If you’re an aspiring interior designer and you’re getting ready to dive into the job search phase of your budding career, it’s important for you to understand the key elements worth including in a winning interior design resume. To help you get started, below we’ve created an entire sample resume for you to reference when writing yours.
Which interior design career option is best for you?
From education and certifications to work experience and interpersonal skills, this is your opportunity to tell potential employers why they can trust you as a capable designer. Feel free to copy our sample for yourself and use our format and instructive guidelines to fill in all the details that explain why you’re the right interior designer for any job.
Interior Design Resume Sample
Your Name Here
Professional Summary
Here you want to summarize a bigger picture of all things design-related you do on a consistent basis. Are you currently working as an apprentice for an established designer under a larger local firm? Talk about what exactly you do to contribute to the workflow there. This is really just a summary, so try to highlight the most impressive, high-level parts of your routine. You’ll have the opportunity to go into much more detail further down. Keep in mind that when you’re applying for jobs, many potential employers comb through stacks of resumes and cover letters when recruiting new employees, and they don’t have time to read every last word you’re written. Try to imagine that this paragraph might be the only thing they have time to read- so take this opportunity to tell them what you’d most like them to know about your capabilities.
This is also a great place to include any impressive metrics worth sharing. Did you help your firm design and execute a stunning, well-known local commercial redesign project, several thousand dollars under budget? Let your potential employer in on those impressive figures and briefly describe how your specific talents helped contribute in pulling off the job.
Skills
- Here you can add a bulleted list of all the best qualities that make you right for the job.
- When it comes to interior design, some important skills worth sharing are:
- Strong Communication
- Successful Team Building
- Organizational Skills
- Business Etiquette
- Personal Accountability
- Ability to Meet Deadlines
- AutoCAD Proficient
- MS Word Proficient
Work History
Name Your Most Recent or Current Role (Date your time there. For example: August 2015- present)
Name the Company You Work For (if applicable) - List their address here
This is where you can go into far more detail about the work you do on a day-to-day basis. You want to put the most relevant work experience here, since this is the first work summary your potential employer will be reading. So if you work as a dental assistant part time in addition to your interior design freelancing business, outline your freelancing career here since it’s the most relevant to the job you’re applying for.
If you’re entirely new to the field of interior design but you’re currently or recently employed in a totally different field, use this space as an opportunity to highlight any responsibilities you held at that job that correspond with the skills we listed above. Were you working as an administrative office assistant? Talk about your organizational skills, your ability to communicate and work well with other team members, and your strong ability to meet deadlines.
Name Previous Work Experience (Date of employment)
Name of Company- Company Address
Here you can list your second most recent work experience (and so on below), adding all relevant jobs to this Work History list in the same format. Like we mentioned above, if the bulk of your work experience is unrelated to interior design, try to include the most relevant roles in this Work History list, and take this descriptive opportunity to explain how those roles gave you the opportunity to develop and execute all the abilities listed in the above Skills section.
Education
New York Institute of Art and Design: Interior Design Student, 2017 Graduate (list what you studied and where, then list when you graduated)
Accomplishments
- Here you can make a bulleted list of any awards or accomplishments worth sharing
- Was your design featured on NYIAD’s website? Tell your interviewer here.
Interior Design Student Resume
If you’re an interior design student, putting together a resume might seem like a daunting task. While you might not necessarily have a large gallery of completed projects and client testimonials under your belt yet, you have formal educational training and plenty of school projects that can easily serve as placeholders until you’ve gained some real-world experience.
Via Etsy
For example, your NYIAD Unit 1 project is to prepare a completed rough sketch of a living room with all dimensions included. On the sketch, you are required to include all details that relate to the outline of the actual room you’re planning. If the room contains any details you don’t know how to sketch, you are required to include a brief note on the sketch to explain the problem area so that your instructor can tell you how to handle such areas when your project is reviewed- this type of thorough planning and sketching, once reviewed by an instructor and updated, is a perfect example of something worth including in your portfolio- and this is something you’ll be able to complete after just 1 unit- so you can imagine the formal drawings and design plans you’ll have under your belt by the end of Unit 6.
