Searching for a job is basically a job on its own – you have to go through job advertisements, send emails, have phone call interviews, in-person interviews and so on. One of the most important parts of any job hunting is creating a good resume. And while most people have an average resume, a lot of them also make many mistakes that can seem unprofessional – especially if you are applying to be an UX designer in UX agency.
Here are some of those mistakes and solutions on how to fix them.
1. Your resume is not showing what you did in each position
When you look at your current resume, you will most likely see the ‘experience’ section and within it a list of jobs that you have previously done. Within each of those jobs you have probably listed a bunch of things that you did – in this case ‘I designed… web pages, emails’ etc. You think that this is enough and that this is the correct way to describe your previous employments. However, that’s not what your recruiter wants to see. You are applying for a UX designer job – of course you designed something! Instead of stating the obvious, focus more on what you achieved – how the company you worked for benefited from your employment, what you are most proud of and so on. And make sure that the experience is relevant. For instance, if you are applying for an e-commerce website, focus on achievements that could impress that audience.
2. Your portfolio doesn’t have write-ups for each piece of work
As a designer, you probably have a wonderful portfolio, full of impressive work – especially if you have spent some time working in the industry. However, what most people forget to include are write-ups for each of your projects. If you are wondering what those write-ups should be, the answer is details. Write about your role in the projects, constraints, requirements, results –if the client was happy, if it improved the sales etc.
Kasey Winn, a UX blogger at Academized comments: “This may seem a bit strange to you – you are a designer, it’s not your job to know the commercial implications of your work. But this is where you are wrong – yes, you are a designer but you are also working for a business and it is expected of you to know this. Businesses are interested in you based on how much your designs can improve their sales”.
3. Your resume is too long
Once upon a time, hiring managers had all the time in the world to ponder on each resume. But the market has changed significantly and now, no hiring manager has the time to wade through your seven-page resume. Make it short and sweet – one page would be ideal. If you have too much to say, keep in mind that you only need to include the most relevant experience, education and other information to the job you are applying to. For instance, if you have been working in the industry for some time, your high school will hardly matter. The same goes for some of your early works that seem out dated now.
4. Your resume is full of unnecessary skills
Some people are so proud of what they know that they include each of their skills on their resume. However, your knowledge of Microsoft Word or Sound Design will hardly interest any recruiter in the design industry. List only the most relevant skills to the job you are applying to – this means that you will have to change and tailor your resume every time you send it to a different company. It may seem tedious but it’s worth it. It will make your resume shorter and more to-the-point. First, list all of the skills you know for a fact that they are looking for and then list other relevant skills that you think will make you a more appealing candidate. Just because you find your skills impressive, it doesn’t mean they will.
5. Creating a resume full of mistakes
One of the worst things that you could do is send a resume that has not been edited or proofread. Spelling and grammar mistakes make you seem unprofessional, inattentive to detail and uninterested in the job. Make a few of these at the beginning and your resume will most likely end up in a trash bin. Don’t let this happen to you, especially since it’s so easy to fix them – here are some helpful tools:
– StateOfWriting offers useful grammar guides that can help you find any mistakes in your resume.
– Bigassignments is a resume editing tool to polish your resume.
– Academ Advisor and Via Writing are both proofreading tools that can help you catch any misspelled words.
– EssayRoo is an online copywriting tool that can help make your resume more appealing to the recruiters.
– My Writing Way is a grammar checker that will assist you in finding even the smallest grammar errors.
– Boom Essays and Paper Fellows are formatting tools that can help you make your resume look amazing.
6. You don’t tailor your portfolio
If you are applying for a UX designer job, it would be a huge mistake to send a portfolio full of animations and illustrations – this doesn’t represent your work. Make sure that just like your resume, you update your portfolio as well. Always include elements that you feel will resonate best with the recruiter instead of what you think is impressive. So, will the illustrations you made get you the job? No. But that amazing web page just might.
7. A poorly designed CV
The fact is that you are applying for a designer job. This means that your CV is in itself, another way to show off your skills. But most designers forget this and they make their resume look like a bad menu from a cheap restaurant. Your goal is to make consuming the resume a pleasure, not a challenge. Add some clever and subtle design touches and bits that will really represent you the best.
This is not to say that you can’t just make it text with bullet points – as long as it looks good and it’s easy to read and understand. Sometimes the best way is simplicity.
8. Using clichés
We all know these and professionals from all industries use them. Why this is the case, no one knows but it must have something to do with buzzwords. Most common clichés used in resumes nowadays: hard-working team player, results-driven self-starter, communicative, flexible etc. These can be found on every single resume. There is nothing wrong with these words, but the fact is that they are overused, vague and non descriptive. So, instead of saying that you are a hard-working team player, you might get your message across better if you stated exactly how you came to that conclusion. Maybe you have lead the team of 5 people for three years and you have some achievements etc. – let your success speak for you.
“While we’re at it, don’t give yourself ratings on various skills – Microsoft Word 89% or 8/10, for instance. This means nothing to the recruiter and it’s much better to describe your experience, achievements and benefits the company you worked for received from you using that specific skill”, – explains Teresa Partain, a UX Manager at EliteAssignmentHelp and Study Demic writer.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, when applying for a job, read the job specifications meticulously, tailor your submission to those specs, be yourself and explain your work, the context of it and the outcomes. All of that, together with following these tips is a surefire way to impress any recruiter you send your resume to.
