9 Creative resume examples. With tips and templates!

In a crowded job market, your resume can make or break your application. The right resume can catch a hiring manager’s attention and make them take a closer look at your qualifications. A creative resume might be just the tool to get yourself noticed and stand out from the crowd.

This guide will show you how to make a creative resume that will impress employers and set you apart from the competition. We’ll discuss:

• The meaning of a creative resume and what it includes

• When to use a nontraditional resume (and when to think twice about it)

• Tips for creating an unconventional resume

• Creative resume ideas and examples you can use for inspiration

What is a creative resume?

A creative resume uses a nontraditional format to highlight your skills and experience. It has creative design elements, such as bright colors and unusual fonts. Often, it includes shapes, graphics, or other visual imagery.

The goal of a creative resume is to show a hiring manager your creative skills, rather than tell them. It can also be a good way to get a hiring manager’s attention, drawing their focus to your unique skills and personality.

When can you use a creative resume?

While a creative resume can set you apart, it’s not advisable to use this type of resume in all scenarios. Carefully consider the pros and cons of a creative resume before submitting your application.

Pros

Here are some instances when you might want to use a creative resume to apply for jobs:

• You work in a creative industry. If you’re applying for jobs in a creative industry, using a nontraditional resume can show off your skills better than a standard format. For example, you may have a creative resume if you work in website development, graphic design, advertising, social media, or entertainment.

• You have minimal experience. It can be challenging to make a traditional resume look impressive when you have little or no work experience. A creative resume can show an employer your ability to make an impact, despite your limited experience.

• You want to add multimedia elements to your resume. For some jobs, like a photographer or a sound editor, you may want to add multimedia elements to your resume. Many online resume formats make it easy to add these extra touches.

Cons

Despite their benefits, creative resumes also come with some drawbacks. Consider these disadvantages before submitting an unconventional resume:

• An ATS may not recognize the format. Many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to scan resumes for certain keywords and phrases. Usually, an ATS only recognizes text-based resumes, which means your creative resume may get tossed before it even reaches a hiring manager.

• Some companies don’t like them. It sounds unfair, but some companies simply prefer to receive traditional resumes from job applicants. While it’s hard to know a company’s preferences, consider the type of job you’re applying for and the company’s culture to help you decide whether a creative resume could help—or hurt—your application.

• It can pull focus from your qualifications. Your resume might look cool, but it can pull the focus away from your qualifications. If a hiring manager has a difficult time reviewing your skills and experience, they might get frustrated and discard your application.

Tips for writing a creative resume

The sky’s the limit when it comes to making a creative resume. However, there are some general tips to keep in mind:

Keep the layout simple

You don’t have to follow a standard resume layout, but keep it simple so a hiring manager can easily find your skills, experience, and other relevant qualifications. Provide section headers and use different elements, like columns or boxes, to make key areas stand out.

Focus on the content

While a unique resume will catch a hiring manager’s eye, it’s the content that will convince them to contact you for an interview. Focus on the information you provide on your resume, making sure you add details about your relevant experience, career achievements, and top skills.

Check the format

Convert your resume into an accessible format, like a PDF, before sending it to employers. Review the PDF to make sure the formatting looks consistent and all hyperlinks work correctly. If you use color on your resume, print a version in black and white to make sure it’s readable if an employer views it that way.

Proofread carefully

If you’re not using a traditional word processor with a spell-check tool, proofread the content carefully. Review your resume for proper grammar, spelling, and typos. Have another person read your resume to make sure you don’t miss any errors.

Creative resume examples and templates

Want to make a unique resume that won’t look like any others in the pile? Check out these creative resume templates and examples for some design inspiration:

Chicago template by Career.io

The Chicago template allows you to create a clean, modern resume that puts the focus where it should be—on you. A hiring manager won’t have trouble finding your application with your name in a bold, impactful font at the top of your resume. The stylish black-and-white template makes it a great choice for those who want to appear polished and professional while still showing some customization.

Cape Town template by Career.io

Another eye-catching template, the Cape Town format instantly captures a hiring manager’s attention with geometric shapes and fun colors, like pink, lime green, and pale yellow. Those elements don’t detract from your professional qualifications, thanks to the template’s clearly defined sections. In the skills section on the right side, you can rank your abilities with levels like skillful, experienced, and expert. An optional details section on the bottom provides a space to add other helpful information, like languages, achievements, or hobbies.

Designer resume template

This example of a designer resume, available to download on Behance, instantly sets the job seeker apart with colors and graphics. An “about” section at the top of the resume offers a clever spin on the traditional summary by highlighting key quantifiable metrics, including years of experience, number of awards, and total projects completed.

The skills section outlines the job seeker’s abilities with bar graphs showing their level of expertise for each skill. At the bottom, an extra section provides space to discuss their personal interests, using graphics to make this information visually interesting.

Fresh infographic resume

Microsoft offers the fresh infographic resume template, available to customize in PowerPoint. The highlight of this resume is the skills section, which displays your qualifications in an infographic format. You can designate your years of experience in each skill to create a graph visualizing your areas of expertise. The education section at the bottom also includes some graphic elements to highlight your academic achievements, like a high GPA.

Yellow and blue bordered resume

This creative teacher resume, available on Canva, will send you to the top of the class. It looks like a clipboard, immediately distinguishing the job seeker as a teacher. The top of the resume includes a photo of the candidate and their contact details. In the lower half, there’s information about their qualifications and experience. The skills and certification sections stand out in colorful boxes, drawing an employer’s eye to the candidate’s expertise and professional credentials. The use of white space and the coordinating color palette keep this resume from going too over-the-top.

Toronto template by Career.io

For a blend of modern and traditional, choose the Toronto template. It presents your qualifications in an easy-to-understand format with sections for your summary, experience, skills, and education. It adds some personality to your resume, however, with shaded boxes and a matching colored font. You can choose from subtle hues like light gray or olive green, or you can go bolder with your own preferred colors. There’s also a links section where you can highlight your portfolio, professional social media profiles, and other multimedia links.

Rome template by Career.io

With a unique font and layout, the Rome template can distinguish your resume from the many others a hiring manager may review. A wide resume header provides space for a professional headshot, which looks especially impactful in black and white. The resume template uses a serif font for the section headers and a sans serif font for the information, creating some distinction. Each section header also has a number to guide the recruiter through your resume, making it easy for them to scan your qualifications quickly.

Another creative feature of this resume is the vertical layout of the employment section. The template presents your work experience in columns, rather than rows. It’s a simple yet effective difference that can grab a hiring manager’s attention.

Modern resume template

This template, available on Behance, offers a fresh take on the modern resume. The header includes a stylish monogram against a colorful background, creating an instant impression on a hiring manager. In the opposite lower corner, this motif continues with a colorful area showcasing the candidate’s top achievements.

The rest of the resume uses a minimalist format to provide some balance, though it still includes some creative elements. The profile section, labeled “about me,” sits inside a box to make it easy for a hiring manager to learn about the candidate’s best qualities. The skills section features some graphics to draw attention to the job seeker’s technical proficiencies.

Modern chronological resume

This resume template by Microsoft, customizable in Word, presents a candidate’s experience chronologically—but with a twist. It uses a timeline format to show the job seeker’s progression through their career and education. It’s a creative way to show a hiring manager how you’ve advanced, especially if you’ve earned promotions or completed several degrees.

While the focus of this resume is on the experience and education sections, there’s room to list skills at the bottom of the resume. There’s also a section to include activities, which gives you the option to mention your personal interests as a way to differentiate your application.

Do you want to make a resume that stands out from the competition? Check out Career.io’s professional resume builder to make an impressive resume with our creative templates and AI-powered insights!

Key takeaways

1. A creative resume uses an unconventional format with unique fonts, colors, and images. Some even include multimedia elements, such as video clips.

2. A nontraditional resume can be a good choice if you work in a creative industry, but it might hurt you if an employer uses an ATS.

3. When creating a unique resume, use a simple layout and keep the focus on your qualifications to ensure you don’t go overboard.

4. You can find unique resume examples and templates online to show off your creativity and stand out from the competition.