When you think of a graphic designer, you probably picture someone who makes business cards, logos, or just draws pretty pictures in general. However, designers of the graphic s ort are not just limited to making materials for print; since ‘graphic design’ covers a broad range of specialties, a graphic designer usually is knowledgeable in a broad range of skills. Someone who is a graphic artist may be responsible for sketching out designs for furniture, gadgets, food packaging, or a label for a music album (okay, the last one is a type of printing, but not the paper kind, so it doesn’t count as “traditional” print).
Employers, both freelance and professional, are interested in artists who have a wide array of talents because such skill sets can serve multiple purposes. For example, if graphic designer resumes state that the artist is experienced in web design and industrial design, a business owner might appoint this person to provide sketches in order to contrive new products or improve existing ones, and then craft or improve the owner’s website.
On the other hand, it’s usually good to not list every single skill you have ever had on a professional resume. Believe it or not, it is possible for a resume to be too long, and you will look like you’re really scraping the bottom of the forte barrel if you highlight things on your resume like “Got two gold stars on a drawing of a horsie in first grade” or “Won a peeing contest at the local bar”. Be sure you are emphasizing skills that relate even a little bit to the position you’re applying for, but do this without over-inflating your prowess or outright lying. This means do not list “published author” if Dear Abby answered your letter, and don’t claim to be a psychologist if you listened to your best friend cry about their breakup.
Regard your resume a figurative cake…add a little icing to make it look better, but not so much that the real thing cannot be seen. Layering the BS-flavored icing on extra thick will just make people look elsewhere because they won’t be able to tell where t he adornment ends and the real thing begins. And if someone does check out the cake first-hand, they will be disappointed at how much is fluff and how little is fact. How’s it feel knowing your resume is a cake?
Hunger and bad comparisons aside, the point I am trying to make here is to have an expansive collection of skills that can be applied to various kinds of design resumes. Despite being a “graphic” designer, you might very well find a use for your expertise creating wall decorations, brainstorming a new cereal box design, or even working on a concept for a fresh Apple product. Heh…fresh Apple. That joke wasn’t even intentional.
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