Costume Designer Resume Example

After reading this guide, you'll know what it takes to create a resume that really stands out from other costume designer applicants. You'll find valuable tips on writing a resume that best showcases your unique skills and achievements. There is also extensive guidance on how to structure your resume to match the job description, and to reflect your experience levels to impress HR specialists and employers. Read on to find out how to show your creative side in a professional resume, with key tips from Jobseeker's career experts.

What to include in a costume designer resume

Although the content of a costume designer resume may differ according to your experience and seniority, the main sections will remain the same.

How you choose to present your resume is up to you. There are plenty of options for a professional resume layout and format, but every application should include the following:

Resume Header

The resume header is the place to add your name and contact details, along with your LinkedIn URL if you have a profile, so employers can find more information about your career journey and skills. You don't typically need to add a photo, or any other personal information to this section. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Only include professional, name-based email addresses in your resume header. If you have an old email address that uses nicknames, puns, references to your personal interests or anything else that could appear unprofessional, set up a new email just for your job applications. Finally, always double-check your contact details are correct and up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

In your resume summary, write a short paragraph that highlights two or three of your key achievements and skills for costume designer roles. You could also call this section 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. A resume summary covers your career experience to date, while a resume objective focuses more on your ambitions for the future. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for costume designer roles.

Alternatively, focus on introducing your career ambitions, and why this role is a good fit, both for you and the organization.

A great resume summary should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for costume designer roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description and provide evidence to support them. It should also introduce your personality and unique qualities to the reader, to help them start to form an opinion about you as a candidate. See below for some great examples of what to include in your costume designer resume summary.

Conversely, an ineffective resume summary would include generic, unspecific information on your skills and experience, while failing to provide any useful information on what makes you a unique and interesting candidate. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your costume designer resume summary

Work History

Next, list your relevant employment history and any key achievements that show you're suitable for a costume designer position. For each entry, list the job title, the name of the employer, its location and the dates you worked there. Add each job in reverse-chronological order, starting with your current or most recent role.

For each job listed in this section, add some bullet points so the employer can understand the skills you developed, and your achievements. Focus on showcasing the impact you made on the organization, and show evidence of how you made a difference.

A good work experience section pulls the reader in with clear examples of where you've put the skills necessary for the job into good use in your career to date. This typically includes evidence of how your skills and activities contributed to positive outcomes for the organization. There are some examples of strong resume work experience sections below.

See above for some of the pitfalls to avoid with your resume work experience section. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.

Portfolio and Work Samples

It's a great idea to show examples of your work, including any successful projects or campaigns you've worked on. This might include a portfolio, a website or other work samples you can share to show your costume designer skills.

Online portfolios tend to be most relevant for creative roles, but you could provide details of any previous successful projects or work published online. Add a link to your portfolio or include separate links to your previous projects in this section. Conversely, you might work in a non-creative sector but still have work published online that's worth showcasing. Include links to that work in this section.

Education

In your education section, include details of your most relevant costume designer qualifications and educational achievements.

Opportunities as a costume designer and similar roles in the sector usually require a specialist degree. If you have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design degree, be sure to mention this in your resume. You might also want to list any qualifications that highlight your color theory or pattern drafting.

List every relevant qualification, including the name and level of the course, the name of the school, college or university, its location and your graduation date. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Hard and Soft Skills

The skills section of a costume designer resume is a chance to list any skills you have that match those of the job description. You could include fabric selection, creativity and innovation or any other skills that show you're a suitable candidate. Again, refer to the costume designer job description for an indication of the types of skills the employer is looking for, and make sure your skills section reflects these.

Showcasing hard skills on your costume designer resume

Under hard skills, add any specialist skills you possess that are specifically required for costume designer jobs. These tend to be technical skills and industry knowledge essential to the position. Furthermore, an extensive list of hard skills helps to make a compelling case for your costume designer job applications, as they show employers your understanding of the costume designer role. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

For an effective resume hard skills section, focus on the technical skills that are most essential in the job description, and that match your specific expertise. Some examples of the best hard skills for a costume designer resume are listed below.

How to list soft skills on your costume designer resume

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a costume designer job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. In fact, as technology develops, soft skills are growing in importance for recruiters and employers, so be sure to add several of these to your resume. Think of your best soft skills and add up to five that match the requirements of the job description.

A strong soft skills section should play to your strengths, listing skills that reflect your personal qualities while also reflecting the skills listed in the job description. For some examples of good soft skills for a costume designer resume, see below.

Certifications and Training

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a costume designer. Therefore, make sure you list the dates of your certifications and licenses so employers can see they're up-to-date and valid.

Take a look at some example certifications for a costume designer resume below:

Optional Sections

There are several additional sections you could add to a costume designer resume, to improve your chances of success. Add any of the sections below that help you showcase your key skills and experience.

Personal Interests

Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. They also help to show a different side of your personality, and can help your resume create a more memorable impression on hiring managers. If you're short on real world work experience, hobbies and interests can be a useful way of providing more information about your qualities. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.

Volunteer Work

Adding voluntary roles can be a useful way of showing relevant experience and skills for costume designer roles beyond your main employment history. Write your volunteer section in a similar format to your work experience, including your role, the organization name, relevant dates and the details of your contribution.

References

It's not typical to include references in a costume designer resume, but some employers might ask for them. Don't add references unless requested by the employer. Before adding any referees to your resume, ask them for their assistance and prepare them for contact by the employer.

Best words to use in a costume designer resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Choose verbs from the suggestions below that highlight your key skills or those mentioned in the job description.

If you want to create a resume that stands out from the crowd, use Jobseeker's expert-designed resume templates. You can also find cover letter templates that work to get you noticed by employers.

Sample resume for costume designer positions

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example costume designer resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are one of the key ways recruiters and employers manage the hiring process. The systems can screen candidates by scanning and ranking resumes based on each candidate's likely suitability for the vacancy. When drafting your costume designer resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.

Here a some simple tips to follow for an ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
• Adopt a resume design that uses clear, professional design principles and leaves white space for your content to breathe. Use the most readable fonts and incorporate subtle design elements to enhance the readability of your document.
• Keep your resume as concise as possible, to make it easier to read, and for ATS software to scan.

Takeaways for a winning costume designer resume

The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Pick a resume format that matches your experience levels, and tailor the content of your resume to reflect the details of the job description.

HR-approved resume templates and other tools by Jobseeker are the easiest way to create a winning job application. Sign up and follow the simple instructions to complete a resume that stands out from the crowd. Whether you're a junior or senior candidate, a professional cover letter can help to grab the attention of the employer. Jobseeker's cover letter examples were created by careers experts to provide useful tips and ideas for your cover letter.

Sources:

(1) Careers for creative people, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/creative-careers.htm

(2) Occupational Outlook Handbook, Craft and Fine Arts, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/craft-and-fine-artists.htm