Specific examples of completed projects completed on time, especially when numerous departments are involved, can illustrate your capability for the position you’re seeking and your communication abilities.
Having said that, let’s take a look at what successful creative director resumes will look like in 2022.
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Creative Director Resume Example
Creative Director
amy.q.nash@gmail.com
415-606-4228
Professional Summary
A professional creative director with more than 8 years of experience, adept at relationship building and team concept creation. Seeking employment with Strong 57 Agency. Intervista established an in-house graphic design department, saving clients $450K a year and increasing its client base by 27% in 14 months. Accounts with Comcast, Amazon, and Ford Motor Company have been valued at a total of $5.3 million per year.
Work Experience
Creative Director
InnerVista, Inc.
Dec 2013–March 2019
- Served as creative director for a busy agency with annual revenue of $8.2 million and 110 people.
- Increased revenue by 40% in 14 months by winning and developing strong connections with 15 new major clients.
- I landed the Comcast client and oversaw their whole rebranding, presiding over a period of 15% revenue increase every year.
- Clients saved a total of $450,000 per year by increasing their client base by 27 percent in 14 months. A combination of high-end merchandise, award-winning accolades, and press releases was used.
- In 2017, I led the team that won the Clio for our Pedigree Coffee ad for Amazon.
Creative Director
Rampant Chicken Group
Sept 2010–Nov 2013
- By rearranging the teams for more team-directed work, we were able to double revenue in 18 months.
- All parts of campaign design, including innovation, development, and implementation, were managed. Agile workflow was used to reduce process waste by 45 percent.
Education
2006–2010 Syracuse University
Bachelor of Science in Marketing
- Produced a marketing plan for a new firm selling Scrub Master sponge developed by MIT student researchers for Senior Project. In one year, the product generated $1 million in revenue.
- Selected to assume the role of student-teacher in creative management. 72 students received 12 credits of 200-level management instruction.
Skills
Soft skills: Interpersonal skills, communication, leadership
Hard skills: Relationship building, sales, business design, branding, project management
Activities
- Vice President of ANA, 2015–2016
- Produced the Ruth in Advertising Podcast 2014–2016, 120,000 subscribers
How To Make a Resume for Creative Director from Zero
Knowing what talents the employer is looking for is the golden key to making a job-winning resume.
Keep in mind that creative directors are in charge of numerous teams and departments at the same time. They are in charge of the company’s marketing initiatives, bringing items and services to life with their creativity and inspiration to attract more customers.
Technical software proficiency is required, as these tools are critical in the ever-expanding realm of social media marketing and digital advertising. They steer the vision of where the marketing art will go and finish projects on time and under budget.
But well let’s face the reality, the hiring manager is not known for wasting time drooling over a single creative director resume, therefore we must give them exactly what they are searching for.
The Layout For This Resume
A clean and intelligible layout is essential when creating a flawless creative director resume. Having headings and subheadings is the first step toward having a clean and presentable resume.
I highly recommend this layout for your creative director resume.
- Name and contact information.
- Professional summary statement/ objective summary.
- Work history.
- Education.
- Skills.
- Additional sections.
The order can be changed based on your strengths.
As a professional in graphic design, you must make your resume stand out. This begins with a well-designed header that includes all of your contact information, such as your name, occupation, address, phone number, and email address. This header should establish the tone for your resume’s visual brand, making it visually appealing at a glance.
You must include a summary, often known as a profile, under the heading that summarises your professional qualifications and objectives in the captivating, original language.
Then, in an easy-to-follow, informative format, detail your employment history, educational credentials, and job-related abilities.
What else do you require? Nothing! Stop writing once you’ve provided the above information. In most circumstances, a creative director resume should be one page long, and it should not be overcrowded with text. Brevity and an appropriate quantity of white space are required for good information design.
A portfolio of published or created work, as in many creative fields, can be a valuable tool for creative directors looking for work. However, to prevent submitting numerous documents, this portfolio should be housed on a separate website, with a link provided in your resume or cover letter.
How to beat the ATS bots?
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are software systems used by most large businesses to electronically filter resumes into or out of competition based on their use of job-related keywords.
Employers with open positions first enter critical job qualifications into their ATS software, and then resumes are loaded into the ATS to determine if they mention these same job qualities. Resumes that lack these critical keywords are likely to be rejected automatically, without any human inspection.
So ATS optimization, which includes peppering your Resume with the exact terms the employer is looking for, is the key to overcoming these computer bots. In this situation, if you have all of the talents listed above and include them all on your CV, it will likely rise to the top of the ATS pile like cream.
The Format, Structure & Layout
Any resume format can be classified into three major categories:
- Functional or skill-based resume: This form of resume emphasizes your talents and strengths that companies value. Specific dates, names, and locations are excluded.
- Reverse Chronological resume: Your work history, education, and any past project experiences are listed in reverse chronological sequence, beginning with your most recent job and working backward.
- Hybrid (Combination resume): This format combines the flexibility and strengths of the previous two formats. This provides clarity for both the applicant and the company.
We realize you want to be innovative, but reverse chronological order is your best chance. This has the most impact on your employment history section, where you will list your occupations from most recent to earliest.
If you are changing careers, are a more mature worker, or are entering the job market for the first time, other resume forms, such as the hybrid style, may be an alternative for you.
Unless you want to showcase your specialized technical talents, avoid the functional resume structure (recruiters disdain it).
- Keep the resume to one page.
- Nobody enjoys reading a resume riddled with grammatical errors. (Check to spell with a spellchecker).
- Send your resume as a PDF or MS Word file in accordance with the job description.
- Maintain consistency in the use of margins and typefaces throughout the resume.
- However, avoid including your address on your résumé.
- Separate the content on your resume by organizing it into distinct parts.
- Don’t be afraid to use white space and a legible resume font to capture their attention.
Let’s move on to the next most important section of our resume – The Header.
How to Write a Header
The heading is the most significant component of your resume, and it cannot be overlooked. It usually starts with your name and ends with your contact information. As the header is the first thing an employer’s eyes would fall on, making a mistake there is accepting that now you are bummed out.
Good Header Vs. Bad Header
Now just as important it is to have a flawless header, so is to have a perfect one. Let’s see an example of a good and a bad header:
Creative Designer
daya.biloxi.23@gmail.com
+1 247 56 03 87
Daya Biloxi
dayabiloxiforfacebook@gmail.com
+1 247 56 03 87
78, main street, apt 9,
Washington DC
USA
When you compare the instances above, you will observe that, while they do not have substantial variances, they are very different from one another.
Here is everything you should remember when creating an excellent resume header:
- Your CV must start with your name.
- Then comes a professional-looking email address.
- Finally, unless the employer specifically requests it, never provide your full address.
Work History Resume Example: Tell A Successful Tale
Nothing beats experience in attracting the attention of hiring managers for job searchers in any industry. This is why, in most cases, the job history part, often known as the employment history or work experience portion, appears first.
In general, mention your present and previous employers in reverse chronological order (last job first). This is because you may have started your job as a Starbucks barista but ended up as Time magazine’s creative director — you don’t want to lead with your experience producing cappuccino mochas.
You are not required to list every job you’ve ever had, especially if some of them have little to do with your current profession.
Mention the location of each employer as well as the years you worked there. Provide bullet points showcasing your most noteworthy accomplishments at each position under this heading. Use strong action verbs (“created,” “managed,” “coordinated,” “led”) and be explicit about your accomplishments, citing facts and statistics whenever possible.
Let’s take a look at the example below:-
Creative Director
- Integrated digital and print marketing campaigns for a home supplier, increasing engagement and sales. thirteen percent
- Senior Designers who have been mentored have been chosen to lead new campaigns.
- Campaign director for Fortune 500 corporation, collecting talent, planning shoots, and supervising advertising designers
Seaside Advertising Agency, 2013-2017
Senior Designer
- Directed the establishment of a new division to provide real estate marketing services.
- Managed a team of 26 designers, copywriters, and illustrators, both internal and freelance, to produce regular deliverables for clients.
- All projects were completed on schedule and within budget, with an average of 10% faster turnaround than estimated timescales.
Aliceville Marketing, 2011-2013
Designer
- Created a unified brand overhaul for the relaunch of a NewCarrot product, which improved sales by 48 percent in one year.
- Developed four new client relationships while creating marketing plans and organizing digital marketing.
- Implemented seasonal exhibit-based marketing activities for the National Museum of the Gulf of Mexico.
What if you have no experience?
In some fields, there appears to be a Catch-22 for job seekers: you can’t get the job without experience, but you can’t get experience without the job.
Take this worry with a grain of salt, because every creative director in the world started off with no experience. Or were they supervising all of their preschool friends’ finger painting projects?
If you have no expertise in a relevant function, it will be tough to find a job overseeing creative teams that pays more than $100,000. A creative director is typically promoted from the ranks of those who supervise creative directors, such as art directors or production design assistants.
If you’ve never been a creative director but want to be, keep in mind that fortune favors the brave. Explain in your summary/profile, for example, that you are an experienced advertising art designer who is well-versed in cross-departmental collaboration and is willing to take on a supervisory role over the full creative process of developing ad campaigns.
You may have little work experience since you’ve been studying for a master’s degree in your industry, such as graphic design.
If you recently graduated from a prestigious university with an amazing degree in your field, but you paid your way through college by selling old cars, you should state your educational credentials first, followed by your career history.
Write a Creative Director Resume Education Section That Sells
For creative sector positions, you can include your schooling on your resume. Or—
It can help you get hired.
To do the second, stuff your education section with selling elements like these:
- Did you do anything in school that demonstrated the skills that creative directors require? Make a list.
- You might include any groups, roles, initiatives, sports teams, or other activities that demonstrate your leadership or other transferrable qualities.
- Should you include your GPA? Only if it’s so high that it causes nosebleeds (or if it’s so recent that you can’t avoid it).
In the education area, you may highlight a marketing or graphic design degree, as well as any extracurricular achievements relevant to creative initiatives. Because the director role entails mentoring others, you might also incorporate leadership responsibilities or college activities. As experience is more important than education for creative director positions, you can leave out additional college details like your GPA to allow more room for professional achievements.
Look at the example below:-
Silver Run University, 2007-2011
Bachelor’s degree in Advertising Arts
- Advertising Manager for the Silver Run Incubation project developed and executed a marketing plan for one student-originated product per year
Resume Sample Skills Section: Boast a Little
Creative directors require a distinct set of skills, encompassing not only creativity, but also design, art, administration, communication, and interpersonal abilities.
A creative director resume’s talents section will frequently include a mix of soft and hard skills.
Soft skills are “people skills” that indicate you get along well with others — you’re a good manager, a great communicator, a good listener, a valued mentor, and you’re competent at coordinating efforts across creative teams to realize a unified vision.
Hard skills are things you can perform on your own: graphic design, photo-editing, illustration, and 3D animation. In skills sections, expertise in appropriate computer applications (such as InDesign, Photoshop, or Autodesk) is frequently stated. Although creative directors don’t spend much time “getting their hands dirty” — that is, doing actual design work — it is reassuring to an employer to see that they can do it. Creative directors are good at offering plans and techniques for getting the task done because they are skilled with the instruments of the trade.
What type of skills you can include? Check it from the list below:-
Hard Skills:
- Business design
- Management
- Relationship building
- Sales
- Budgeting
- Project management
- Branding
- Graphic design
- Strategy development
- Video production
Soft Skills:
- Leadership
- Interpersonal skills
- Written and verbal communication
- Collaboration
- Writing
- Time management
- Critical thinking
- Organization
- Mentorship
But don’t put that list of professional skills on your CV if you’re looking for a job as a creative director. Concentrate on a few hard and soft abilities that the job posting requires.
Each one should be supported by hard proof from your resume.
Write a Creative Director Resume Objective or Resume Summary
Under the resume heading, the summary, also known as a profile, has two or three phrases of text that explain the professional you — specialization, passions, talents, and objectives.
The word “I” is commonly deleted, as in the summary example below, and whole phrases are not even required. Use few words to express oneself succinctly but provocatively. What do you do, what do you excel in, and what are your goals?
The summary/profile is also known as a job objective because it should identify the type of job you’re seeking for. However, if it only mentions your experience as a creative director, there’s usually no need to state explicitly that you’re looking for a creative director job.
The majority of the rest of this resume will be a series of lists – of jobs held, schools attended, and job skills — with little room for creativity. The summary/profile, on the other hand, is unique in that it allows you to explain yourself and your professional qualifications in your own words. Consider the words you use carefully, and make them count.
Let’s see the how and how not to write a professional summary for a creative director resume:-
As you can see from the above two summary samples, the first one provides us with a clear impression of the candidate and his experience, whereas the second one appears abrupt, incomplete, and casual.
Here’s a simple framework to try when you write your next professional summary.
- 1st sentence: describe yourself using a single adjective + Your current position + years of experience
- 2nd sentence: responsibilities in your previous/ current position + software/tools you employed + results you achieved in numbers + Why you are eager to be a part of this new role
Additional Sections to Reinforce Your Creative Director Resume
Additional areas on your resume are vital, especially if your experience section isn’t good enough to earn you an interview.
Furthermore, if you have a unique talent or certification that you want to promote to the recruiter, this part is ideal.
Certifications, interests, and languages would be the primary sections.
Certifications
It is never a bad idea to supplement your creative director resume with relevant certificates. This provides recruiters with a sense of trustworthiness.
Languages
If you are fluent in various languages, you do not want to overlook this portion of your creative director resume. Knowing various languages is never a bad thing; in fact, it always improves your resume.
Interests
Your interests and hobbies provide hiring managers with an idea of who you are as a person and how you spend your leisure time outside of work.
Tips to Make Your Creative Director Like a Pro
- In your professional experience section, use action phrases such.
- Make no mistakes in the contact section.
- Avoid making the resume more than one page long.
- Maintain a clean and simple layout.
- The most noticeable turn-offs are typos and grammatical errors. Stay away from them.
Key Takeaways
- Creative directors are highly compensated professionals that will face a modest job drop in the coming decade, therefore you must have an amazing resume to stand out in this sector.
- To get the attention of hiring managers, creative director resumes should be expertly created with a distinctive heading.
- You must draught a summary that makes you sound ideal for the position you desire.
- Follow the right framework to convey your employment experience, educational credentials, and job-related skills – and then stop.
- Make sure the format and design are correct so that you’re not just talking about your skills, but also showcasing them through the look and style of your resume.
Complement Your Creative Director Resume with A Cover Letter
Cover letters are a wonderful way to demonstrate your enthusiasm for a job. This is your sales pitch for the interview.
Cover letters can be quite beneficial for those who have minimal experience but a strong desire to work for a company.
You can always save yourself some time by using our Cover letter tips and templates.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a creative director make on average?
According to Indeed, the average salary for a creative director is $86,781 per year in the United States.
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