Interior Design Resume Sample, Job Description & Writing Guide for 2024
You understand design concepts. You can draw up design plans fast and accurately. You want to work on the best design teams that are available in your area. If this describes you, what you need is an interior design resume that stands out from all the other ones that end up on a hiring manager’s desk. This might sound like a lot of work, but it can be streamlined when you get a little bit of help.
Whether you’re moving into interior design for the first time or have tons of experience, your resume shows you have the skills to handle the position. It has to look good and share the right information so you can get the interview you want. And if you manage to ace that, you could be the new addition to a team that offers a great salary, amazing talent, and outstanding benefits.
So where should you start if you’re new to this? Don’t worry. This guide is going to give you all the information you could possibly need to build an excellent interior designer resume. We’ll go through the main steps to create a resume, how to create the most important sections, and so much more. You’ll have the keys you need to unlock a perfect interior design resume.
As you continue reading, expect to learn new tricks that help you build a resume. We’ll also share examples that help you envision what your resume could be like when you’re finished. Our selection of resume templates, a resume builder, and resume writing services are also available to make this process simple. So keep reading and get started so you can land that job.
Interior design resume writing guide: Where to start?
Maybe you’ve been in the design industry for a while. You have relationships with vendors and clients as well as a track record for excellence. This could be enough to get you a great position if you know how to build a resume the right way. There’s no need to worry because we’ll share each of those steps below so you can make use of them as you write your interior design resume.
Master interior designer resume
Before you start sharing your design goals with commercial clients and design firms, we want you to start by creating a master resume. This is a specific professional document that you can use to fill out all your job-specific resumes in the future. All you need to do is choose how you’ll save information and then get typing (or writing).
A master resume is made to compile information about your skills, education, experience, and other tidbits you might use on a resume. This is where you keep everything important so you can create the resume that goes into a company the best it can be. You can easily move things from one document to the other as needed.
While creating a master resume takes some time, it’s worth it. After it’s done, there isn’t a need to make a new one at any point. All you want to do is update it on occasion to make sure your most recent experiences are reflected on the page. So take a few minutes to build a master resume and then you can move on to the second (and last) step.
Job-specific interior design resumes
When you search for sample interior design resumes, you’re likely to find job-specific resumes. These are designed to match what is needed in a particular job posting. Whether you have relevant experience in residential projects or commercial spaces, this resume is a must. Customizing it ensures you hit all the most important points of the job description.
The good news is that once you have a template and know which sections you want to add, all of the information you need should already be in your master resume. This gives you more time to focus on how you write things, what you include, and the design you want the resume to have when you turn it in.
One of the most important things to utilize for this process is the job description. You can glean what is considered more important and highlight that in your document. You want every part of the job-specific resume to be tailored to one position so use the information you have to craft something super relevant to what you’d be doing in the position every day.
Interior designer resume sample
Having a few interior design resume samples is a great idea for any job seekers in this sector. You can view one of our interior designer resume examples right above. Check out how the resume objective leads to the experience and education while keeping a hiring manager interested. The list of skills is varied and useful for the position. All other important sections can also be seen in the body or sidebar of the resume.
What to include in a resume for interior designers? Writing tips and examples
Now that you know the basics of crafting a resume, we want to go into more detail about some of the sections that matter for an interior design company. We’ll share a variety of tips and explanations so you can be sure to build a resume that gets the attention you want. Don’t worry because most of this is simple. You just need to know what direction to move in.
How to write a resume objective on an interior design resume?
First, let’s take time to take a look at interior design resume objectives. This section is key to getting the attention of a hiring manager. It’s a short paragraph of only two to four sentences that is at the top of your interior design resume. This is where you try to reel in the potential employer with all your completed projects on time, your design awards, and your knowledge of color schemes.
Here's what makes this complicated: the briefness of the section. Since you only have a few sentences to make an impact, every word matters. Action verbs and numbers associated with achievements are the best way to move forward. Talk about what you’ve done to make things easier, smoother, or more profitable for past companies.
It doesn’t have to be just a list of accomplishments, though. You can weave in skills, education, and experience here. Just remember only to add the things that are relevant and impressive. You want to show the manager that your resume is worth reading and is not just being glanced at. Put some personality and intensity into the section and it will put you ahead.
Skills to list on an interior design resume
Curious about the best interior design skills for a resume? The truth is that a job description is going to be useful here too. You’ll often see soft skills like interpersonal skills and hard skills like technical skills listed on interior design resumes. Having both included is a good idea but you have to make sure all the entries are relevant skills.
That means digging into the position and finding out what matters the most. Technical knowledge might be one of the key skills or maybe organizational skills are at a premium. You need to know what to focus on and then share your abilities related to those topics. A standard list of skills won’t be right for every job listing.
For those who have experience but are not in interior design, make sure to think about transferable skills. There are likely many things you’ve done that would be useful in the new position. Use those to fill out a bullet list and present yourself as the great employee you would be sure to be. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out some of the ideas below:
· Accessibility Standards
· Business Management
· Client Pitch Presentations
· Client Retention
· Color Selection
· Concept to Completion Strategies
· Conceptual Design
· Creative Solutions
· Critical Thinking
· Customer Service
· Design Elements
· Design Software
· Furniture Layouts
· Industry Trends
· Inspection Regulations
· Project Coordination
· Project Management
· Space Planning
· Time Management
How to describe work experience on an interior design resume
Professional experience is another section of the resume that makes a huge impact on the hiring manager. Showing that you understand design techniques, can create relationships with clients, and have a huge passion for design is what you want to share for design jobs of all kinds. However, the way you put this information down can determine whether you move forward.
For instance, we recommend a reverse-chronological format for an interior design resume. This means you start by listing your most recent position and then go back to earlier ones. You start by creating a header that explains who you worked for, when you worked there, and what your role was. This is the basic information that an employer needs to know.
Underneath is where you can add extra information that makes you a great candidate for the position. You can talk about an impressive design solution you came up with or talk up your knowledge of design software. Keep to relevant information and be honest about what you are capable of. Then you can move on to the next entry.
An interior design resume template is a great way to finish up when all the writing work has been done. You have the right words on paper and now you need a design with striking colors to make it pop. The good news is that we offer a selection of interior design resume templates. Check them out and choose your favorite!
Key takeaways on building an interior designer’s resume
At this point, you’re ready to craft a job-winning resume that describes your career goals to prospective employers. Follow our guide and use our example interior design resume to make sure yours is one of the best a firm or company ever sees. Keep reading for a few more tips and answers to common questions. Good luck!
Extra tips for interior design resumes:
Your resume is good to go – or at least almost. The tips below will take your resume from good to fantastic. We’ll go over a few things that will make any interior design resume shine. You can be sure the prospective employee will want to do far more than glance at it if you follow these steps:
· When you finish writing your resume, make sure you read over it at least once. Check for typos, misspellings, and other errors, and take care of them now. Read it aloud once if you want to see how it flows.
· Focus on adding successful projects to your resume as much as possible. You can talk about them in the objective, add them to work experience, or even create a special section to focus on them.
· Be sure that the fonts and design elements of the resume fit together. This is essential for all resumes, but especially for those involved in design. The resume is another way to show your skills.
· Check that all the information in the resume is accurate and easily proven. You never know when something will come up in the hiring process and you want to be able to answer any questions.
· Before you turn in the job application, make sure you design a cover letter to go with the resume. This is an integral part of the process to share more about you and why you want this position.
Next steps?
You’ve gathered all your information in a master resume and all you have to do is make it look good on a job-specific resume. Are you worried you’ll have trouble making it sound good? Do you need someone to watch for items that don’t match up? At CVMaker, we offer a Resume Writing Service that is sure to meet all your needs. An expert will help you craft a resume that is certain to get you into an interview.
FAQs
What sections should I put on my resume for interior design?
There are several sections you should include for a resume in a design role. Some of them are all but mandatory and others can be added only if needed and relevant. The ones you almost always should have include contact information, a resume objective, work experience, education, and skills.
When it comes to additional sections, consider what makes you special and what applies to the job. One person might include the languages they speak and what their hobbies are, while another might want a section for certifications and another for special projects. It’s completely up to you in the end.
What are interior designer key roles?
Going through design programs and learning on the job has likely given you a variety of interior design resume skills to share. However, you want to think through which of them you include on the resume. This is an area where you need to look at the key roles listed in the job description.
For instance, one employer might want you to focus on a lot of design and editing. Another might want you to work with clients and vendors more often. The key roles for the position will give you an idea of what to highlight. This is going to vary for every position so look at the job description for guidance.
How long is an interior design resume?
If you are an entry-level interior designer, a resume might be a single page. Those who have several years of experience might choose to write a longer resume. However, it’s generally best to keep this document between one and two pages. Going longer than that may lead to missing important parts of your interior design resume.
The basic rule of thumb is that those with under 10 years of experience will be fine with a single-page resume. Those with more should stick to two pages. However, this isn’t cut and dry. If you need less or more room regardless of experience, feel free to make use of that. After all, everyone is different.
Does an interior design resume need a portfolio?
Living room and kitchen designers are pros at creating beautiful spaces. The best way to show potential employers is by sharing a design portfolio. This will often be included in your contact information, but you can choose to place it elsewhere depending on the effect you want.
Your portfolio is where you share information about your most impressive projects. You can choose what to include but make sure it has relevance to the position you want. It’s a very good idea to add this to your resume since the hiring manager can easily look over your past work and see how you might fit on the team.
How should an interior design resume be structured?
You know how to describe high-quality designs to prospective clients and you can structure a room in no time. However, you also need to make sure your interior design resume is structured well. The first thing to consider is whether you want a single or double-column professional document.
Once you know that, it’s a matter of deciding where each section goes on the resume. Generally, the contact information and resume objective are toward the top. Things like skills and references are toward the bottom. The rest, such as education and experience will fall somewhere in the middle. You can adapt this as needed to create a resume you like.
What writing style is ideal for an interior design resume?
If you take a look at a sample of an interior designer's resume, you may notice that the writing style is similar between different documents. This is done for a good reason. Any resume needs to be written in a professional style. You need to use appropriate language throughout the document.
So what does this actually mean? Rather than going with more casual language, be formal with your interior designer resume. Avoid using any slang or jargon that can be hard to understand. It’s important that your resume is easy to read and shows respect to the person who is reading it.
What is a profile description for an interior designer resume?
The term “profile description” is important to understand, whether you are making a senior interior designer resume or an interior design intern resume. This description means the same thing as a resume objective and you can use either word to describe the short block of text atop the interior design resume.
The main point of this section is to show what you are capable of. Insert your achievements, talk about your skills, and leave bits about your experience. Focus on the most impressive items so you seem like a great addition to the team. Action verbs and numbers are a good addition to your resume objective.
How to write an interior design student resume?
An entry-level interior design resume is similar to one for someone more experienced. The main difference is that having less experience means you need to show that you’re a good candidate in other ways. Expanding on your education, skills, and any work you have done is a good way to get started.
For instance, you might add information like your GPA, special projects, honors, and other items related to your education. Depending on the level of experience you have, experience could be listed under education so the focus is where you want it to be. Making a few tweaks will give you the great resume that you want to send in with a job application.
One of the best ways to fully customize your resume is by using interior design resume templates. You can add a great design and color scheme that makes sure everyone notices your document. CVMaker offers an assortment of options so you can stand out and show your personality as you apply for interior decorator positions.