• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • College Loans
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • College Loans
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise

You are here: Home / Career / Color Shock: A Resume Guide for Design Majors

Color Shock: A Resume Guide for Design Majors

December 10, 2014 //  by Kendall Russell//  Leave a Comment

FacebookTweet

Crafting a resume surely seems like serious business. A good resume can make the difference between your employment and your unemployment. It’s a lot of responsibility for such a simple, unassuming sheet of paper, and so — striving for utmost perfection — people tend to follow one or two rigid formats. But if you’re in a field that values sticking out like a sore thumb (like, say, visual arts), your resume is a perfect opportunity to express your unique flavor of creativity. If you’re brave enough to take the risk, here are a few tips to help keep it classy.

DO add colors that reflect your personal tastes, but limit your palette to one or two soft shades. Too many patterns or bright hues and your resume will become an eyesore, and the hiring manager will have a bad taste in their mouth before they even start reading. Also, needless to say, avoid animal prints at all costs, especially cheetah.

DON’T force whoever’s hiring you to search for the information they want. Business Insider said that a busy hiring manager will only look at a resume for about six seconds before making a decision. If they’re not able to find your education and work experience within that time frame, your battle is as good as lost.

DO keep the clutter to a minimum. This goes along with the previous point: design flourishes might be flashy and eye-catching, but the core of your resume is the text you want your audience to read. If your Photoshop brushes and fancy fonts are too distracting, no one will have the patience to glean the information they need. Use the “K.I.S.S.” design mantra when putting together your resume—Keep It Simple, Stupid.

DON’T send the same exact resume to multiple hiring managers. Instead, tailor your resume to each company you apply for. Include keywords listed in the job’s ad listing and try incorporating elements of the company’s design patterns into your resume.

DO keep a plain-text backup resume just in case. Sometimes resumes submitted over the web are scanned by an electronic resume management system (or ERM), which are notorious for their inability to decipher artistic embellishments. Some companies won’t even accept resumes that aren’t printed black-and-white on 8.5 x 11” paper. For situations like these, you don’t have to fall back on those plain Microsoft Word formats. You can design your own plain-text resume, adding only minimal flourishes like varying fonts and page dividers — but be sure to print out a test copy, as the printed version sometimes looks far different than it does in Word.

DON’T be afraid to ask for help (or hire it!). There are tons of companies out there whose business revolves around designing resumes for their clients. Sites like Orange Resume and Loft offer an expansive selection of artsy templates. Even if you don’t want to pay to use the premium ones, their resume repository might help inspire you to design something similar.

If you’re still in college or a fresh graduate, don’t let your resume seem more ambitious than you are. Having a heavily designed page is only justifiable when you’ve got the expertise to back it up — otherwise you’re just hiding your lack of experience behind a flashy template. Only call attention to yourself if you really deserve the spotlight.

FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Career How to Write a Resume

About Kendall Russell

Student, writer, lover of all things weird, gross and scientific. Senior at Penn State studying English and Print Journalism.

You May Also Like

How To Become A Nurse

10 Most Irresistible Moments at the Amy Porterfield Entrepreneur Experience

Knowing yourself is the start of wisdom

10 Ways to Incorporate Soft Skills into Your Personal Brand

10 Majors to Tackle Climate Change as a College Student

10 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Avoid Google Analytics like the Plague

How to Write a LinkedIn Summary That Sounds Legit

Buy Low and Sell High Into a Stock Market Success

Dress to Impress: Nailing Down Women’s Business Attire

15 Ways to Battle Through Your Quarter-Life Crisis

major

CM’s Guide to the International Business Major

letter to myself

How Rejection Has Prepared Me for My Future

CM’s Guide to the Botany Major

unsplash.com

10 Jobs in Fashion Media You’ve Been Overlooking

lawyers without borders

CM’s Guide to Lawyers Without Borders

museum job

Advice From the Pros: Earning That Museum Job

inspirational bloggers

Meet 12 Inspirational Bloggers to Feed Your Mind, Body and Soul

soft skills

Soft Skills 101: A Guide for Every Job Search

jobs in politics

10 Jobs in Politics That Don’t Require a Campaign

NAMM foundation

How the Innovation Award Elevated My Music Career Journey

unsplash.com

10 Best Summer Jobs for College Students

women in medicine

The Unique Challenges that Face Women in Medicine and How Women Overcome Them

public relations

How to Make the Most of Your Public Relations Degree

21 Ways to Actually Land a Job at Your School’s Career Fair

mentoring

10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Mentor

Previous Post: « Everything You Need to Carry a Conversation About The Senate’s CIA Report
Next Post: Inevitable Finals Week Fails »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

good books for college students
228

10 Inspiring Books All College Students Should Read

friends
31

21 Gifts for the Artist in Your Life

sue and lexie the middle gifts for college students
26

Top 10 Gifts Every College Student Actually Wants

college party
18

10 Tips for Your First College Party that Will Get You Lit and Get You Home Safe

Your guide to the best backpacks for college
14

CM’s Top 10 Backpacks for College

Featured Chapter: University of Florida

University of Florida Football Stadium

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise

Copyright © 2019 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.