We’ve all felt intimidated by the high numbers listed on LinkedIn of other people who’ve also applied for a job in which we’re interested. But don’t be afraid: landing the perfect job includes learning how to present yourself, using keywords that speak to job recruiters, and marketing your skills and experiences in a way that helps you stand out. The first step is deciding what your desired role is; from there, you can strategize and build a ux/ui designer resume that lines you up well for securing said position. But first, let’s clear up what resumes are and why they’re important.
Resumes: What are they?
Resumes or CVs are formal documents that outline one’s education, work experience, skills, achievements, and other relevant information. They are a professional form of communication between you and a potential employer and offer a summary of all you can offer their company. The format or content of your resume may differ depending on the job you’re applying for or the requirements of the job application, but typically include the following five sections:
Contact information: include your full name, your email address, your phone number and optional inclusion of your LinkedIn profile or a link to your personal website.
Tip: make sure your contact information is professional. We all have silly emails from middle school, but that should not be the image you want to give to a potential employer.
Tip: many folks include their home address or current city on their resume, we’d recommend only including that information if you’re applying for a position locally.
Introduction: crafting a compelling introduction is a great way to capture the eye of potential employers. Make sure that introduction is concise and showcases your greatest accomplishments.
Tip: this introduction should be 2-3 sentences maximum.
Tip: use concise and action oriented language to showcase your strengths and versatility.
Education: include details of your educational background, degrees earned, majors/minors, GPA (optional), and dates of completion. Relevant coursework, honors and academic awards may also be included.
Tip: if you’re new to the field or if you are writing a ux/ui designer resume with no experience, including relevant coursework here may be helpful. Otherwise it’s not necessary to include your coursework and high school information.
Experience: list your work experience in reverse chronological order. Include the company name, the job title, the dates of employment, the location, and a bullet point summary of your responsibilities and achievements.
Tip: when possible, provide numbers to showcase the measurable impact you had on the organization.
Skills: highlight your relevant skills for the position. This list should include both hard (technical abilities) and soft skills (communication and interpersonal skills).
Tip: the goal here is to show that you’re well-rounded, versatile, and can adapt to the various tasks of the job you’re applying for.
Tip: do not go over the top with listing your skills. Instead, depending on the position you’re applying for, tailor your skills and resume to what they’re looking for.
Why are resumes important?
In the days of LinkedIn, online job applications, and AI-generated cover letters, dedicating time to creating a resume may seem daunting. However, it’s precisely because of these technological developments that creating an old school style resume is important. LinkedIn is oversaturated with profiles to the point that outlining your skills and customizing your resume for a specific application may give you the competitive advantage you need in order to score the job. Resumes remain important for the following reasons:
Specific job applications: yes, it’s easy to click the “apply now” button on LinkedIn. However, it’s becoming more common that employers ask for your resume as part of the job application. They do so because they know that resumes allow you to tailor your skills, qualifications, and experiences directly to the job requirements.
Concise overview: writing a resume forces you to format your skills and expertise in a concise and professional way. The standard structure allows for employers to quickly scan for your qualifications, work experiences and achievements.
Offline networking: it’s not uncommon that someone you meet at a job fair or a networking event asks first for your resume as opposed to your LinkedIn profile. People have thousands of LinkedIn contacts, that said, being able to hand them a professional hard copy of your resume may lead to a lasting connection with which a LinkedIn “follow” simply cannot compete.
Investing time in your resume, updating it regularly, customizing it for specific job applications, and being prepared to share it with new contacts may be what ultimately helps you stand out and land that dream job.
Resumes for UX/UI Designers
The standard resume template is a good base to work from, yet the task for tech professionals is to adapt that resume for the specific positions for which they are applying. In the case of UX/UI designers, whether you’re hoping to secure UX/UI designer freelance work, you’re new to the field, or you have decades of experience, crafting the perfect UX/UI designer resume remains important.
Type of resumes in UX/UI Design
The content of all resumes is relatively the same, but the way you choose to organize said content will emphasize different parts of your professional background and what you bring to the table. It’s up to you to decide how to organize your UX/UI designer resume, but there are three main resume types: a reverse-chronological order resume, a functional resume, and a hybrid resume. Let’s explore the differences:
Reverse-chronological order resumes: are most likely the resume format with which you’re most familiar. It lists your work experience starting with the most recent and going backwards. In this way, it shows your career progression and your most relevant experiences first. However, if your most recent experience isn’t what you want to showcase or if you’ve had many gaps in your resume, there might be a more strategic resume format to use.
Functional resumes: focus on highlighting your skills instead of timelining your work experience. You’ll categorize your abilities and achievements under distinct sections and call attention to specific expertise that may not be immediately apparent though listing your work experience. This format is useful if you haven't had a consistent clear pathway because it allows you to showcase your transferable skills and emphasize the parts of your career pathway that feel most relevant to the current jobs for which you’re applying.
Hybrid resumes: are exactly what they sound like, a mixture of reverse-chronological order resumes and functional resumes. The hybrid resume allows you to offer a balanced approach by showcasing both your most relevant skills and work experiences. It’s a great option if you want to emphasize both your expertise and career progression.
Your UX/UI designer resume should be adapted to your specific circumstances, your current career position, and how you want to represent yourself to potential employers. These are the three standard approaches and are all considered professional forms to present yourself. That said, the choice is up to you to find the approach that represents you the strongest to potential employers.
Different sections of your UX/UI designer resume
Professional summary
The professional summary is essentially a resume headline for a UX/UI designer. It’s the first thing a potential employer will ready and will help you stand out, zero in on your career goals, emphasize your specific achievements, and showcase your versatility. Remember to steer away from using empty buzzwords like “passionate,” or “leader,” and instead emphasize your initiative and your specific measurable achievements using action verbs and numerical data. The summary should be a maximum of three sentences.
Tip: it’s tempting to mention your current role and other work experience in your professional summary, however, that’s already listed in your resume. Focus specifically on your achievements and impact in the summary.
Professional experience
Outline your previous work experience on your UX/UI designer resume. Include the company names, the location and the time you worked there. Emphasize UX and UI-specific abilities that you utilized in the description of the roles and responsibilities. And finally, note specific projects, accomplishments, and outcomes that demonstrate your skills and impact.
Tip: if you don’t have much experience as a ux/ui designer, writing a UX/UI designer resume may feel stressful, but do not let your lack of specific UX/UI job titles exclude you from applying for your dream job. It’s on you to write a junior UX/UI designer resume, draw out your transferable skills, experiences, and involvement in other relevant professional settings, and demonstrate that you will make a strong ux/ui designer.
Portfolio
For UX/UI designers, including a portfolio of previous work is crucial in securing design jobs. Potential employers want to see your range of skills, the variety of projects you’ve worked on, and examples of work that demonstrate your design process, your problem solving skills, and the impact of your work. Each item in your portfolio should be briefly described, and your specific role and key contributions explained.
Sharing a strong portfolio with a potential employer will give you the creative edge in the job selection process, and can be additionally important if you do not have too much work experience as a UX/UI designer. Include it as part of a UX/UI designer beginner resume or a freelance UX/UI designer resume. Devote time to your portfolio and provide it to potential employers as either a link to an online portfolio or as a PDF.
Skills
Listing your skills on your UX/UI designer and developer resume is extremely important to showcasing your range of abilities, your versatility, and your technical and soft skills. These skills may include:
Technical skills: software proficiency, wireframing, prototyping, interaction design, graphic design, and any relevant programming languages.
Soft skills: communication skills, teamwork, collaboration, time management, adaptability, presentation skills, and problem solving skills.
Tip: even if you do not have professional work experience as a UX/UI designer, outlining these skills will help communicate your competencies and ability to take on the responsibilities as a UX/UI designer. It’s important to include these skills in your UX/UI designer beginner resume and get applying to entry-level positions as well as other jobs you feel qualified for.
If you’ve followed these tips, your UX/UI designer resume will be well on its way! Remember, your resume is one of the ways you’ll present yourself professionally and should be curated to each job application and company. Keep it concise, highlight only your most relevant skills and experiences, make it visually appealing, and get ready to stand out among other candidates. We wish you the best of luck!
If you want more experience in UX/UI design before taking the leap and writing a resume, or if you simply want to brush up on those skills, check out our UX/UI Designer Bootcamp!
