10 UX Designer Resumes Examples & Why They Work

You might think a portfolio is all you need when applying for UX design jobs. While it’s definitely important, UX designers also need a strong resume to share deeper insights into their experience, education, and skills. 

A comprehensive resume that makes you stand out from the crowd hugely increases your chances of landing your dream job. It provides hiring managers with all the details they need to make a hiring decision.

This UX designer resume guide will equip you with the tools you need to create a killer resume—as well as ten examples to learn from. 

Let's start with the basics.

What is a UX designer resume? And how does it differ from standard resumes?

A UX designer resume is a concise document detailing a designer’s experience, technical skills, education, and more. It’s a document designed to convince a hiring manager why you’re a great UX designer. A resume is usually accompanied by a cover letter and a portfolio showcasing your best UX skills. 

A UX designer resume is different from a standard resume in that you won’t get away with poor design. Your UX designer resume needs to be well-put-together and designed in line with your portfolio and cover letter. Where poor design isn’t the end of the world for standard resumes, missing the mark with a UX designer resume contradicts all the skills listed on the document. If you can’t design a strong resume, how will you design strong products?

You might include a couple of personal details in your UX design portfolio, but your resume is where you really get into that personal information. Your portfolio should highlight your top skills as a UX designer, and your resume should tell hiring managers the work experience, qualifications, and education that helped you get there. You want to be succinct, as a UX designer resume is typically a single-page document. 

Let's have a look at what hiring managers tend to look for when seeking UX designers.

What hiring managers are looking for in a UX designer’s resume

In addition to the more general information, which we'll go into later, a model UX designer resume must show three things: 

1. Relevant UX experience and expertise
2. High-quality technical skills and knowledge of design tools
3. A very strong understanding of UX and the role of design

Keep these central goals in mind when creating your UX designer resume, and remember to gear every single detail towards getting these across. Now we've been through some of the details, let's dive into some UX designer resume examples to help inspire your own UX designer resume.

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10 Examples of winning UX designer resumes and why they work

Let's take a look at these requirements in practice with this list of top-notch example resumes. Sometimes the best inspiration comes from having a clear idea of what kind of end product you want to create. 

Already know what you’re looking for? Skip ahead:

1. The traditional, entry-level UX designer resume
2. The concise, entry-level UX designer resume
3. The clear, entry-level UX designer resume
4. The bold, interdisciplinary UX resume
5. The colorful, junior UX designer resume
6. The segmented, senior UX designer resume 
7. The organized, senior UX designer resume
8. The experienced, senior UX designer resume
9. The comprehensive, senior UX designer resume
10. The eye-catching, senior UX designer resume

1. The traditional entry-level UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this candidate is searching for their first full-time position as a junior UX designer, and so has little relevant experience for the role. 

However, they have completed an internship in UX design, and they've successfully focused on this—fleshing it out to emphasize it to hiring managers.

If you're looking to break into the industry, this is a great example of a UX designer resume template.

2. The concise entry-level UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this is a clear, to-the-point resume that demonstrates experience in the industry. It’s easy to read and to navigate—no fuss.

One thing this resume does lack, however, is a short biography. There’s little personality, and while that’s not essential, it can be a nice addition. This resume sticks to the bare-bone basics: education, experience, and skills.

3. The clear entry-level UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: the larger headers for each section makes it easy to scan this document for key information. . 

The resume also includes projects, which is a good opportunity to tailor the resume to different roles. If you’ve done similar projects to what’s being asked in a JD, share them!

4. The bold interdisciplinary UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this resume successfully balances white space with plenty of  information. The ‘Ask me about’ section gives a glimpse into the applicant’s interests and personality: we’d advise adapting the tone and content of the section to each company you apply for. Some will appreciate its casual nature, others may prefer a more professional tone.

5. The colorful junior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: the color splash at the top is subtle and professional, yet still draws the eye. 

You'll notice that the personal bio is at the end of the document. It's very succinct and acts as a great signpost to his general profile, so we'd advise moving it up to the top, where it's more noticeable. 

6. The segmented senior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this resume stands out by successfully balancing engaging and professional language. It uses an original format that segments information with line breaks—creating blocks for related information.

The bolded, colorful headings also make it easy to identify and distinguish between segments—creating a skimmable CV.

7. The organized senior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this resume stands out for its clear organization and professional format. It uses bolding and italics, and to optimize readability while maintaining the same font and color.

8. The experienced senior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this resume stands out because of the way that the applicant, a senior UX designer, has presented their impressive track record. 

The format means that achievements are clearly visible—no words are wasted and the writing is exceptionally to-the-point. 

9. The comprehensive senior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from this UX design resume: this resume stands out for the personal branding and consistent typography. The format is easily readable and organized so that hiring managers can hone in on experience and accomplishments first. 

However, we’ve got two suggestions:

1. Rethink the Skills section to include skill prioritization and bullet points. The list is very long and chunked together into one block of text that doesn’t highlight any skills in particular.
2. Remove the extra spacing in the experience section. The current resume includes inconsistent spacing from one role to the next, which could imply a large gap between roles. Looking at the dates shows no such gap, so amend the spacing to reflect this.

10. The eye-catching senior UX designer resume

Key takeaways from Ryan Tinsley's UX design resume: the dark background and white text are an original touch, and will grab the hiring manager's attention. The bolding and formatting are consistent throughout, and make this resume easy to read and scan.

An all-black resume is a bold and memorable choice, but it’s not for every position. Consider the company you’re applying to, and whether they’re interested in originality.

A writing guide for UX design resumes

Now we've looked at some examples, let's take a deeper dive into what exactly you need to be including in your UX design resume. 

What is included in a UX designer resume?

Remember when we said we’d be coming back to the exact details shortly. We’re here, let’s take a look at how to craft a winning UX design resume.

• Name and contact information

Add your personal details front and center, so that hiring managers can easily identify your personal information and contact details. We'd advise including your email address, phone number, and hyperlinked LinkedIn profile.

If you’re submitting a physical copy of your resume you’ll likely need to tweak this section to remove any links. However, modern-day recruiting usually takes place online—so including links enables you to share more information.

🧠 Uxcel top tip: You can add a link to your Uxcel profile to give hiring managers another way to validate your UX design skills. Uxcel profiles include your Skills Graph and specific design skill certificates—and can even be built out to include contact information, work experience, and more.

• Personal statement

No more than three or four lines long, this is where you provide a very brief summary of yourself. Keep it short and sweet, and avoid including unnecessary details. 

For example: 

Passionate and highly skilled UX designer specializing in graphic design, web design, and usability testing. Seeking a freelance role in a project design space to use considerable UX/UI design skills and enhance user experience in mobile, tablet, and web-based devices. 

• Work experience

Write this in reverse order. If you're an entry-level UX designer and you're applying for your first job, don't panic. You can include information about any internships you may have completed, a school/university UX design project, or any other organizations you've worked with. 

All experiences should include two to three lines explaining what you did, and how it helped you develop relevant skills. Stats and specific program names are important to emphasize credibility. 

For example: 

UX Designer at Uxcel, 2019-2022

1. Re-designed internal web and mobile apps to increase sign ups by 39%
2. Designed and developed responsive and adaptive websites using HTML5 and CSS3
3. Improved load speed on website from 2 seconds to 0.8 seconds by applying recommendations from Google Lighthouse

• Education

Start with your most recent educational program and work backwards. Don't worry if it's not directly relevant—an employer might see a career change as a show of your commitment to UX design, and your range of experience can make you a stronger candidate. 

For example: 

B.S. in Computer Science, Stanford University, 2010-2014

1. Distinction in UX Design and UI Development coursework 
2. Completed a UX thesis project: Intercultural Design: Designing for Different Regions

• Skills

Select your most relevant skills for the role in question and list them in order of importance. You also want to include the tools you use here, as tool proficiency is often a sought-after skill for UX design positions. 

If your list is looking slightly short, you can work to improve your UX design skills by completing online courses and tests to get those skills up to scratch. Uxcel’s online UX design courses are a great resource for developing specific skills and improving overall.

Here’s an example of some of the skills you could include in your resume: 

1. Prototyping
2. Usability testing
3. HTML 5, JavaScript, CSS
4. User research 
5. Design flow creation

• Awards and recognitions

This section isn't compulsory, but it's a good opportunity to show off about any relevant recognition or certificates you've previously received. These may be certificates of course completion, professional UX design certifications, industry awards, or more. You may also want to include a Further Information section if you have other proficiencies (for example, proficiency in various languages) you want to include. 

For example: 

• UX Designer Certification
• Mobile Design at Uxcel, 2022
• Typography in UX UI Design at Uxcel, 2021
• Google UX Design Professional Certification, 2019
• Top-rated UI Design Tutor on Tutorfair, 2018

Let's take a closer look at some of the key skills you'll want to show on your resume. 

Most Important Skills to Display on Your Resume

First you’ve got the hard skills that hiring managers will be looking for: 

• User research
• Wireframing
• Prototyping
• Usability testing
• Design accessibility
• Typography 

Then you’ve got soft skills to boost your resume: 

• Communication 
• Problem-solving skills 
• Teamwork 
• Determination 
• Initiative 

And finally, tool skills to include:

• Figma 
• Sketch
• Maze
• AdobeXD
• Adobe Illustrator

Looking to learn and improve your design skills and bulk up your resume? Get started with Uxcel and complete interactive UX courses and skills tests created for professional designers.

Formatting your UX resume the right way

There is no definitive 'right' way to format your UX designer resume—you can see that in the variety of the example resumes we've just been through. However, there are general best practices to keep in mind. 

Here are our top tips for formatting your resume: 

1. Cut the fluff and keep it to one page.
2. Format your education, employment, and experience in reverse chronological order. 
3. Select a professional, easy-to-read font and set it to size 10, 11 or 12. No smaller, no larger (except your name at the top of the resume, which must stand out in big, bold lettering). 
4. Bullet points are fine, even recommended, but stick to standard, circular bullet points. 
5. Ensure your text spacing and punctuation is consistent—either use full stops at the end of your bullet points or don't, but stick to one. 
6. White space is important: no one wants to read a page of solid text. 
7. Use the format to highlight your most impressive achievements or experience, and those that best match the job description. 

So, that’s what you should do, now let’s look at what you shouldn’t do. 

Avoid these common mistakes

Competition is tight, so consider these top five, most common resume errors when creating your resume. 

1. Bad grammar and spelling mistakes. Claiming you've got ‘an exceptional eye for detail’ or similar doesn’t hold much weight if you submit an error-ridden resume.
2. Don't use a skill scale. These are becoming increasingly trendy in the UX design resume world—used by applicants to rate their skill level on a scale of one to five—but they make little sense. For example, if you score yourself 5/5 for Adobe Photoshop, are you saying you're an expert and you have nothing else to learn?
3. Avoid using default resume templates found online. Starting with a template is fine, but you definitely want to add some personality to ensure it doesn’t match another applicant.
4. Test your links. Having your LinkedIn and portfolio as clickable links on your resume is a great idea, as it'll save recruiting managers an extra step. Ensure they work—test your links.
5. Check whether you need a password to gain access to your UX design portfolio, and if so include it in big letters at the top of your resume. Rather than chasing you up for the information, time-pressed hiring managers are much more likely to simply skip your portfolio if they can't get access, which almost certainly means rejection. 

We’ve also got some bonus tips to ensure your resume is top-notch—take a look.

Bonus tips to make your resume stand out from competitors

If you want to land that job you’ll need to go above and beyond. Let’s take a look at our four top tips to help you impress those recruiters with a high-quality resume. 

• Tweak it to the job you’re applying for: each role has different requirements, tweak your resume to highlight your skills that match those requirements.
• Consider getting a UX Designer Certification: Uxcel’s role-specific UX certifications are industry-recognized certifications that validate your skills and knowledge for a variety of UX roles, including UX designer.
• Make it yours: you're applying to be a designer, so let your design personality shine through.
• Have someone else look it over: having another pair of eyes look over your work is crucial to spot small mistakes. 

Half the battle is preempting the common shortcomings that hiring managers watch out for. If you make sure you’ve got every base covered, you’ll significantly increase your chances of getting hired. 

So…

You’ve got your UX resume, now what?

As we mentioned earlier, a UX design resume will go hand-in-hand with a cover letter and design portfolio. . 

• A cover letter is essentially a pitch that proves why you'd be a good fit for the role and company. Include an introduction detailing your experience highlights, a paragraph on why you fit the job description, and a conclusion that expresses your interest and enthusiasm for the role.
• A portfolio is where you showcase your skills and previous work. Crafting the perfect portfolio is about quality not quantity, and about demonstrating your design experience and process to prospective clients and employers. If you’re an entry level designer with little experience, try taking UX challenges and skills tests to create designs to include in your portfolio.

To really impress recruiters, remain consistent across the three documents. Use the same color palette and typography to create a memorable personal aesthetic and style. 

Once you’ve got a strong resume, cover letter, and portfolio—you’re ready to start applying for positions. Uxcel’s Job Board is a great place to find UX roles with top businesses—such as Lululemon, Siemens, and more. Then, all that’s left is to prepare for the UX designer interview stage.

Develop your skills and enhance your resume with Uxcel

Recruiters look at your CV for an average of 7.4 seconds before moving on—so you want to make sure they’ve got an easy path to your top qualifications, experience, and skills.

Standing out requires a well-put-together resume that gets straight to the point. It should demonstrate your UX proficiency and expertise as well as your relevant experience in the field.

If you’re looking to bulk up your UX designer resume with relevant certificates and case studies, try Uxcel. The online UX courses are a great way to improve your skills, and issue a certificate of completion upon finishing a course—which you can include in your resume. You can also take UX certification assessments to gain credibility as a UX designer when applying for positions. 

‍Ready to join the world’s biggest design community and start honing your skills? Get started with Uxcel today.