here is your creative CV template

Are you bursting with ingenious ideas? Then a career in the creative industry could be beckoning you – starting with our creative CV template.

In such a broad industry encompassing many different positions, it’s important to make sure that you understand what each role entails and tailor your CV to suit. Roles can include graphic designers, content developers, UX researchers and designers and creative directors, depending on the level for which you’re applying.

Your CV needs to grab the attention of recruiters, so be sure to infuse it with your creativity. This will vary depending on the role. For example, a bit of wordplay might perform well for a copywriting role, while colourful graphics could appeal to recruiters in the design industry. Although it’s not compulsory, having a portfolio to showcase some of your previous work can help you to get noticed in creative industries.

If using your imagination and ingenuity on a daily basis sounds like your perfect profession, download our creative CV example for helpful tips on the application process.

[download creative CV template]

Our creative CV example for UK creative jobs has several key components. You can find handy tips on each section below, as well as in the template download. As a general rule, make sure to limit your CV to two sides of A4 at most to retain an employer or recruiter’s attention.

 

portfolio

The proof is in the pudding with creative jobs. Many creative professionals create and maintain portfolios showcasing the best of their previous work, as well as highlighting the breadth of their skills and industry expertise.

If you have a link to your own website, or a portfolio hosting site, include it in your creative CV to wow recruiters.

 

personal statement

Your portfolio might do the talking for you, so a personal statement isn’t essential. However, it can still be an effective means of summarising your skills, experience and ambitions.

It makes sense to tweak your statement to the job role for which you’re applying while still showcasing your creative brand. This latter point is especially important if the role will heavily involve writing, such as copywriting.

 

employment history

For this section of our creative CV template, you’ll need to highlight the previous responsibilities most relevant to your potential role, as well as framing the outcomes that you achieved. That could relate to winning a particular client, delivering impressive results in a campaign, or securing industry plaudits, for example. If you can include figures like targets or ROI, great!

You’ll generally want to highlight your most recent position first then work backwards from there. If you’ve worked in lots of roles in the past, feel free to omit temporary positions or those not relevant to the creative industry as long as you’ve got enough to shout about elsewhere.

 

education

This is where you’ll outline the courses and additional training most relevant to the creative position for which you’re applying. You could include formal university, college and school qualifications, as well as industry-specific certifications you’ve completed in previous roles or in your own time.

 

core skills

No creative CV, or CV of any kind, is complete without showcasing core job-related skills. It’s smart to base yours on the requirements of the job for which you’re applying, such as writing, using a particular tool, presenting or project management.

Just avoid claiming skills that you don’t actually possess!

 

references

You don’t have to include references in your creative CV, though it’s standard practice to add a statement along the lines of ‘references available on request’.

 

contact details

Here you’ll want to include your email address, telephone number and living address. Choose a professional email address and your mobile number if possible, rather than a home number. You could just include the city or town you live in rather than your full home address.