Job hunting can be pretty challenging, especially for creatives and artists like you. How do you grab the attention of potential recruiters?
Designers, photographers, and graphic artists share the same dilemma of wanting to stand out in the creative industry. A modern and creative resume will help you showcase what you bring to the table and highlight your skills and talents.
Today, we’ll help you overhaul the look and feel of your traditional looking resume into a sleek and modern refresh using Photoshop.
If you’re not sure how to make a resume on Photoshop, then our guide will navigate you through a step by step process. We’re sharing some of our best design tips on how to format, lay out, and structure your resume in Photoshop.
Plus, take inspiration from the best Photoshop resume templates to get you started in no time. Or, use these Photoshop resume templates and make them your own through customization!
Why You Need a Creative Resume
A traditional resume is straightforward. However, it prevents you from showcasing your creativity. Sometimes, it's just a dull looking document full of words that recruiters won't even bother reading.
While creative resumes in Photoshop aren't for everyone, it’s very beneficial for applicants vying for a job in any creative industry. From photographers, graphic designers to illustrators, creativity is the main core of your job. Thus, a creative Photoshop resume will help your potential recruiters gauge how you think outside the box.
Your resume is a powerful tool to get hiring managers to notice you. It's a perfect example of what you can do. It also serves as a branding opportunity to tell your prospective employer of who you are as a professional and as a person.
How to Make a Creative Resume in Photoshop
If you decide that a creative Photoshop resume is best for you, then you don't have to invest as much time researching what you can do to make your resume stand out.
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Here's a guide full of design tips and best practices on how to make a resume in Photoshop:
1. Gather and Organize Your Content
Before you even begin designing your resume on Photoshop, let's work on your content first. What do you want to include in your resume?
Gathering your content together will help you visualize how you want your Photoshop resume to materialize. If you know your content, you can easily build a layout and format that'll best fit them.
A resume is comprised of several sections, but this is the basic information that you shouldn’t forget to include:
- Contact details. Full name, email address, phone number, address.
- Work experience. Job title, company details, date of employment, key responsibilities, and highlight your professional accomplishments.
- Educational background. University/College/Technical school(s), the location of the school(s), graduation date, GPA, and academic honors, if any. Exclude high school unless you didn't attend college.
- Relevant skills. Technical, verbal and non-verbal communication, leadership and management, transferable skills, etc.
2. Set Up the Perfect Layout
Once you've got the content to include, you can now set up a layout on how you'll present them creatively. When choosing how you want to lay out your resume on Photoshop, it's important to keep in mind that your content should be presented in a clear, concise, and easy-to-read format.
Recruiters shouldn't take three minutes to find relevant information such as your name or current job role. Most HR staff and hiring managers won’t spend more than one minute looking at a single resume. Be sure that your layout presents the most pressing information first.
For example, place your most impressive qualifications on the top part of your resume. Generally, the top half of your resume should already help the recruiters decide if you've got the skills and qualifications for the role. Any supplemental information should be added on the bottom half of your resume.
What you can do is to work with grids based on the information you want to include in your resume. Place different sections into different grids to visually organize your information. Here’s an example of a simple, but highly striking Photoshop resume template. Take a look at how the different content is sectioned up into different grids.
3. Select the Right Color Palette
Traditional resumes are generally just plain black and white. With a modern and creative resume in Photoshop, you won’t shy away from using color to make your resume pop even more.
Finding the right color palette for your resume should depend on how you want to project yourself. In color psychology, certain colors reflect a certain personality. In marketing, colors are used to evoke a certain emotion. For example, blue is the preferred color for tech companies like IBM and HP because it signifies professionalism.
Based on the main color that you want to use, you can now create a color palette for your resume.
For example, go to the Adobe Color tool to pick a palette that'll blend well with your main color.
Let’s say, you want to use blue as the main color of your resume. Just click on the color wheel and choose a color harmony rule on the left of your screen:
Click the preferred color palette and then click Save to archive it on your Creative Cloud library. When you go back to Photoshop, open Window > Libraries panel > Color Schemes, and you’ll see the color palette you’ve chosen.
4. Use Typography Wisely
Typography is all about how you apply your fonts to certain information on your resume. A design tip is using a typographic hierarchy in your content. A typographic hierarchy is a system of organizing your information in different groupings and degree of importance. This will allow readers to easily find what they're looking for and navigate your content.
Basically, you want to have a different font style and size for your headline and body content. This will separate different ideas and then group common sections together.
You also want to use only one to two fonts in your resume. To categorize different schools of thought, try increasing or decreasing the font size. It’s also important to know when to use bold, italic, or underline formats in your font.
To change the existing text of a PSD template, select the character(s) that you want to update. Choose the Text layer in the Layers panel to change the font of all characters in a layer. Then, use the buttons and menus in the options bar to change the font type, style, size, alignment, and color.
5. Add Photos, If Necessary
As a general rule, your profile photo isn't really necessary. Certain countries don't require a candidate's photo. However, if you want to make an impression, go ahead and add that.
As for other use of images, you can add a background photo to spice up your resume on Photoshop. The trick here is to make sure that it won't be distracting. It should complement your design and still should make your content the focal point of your Photoshop resume.
For instance, let’s customize this CV PSD template by changing the image. Simply open layer Objects and scroll down until you find IMAGE smart object layer. Double click on the layer. A .psh window will appear. Paste your image here. Save and close the smart object .psb.
6. Attract Attention With Infographics
Ever thought of adding infographics into your resume? It’s a great way to unleash your creative side. Data, numbers, and facts are best presented not in words, but in a visual manner. With infographics, you won’t just be dusting off your resume. You'll also be making certain information a lot easier to digest.
So, what information can you transform into infographics? Start with the skills section. Instead of just listing down your technical or professional skills in a bullet form, you can spruce it up with the use of infographics. Use icons, bars, or graphs to make your skills even more visually appealing.
For example, the following resume template is a perfect example of how you can incorporate infographics into your resume on Photoshop. There’s a timeline section to illustrate the candidate’s career progression. There’s even a global map to highlight the regions or countries the candidate has worked with in the past.
7. Make It Your Own Brand
Lastly, your resume should reflect who you are. Therefore, it must be unique and representative of what you can bring into your future company. Use little touches of effort to make it your own.
Your future employer will surely appreciate it if you elevate your resume into something that stands out. Treat your resume like your branding. For example, you can create a personal branding logo to complement your resume.
Creating a highly personalized and creative resume is a bit taxing. For a complete guide, learn more on How to Create a Great Resume (Ultimate Guide).
5 Creative Photoshop PSD Resume Template Designs for 2019
If you don’t want to work from scratch or don't know where and how to start, using a Photoshop resume template will help you maximize your time and effort. Plus, resume templates will inspire you to get you some ideas to make your creative Photoshop resume a standout.
If you work with digital assets, think templates, presentations, photos, music and more, you should consider getting yourself Envato Elements membership. With a growing library of over 1.2 million digital resources it's a one stop shop for many smart creatives and organizations.
Here are some of the most beautiful and highly stunning Photoshop resume templates to draw inspiration from:
1. Booklet Resume Template
This tastefully designed resume template will help you craft a pretty memorable impression to your potential employer.
Best for: designers and artists with an extensive portfolio to showcase.
2. FERNS Resume/CV + Cover Letter
This Photoshop resume template has a design aesthetic that's minimalistic in nature, but with a modern look.
Best for: Job applicants seeking to be part of fashion and interior design industries.
3. Professional Resume
Intended to make a lasting impression, this Photoshop resume template has a professional and neat design. It only has a single use of color to maintain a clean finish.
Best for: Creatives who want to maintain a level of professionalism.
4. Creative Resume & CV Template
A stunning resume template on Photoshop, this exudes elegance. It's got an impressive and unique aesthetics that'll surely captivate any recruiter.
Best for: Artists who want to immediately stand out.
5. Pro Resume
This resume template is simple, but with modern and energetic aura. This will grab any hiring manager’s attention in an instant.
Best for: Anyone who wants a fast but effective way to refresh his or her resume
For more, check out curated list of creative resume templates:
Use Your Photoshop Resume to Showcase Your Creativity
Hunting for your dream job has never been more competitive. You're going against several fierce applicants who will surely put their best foot forward.
To instantly catch your potential recruiter's undivided attention, a creative Photoshop resume will surely make an impression. Follow this guide on how to make a resume in Photoshop to quickly get you on the right track.
You can also get inspired by our five best creative Photoshop resume templates as featured in this article. For more quality templates to amp up your Photoshop resume, visit Envato Elements or GraphicRiver items.
