How to design a resume for designers (and everyone else): structure and layout

Step 1

Start with the job ad

People read a resume to decide whether you fit a specific role. In its advice to candidates, Google suggests keeping your old resume only for inspiration, starting each application from a blank document and aligning your experience with the job description. Before writing, highlight in the ad:

• •the required qualifications: they should be visible in your resume without searching;
• •tools and skills mentioned more than once;
• •tasks you've already handled in study or work projects;
• •the words the company uses to describe the role, and use them if they're true of you.

Step 2

Structure

The order of sections should follow what matters most to the reader. For a designer, this structure usually works:

• •name, role and contacts: email, phone or Telegram, city or time zone;
• •portfolio link: right under the contacts, clickable;
• •short summary: two or three sentences on who you are, your strengths and the role you want;
• •experience or projects: newest first;
• •skills and tools: a short list;
• •education, courses and languages.

💡 Skip skill bars like "Figma: 80%". They explain nothing: show the skill in a project description instead.

Step 3

Write about results

Compare "responsible for website design" with "redesigned the sign-up page, and applications went up": the second shows what you can do. Google suggests a formula: accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]. If you don't have numbers, describe the change qualitatively but specifically, and never make up metrics.

• •start each line with an action: "designed", "ran", "rebuilt";
• •for every project: the task, your role and the result;
• •if you have little experience, Google suggests including study projects and coursework that show the relevant skills;
• •experience from another field counts: client work, analytics, organizing. Explain how it helps in design.

Step 4

Layout

A designer's resume is the first layout an employer sees. But flashy design won't save weak content, and it can get in the way of reading. Apply the same rules as to any layout:

• •clear hierarchy: name and role stand out most, section headings all look the same;
• •one or two fonts, with levels separated by size and weight;
• •even spacing and alignment to a grid;
• •enough contrast: WCAG at level AA requires at least 4.5:1 for normal text, so light gray text on white is a bad idea;
• •one accent color, used sparingly: for headings or links.

💡 Google has no length requirement for resumes, but stresses being clear and succinct. If your resume spills onto a second page, check whether every line there is really needed.

Step 5

The file and a final check

Build the resume in whatever app suits you (Figma, Canva, Google Docs or the European Commission's free Europass editor) and save it as a PDF. Make sure the text in the PDF can be selected rather than being an image, so it can be copied and searched. Before sending:

• •give the file a clear name, such as "First-Last-UI-Designer.pdf", not "resume_final_2.pdf";
• •check every link, especially to your portfolio;
• •read the text aloud or ask someone to look for mistakes;
• •open the file on a phone: your resume may be read there too.

💡 Show your resume in the community and ask about something specific: is it clear at first glance who you are and what role you want? That's a check that's hard to do yourself.