Five Ideas for Creating an Effective CV
You might be dipping a toe back into the job market or looking for a way to wow the recruiter at your dream company.
These candidates advertise their qualifications and skills in all sorts of different ways, from elegantly minimal CVs to witty tongue-in-cheek resumes and even going so far as to create a complete personal brand.
Read on to find inspiration for your own resume design, and use Adobe InDesign to bring it to life!
1. Introduce a Pop of Colour!
Most resumes are traditionally rendered in black and white, but a subtle pop of colour can really give your layout a lift!
Here, User Interface Designer Molly Nix presents her credentials in a mostly traditional format, but engages the eye with a multi-colored feature at the top trim edge of the page.
Design: Molly Nix
Slovenian Web Designer and Developer Admir Hadzic gives a very slick update to his tech-inspired resume, with a flash of neon yellow.
Design: Admir Hadzic
Texas-based designer Justin Pocta gives his elegant, traditional resume a burst of energy with a subtle splash of orange.
Design: Justin Pocta
2. Make a CV Memorable with a Photo
Danish graphic designer and art director Pernille Posselt livens up a minimal resume layout with a couple of friendly, artfully-executed photos.
Use photos with caution in your own resume design, but a well-chosen image(s) can lend warmth to your design, and give your CV instant memorability. Learn more about working with images in your own InDesign layouts here.
Design: Pernille Posselt
OK, so it’s not a traditional ‘photo’, but graphic designer Anton Yermolov’s quirky digitised self-portrait certainly gives his resume that elusive stand-out quality, and is paired with beautifully-presented icons summarising his skills, experience and interests.
Design: Anton Yermolov
3. Present your CV as an Infographic
Infographics are an eye-catching and memorable way of presenting large amounts of information, and are super simple to recreate using the drawing tools available in InDesign.
French digital designer Gabriel Ghnassia transforms his credentials into a simple, easy-to-digest infographic design, rendered in tints of grey and pastels.
Design: Gabriel Ghnassia
An unusual and ambitious design from London-based designer Matteo Reggi, this infographic-inspired resume surely deserves to be mounted on the wall!
Design: Matteo Reggi
4. Push the Boat Out!
If you’re applying for a super-creative job in design or advertising, consider using your resume to showcase your creative talents.
Norwegian designer Vidar Olufsen created a witty ‘top secret’ file to contain his CV (incorporated into a passport design, complete with fingerprints!) and references. Perhaps not the best design choice for more formal roles, but an ad or design agency will no doubt swoon over such a clever and creative resume style.
Design: Vidar Olufsen
5. Market Yourself by Creating your Own Brand…
Why not consider giving your own good name a marketing makeover, and create a personal brand?
This can be an understated move – consider transforming your name into a slick and simple logo, to make your name memorable and elevate your status from immemorable candidate to an investment-worthy brand.
Nottingham-based graphic designer Ross Sweetmore takes the personal brand concept to a whole new level. A signature-based logo is incorporated across a range of self-promotional materials – from beautifully designed business cards to a beautifully minimal CV. A simple, eye-catching colour palette of white, black and yellow makes Ross’ resume seriously easy on the eye.
Design: Ross Sweetmore
Whether you swing towards minimal and classic or want to create something more experimental, we hope these resume examples have helped to get your creative juices flowing. Happy job hunting! Find more design inspiration here.