Creative director resume - text version:
Contact Information:
TAYLOR FOSTER Creative Director
zarachenel@gmail.com +1-329-571-8522 linkedin.com/zara.chanel Helsinki
Summary
A professional creative director with eight years of experience in the arts and entertainment industries. With sound business acumen and deep knowledge of communication design, interactive design, and business design concepts. Effective generated and implemented unique ideas and led creative teams.
Experience
Creative Director Ledner Group 01/2016 - Ongoing Helsinki TBWA\Helsinki is the most internationally awarded full-service marketing agency in Finland, part of TBWA Worldwide, a top ten ranked global advertising network.
- Increased revenue for theatrical productions through marketing efforts by 20%
- Created official Windows 10 packaging for retail
- Presented research focused product designs to Wal-mart USA securing more than $1.5MM+ revenue the first year
- Led a team of 40 in creative and digital departments
Creative Director Ledner Group 01/2012 - 01/2016 Helsinki Ledner Group is the corporate operation of NY TIme's Best-Selling author and Entrepreneur, Grant Cardone.
- Recruited and trained 3 Online Marketing Interns.
- Turned McCann Milan into the global hub for Nespresso after 3 years of international projects.
Creative Director of Branded Content, Senior Staff Writer Carroll 01/2010 - 01/2012 Helsinki Carroll is a digital publishing company that creates shareable online content, including video, editorial and image content. We compete for eyeballs in the social space. My job is to make sure our content is more engaging than other viral/trending stories.
- SMPR appeared on Channel 4's "Millionaires Mansions"
- named to the 2016 and 2017 Profit 500
- Increased sales by 132% by revamping the website
- Managed a team of 3
Co-founder and Creative Director Gutmann 01/2006 - 01/2010 Helsinki The main goal of Gutmann is to give a different point of view of popular songs and to be a stage for many unpopular artists around Bulgaria.
- Positioned Y&R Moscow on the 1st place of the Russian Creative Ranking (coming from the 14th place)
- Created 250+ videos winning multiple video awards
- Consulted on capital expenditures for 10+ seat production department
Education
Associate of Arts- Apparel Industry Management FIDM 01/2003 - Ongoing Helsinki
International Business UNISUL - Universidade do Sul 01/2000 - 01/2003 Helsinki
Certifications
SEO Essentials Certificate
- The key elements for creating an effective SEO strategy, by University of California.
Project Management Professional
- The Project Management Professional (PMP)® is the world's leading project management certification.
Achievements
Cyber Agency of the Year Cannes Lions 2005
- Working as a Sr. Art Director at DDM9DDB Brazil
Creative Reputation Growth
- Helped DDB&Co Istanbul, a Creative Boutique with 50 people to become one of the most creative agencies in the World
Agency of the Year (3rd place) Cannes Lions 2009
- Working as Sr. Art Director at DDB&Co Istanbul
Skills
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Client Relationship Management
- FunctionFox
- Wordpress
- Interpersonal Skills
- Project Management Software
- UX Design
- Copywriting
- Budgeting
- Print Design
- HTML
- Art Directors Toolkit 5i, Art
Strengths
Business Design
- Building successful businesses that create an impact.
Delivering Results
- Focus on the key inputs and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion.
Languages
- Dutch
- English
You’ve got an eye for what sells, and have the expertise in marketing and know how to inspire creative teams. As you’ve risen to the top in your field to become a creative director, you may not have dusted off your resume in a long time. Now, you’re back on the market and you need to update your old resume.
If you’re looking for a solution to turn your drab resume into an eye-catching CV, this article will provide you with a step-by-step guide to create one. We’ll also provide you with tips to tailor your resume to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Choose the best format for your creative director resume
We’ve recently done a study to see how our Enhancv resume templates compared to regular Microsoft templates. And you know what we found? Our resume templates are much easier to scan in ATS software specifically because of the superior formatting and readability. In order for your resume to pass ATS screening, make sure that it’s free from errors.
Here are some other tips on how to format your resume:
- Length/Columns: When it comes the length of your resume, it really doesn’t matter if it is one or two pages, but the perfect sweet spot for a resume is one page with two columns to separate information.
- Section Headings: Make sure that the information in each section heading corresponds with the section name. For example, your experience section should only have your experience in it.
- Colors and Design: Although not scanned by ATS software, using creative and tasteful colors and graphics can actually help you stand out with a hiring manager.
- Fonts: You don’t have to stick with boring fonts like Times new Roman or Calibri. In fact, all Google fonts can be easily read by ATS software.
- File Format: The best file format to use for your resume is a PDF, as it can be easily scanned by ATS and doesn’t compress or move images around.
Also, use a reverse chronological resume format to create your resume because it allows you to list all of your most recent experience first. A reverse chronological format allows you to show your progress throughout your career, allowing you to show how far you’ve come.
As a creative director, consider formatting your resume with a hybrid resume format. Hybrid resume formats are great for people switching careers or for those in a creative field because both skills and experience are given equal weight and are written in separate, parallel columns.
Pro tip
If you’re looking to optimize your resume for ATS, try to find keywords listed throughout the job description.
Add your contact information in the resume header
Your resume header is actually an important piece of your resume. Not only does it give you an opportunity to share your contact information, but ATS software actually scans through your header. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your resume header is free from errors and that the information in it matches your cover letter.
Here are the most important things to include on a resume header:
- Your first name and last name
- Your title
- Your phone number
- Your email address
- Your location
- Relevant social media handles(optional)
Create an interesting creative director resume summary
Your resume summary is your first opportunity to introduce yourself to a potential hiring manager. Resume summaries are also scanned by ATS software, therefore it’s a good idea to include some keywords that you find in the job description or which are common in your field. Also, do your best to use active, dynamic verbs to catch the attention of a hiring manager.
Most resume summaries focus on these important things:
- Your most recent job title and years of experience
- Any relevant skills that you bring to the table
- Your top 1 to 2 professional achievements
Feature a standout creative director experience section
Throughout your years of experience building into people, you no doubt have experienced significant achievements. One key to creating a captivating resume experience section is to quantify all of your achievements.
Here are some other things that you should include in a resume experience section:
- Reverse chronological order: Use a reverse chronological order for your experience section, as you’re able to list your most recent experience first.
- Job title: Always include job titles from previous roles. If the position or role is obscure, write a more common role in your resume.
- Company’s name, location, and description: This is especially important if you’ve worked for multinational companies, as they may have offices throughout the world.
- Date of employment: Always include the month and the year, as these are screened by ATS software.
- Achievements and responsibilities: Try to explain and clarify any of the achievements or responsibilities that you had in your previous role. Use real numbers to quantify your achievements, i.e., supervised a 10 person team on over 300 client accounts.
- Use active verbs: Always use dynamic action verbs to begin each bullet point in a resume experience section. Some words you may wish to include are led, cultivated, designed, analyzed, designed, and redesigned.
3 quantifiable achievements in the creative field
- Leadership: As someone in a senior management position, you can share times when you’ve led the team and helped them achieve success.
- Marketing campaigns: In your role as a creative director, you might have spearheaded many marketing campaigns. Be sure to list the return on investment (ROI) for the company, whether you helped increase web presence or higher revenue.
- Design Strategies: Last, explain how you pioneered new design strategies to reduce production costs and improve the overall quality of your work.
- Led a team of designers and achieved a 35% increase in client satisfaction ratings, resulting in repeat business and new referrals.
- Created and executed a new marketing campaign that generated a 25% increase in website traffic and a 15% increase in online sales over the course of six months.
- Implemented a new design strategy that reduced production costs by 20% while maintaining or improving the overall quality of the creative work.
List your education
No person is an island, and therefore it’s a good idea to list the educational institutions that have helped you to become the person who you are. If you attended a more prestigious school, you may wish to highlight that. Regardless of where you went to school, listing your education is an important part of your resume.
Here are some things that you should include in an education section:
- Degree Name
- University, college, or other institution
- Location (optional)
- Years attended
- GPA
- Honors or Dean’s list
Below, you can find a simple example of how to list your university experience in a resume education section:
List your relevant creative director skills
You have a unique skill set as a creative director, being both able to handle technical aspects of a role while also having the people skills to manage a team. Having this even combination of both hard and soft skills gives you a wide variety of marketable skills to highlight in your resume.
Hard Skills
Also commonly referred to as technical skills, hard skills are usually job specific tasks which are easy to show in a quantifiable way. This could involve your skills with design software or your ability to craft a website from scratch.
The top three technical skills for a creative director:
- Proficiency in design software
- Web design and development
- User Experience (UX) design
Soft skills
Soft skills, also called people skills, are not specific to a certain workplace and focus on skills like communication and leadership. Employees who are proficient in their soft skills can thrive in the interpersonal environment of a workplace.
The top three soft skills for a creative director:
- Leadership
- Communication
- Creativity
Include your creative director certificates
Including a certificate on your resume may actually give you a distinct advantage to other creative professionals. Being skilled with certain programming languages or design software can make you more attractive to hiring managers.
Here’s what you should include if you are to list a certification on your resume:
- Certification name
- Name of issuer
- Year of obtainment
- Location (if applicable)
- Date of expiration (if applicable)
- Expected date of obtainment (if applicable)
The top three creative director certificates for your resume:
- Certified Creative Director (CCD)
- Certified Brand Strategist (CBS)
- Design Management Certificate
Use other relevant sections to put the cherry on top of your resume
As a creative director, you may wish to include a “Day of My Life/My Time” section. Essentially, this is a visual representation of how you spend an average day. Marissa Mayer achieved success using this section. Although it won’t be directly scanned by ATS software, showcasing how you spend your time might help to show a hiring manager whether you will be a right fit for the company’s culture.
Below, you can find some other additional sections you may wish to include on your resume:
- Membership of professional associations: Certain certifications are only offered by specific associations. Take the Certified Creative Director certification listed above, which is offered by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
- Publications: There are several trade publications which focus on marketing best practices. If you have any articles published, you may wish to include the title of your article, as well as the trade publication that published it.
- Conferences: You may wish to include conferences, both those that you attended and those that you spoke at.
- Awards: Your awards might set you apart from other professionals in your field.
Create a matching cover letter for your creative director resume
Cover letters have a very distinct purpose because it’s the first time that you really get to share about yourself before the interview. It allows a hiring manager to glimpse a little more of who you are, rather than just what your resume says.
Below, you will find a list of important things to include in a cover letter:
- Contact information that corresponds with the resume.
- Greeting.
- Achievements in the first paragraph.
- Cover letter body:
- Work experience
- Skills
- Why you’d be a good fit
- Call to action
Creative director cover letter example
Dear Percy Reed,
I am writing to express my interest in the Creative Director position at Creative Education. As an experienced Creative Director with a passion for innovative design solutions, I am confident that I possess the skills and expertise necessary to lead your team to new heights of creative success.
With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, I have honed my skills in leading teams of designers, developers, and other creative professionals to deliver exceptional results. My work has spanned a wide range of industries and mediums, from print to digital, and I am well-versed in the latest design trends and technologies.
In my current role at XYZ Creative, I have led several successful projects, including a new branding campaign for a major technology company and a responsive website redesign for a leading fashion brand. I have also implemented new processes and strategies that have resulted in increased efficiency and productivity across our design team.
In addition to my technical skills, I possess strong leadership and communication skills that enable me to collaborate effectively with clients and stakeholders. I am passionate about creating a positive and collaborative team culture that fosters creativity and innovation.
I am excited about the opportunity to bring my skills and expertise to Creative Education and help take your creative team to the next level. Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to further discuss my qualifications with you.
Sincerely,
John Derian
Key takeaways
- The sweet spot for a resume is one page with two columns to separate experience and skills sections.
- Check your resume header for any grammar or spelling issues, and also check to see that your contact information matches your cover letter.
- Your resume summary is essentially your elevator pitch, a brief description of why you believe you are the perfect person for the position.
- Use action verbs to a highlight your experience and to make it more easily readable.
- Highlight both the soft and hard skills that you possess the as both are needed before they creative director position.
- If you’re part of any associations, be sure to list them in a separate section.
- Consider your cover letter as a jumping off point for an interview, the first opportunity you have to share a bit more about yourself.