, in which she shares advice and examples on what to include (and what not to include...) to help you land your dream job in creative industries.

After clicking the download button, you’ll find a PDF titled Free Guide to Craft a Creative Resume by Nikky Lyle in the Downloads folder on your computer.

Don't miss this course to enjoy many more resources: Nikky Lyle’s course, Resumes for Creatives: Craft Your CV and Cover Letter.

Discover more resources to kickstart a creative career in 2022

1. Get ready for interviews and presentations with these eight tips on public speaking.

2. Learn from eight creatives about how they turned their passions into careers.

3. Upskill this year with this list of ten online graphic design courses.

4. Get ready for a freelance career and become your own boss with this course by Martina Flor.

5. Thinking outside the box is key to an artistic career: stretch your creative muscles with this creative thinking 101 course by Nick Eagleton.