Unique Resume Templates

If you’ve decided that one of our unique resume templates suits you, pay close attention to the following tips to make the most of your resume.

1. Ensure the template matches the industry.

   Your unique resume template should match your target industry. For example, if you’re applying for a creative role like graphic designer or creative director, you can opt for more vibrant, bold designs that showcase your artistic skills. However, for more traditional fields like law or finance, you might want to choose a toned-down unique resume template with a clean structure and subtle design elements like dashes of color or an exciting resume layout.

2. Keep it ATS-friendly.

   An essential factor to consider when using a unique resume template is the possibility of it being scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS). Employers will use this software to filter out undesirable resumes, and they’re notorious for discarding resumes that don’t follow their strict formatting guidelines. When opting for a unique resume template, ensure it doesn’t include images, text boxes or uncommon section headings. The ATS will likely be unable to scan it and will discard your resume before it reaches the hands of a recruiter. You can upload your resume to our free ATS Resume Checker to ensure it’s ATS-compliant!

3. Balance style with content.

   Although your resume design is crucial in capturing the attention of recruiters and organizing your sections correctly, your resume’s content will always be the priority. A well-designed template won’t magically get you an interview if you don’t fill it with the most relevant information. Ensure you write a resume with the five essential sections and unique accomplishments that prove your expertise.

4. Use a consistent color scheme.

   A great way to maintain professionalism in your unique resume template is to choose a color palette with similar or complementary shades. Don’t get carried away when customizing your resume; it isn’t an art project but a professional document. Stick to multiple shades of one color or two complementary shades from the color wheel.

5. Use creative fonts sparingly.

   Another way to make your resume template more unique is by choosing a creative resume font. You can mix serif and sans-serif fonts for your section headers and paragraphs. Some unique fonts that are job-appropriate are Saira, Blinker or Montserrat. It’s best to use more unique fonts for your headers while sticking to traditional fonts for the bulk of your resume’s content.

After choosing a unique resume template, the first order of business is the summary statement, also called the resume summary. This section functions as a formal introduction between you and the employer, where you share the key job requirements you possess. A few details you can share in your resume summary are:

• Your years of experience.
• Your academic background.
• A few job-relevant skills.
• A required certification or license.
• An impressive, unique achievement.

Get a better idea of how your resume summary should look with the following resume examples:

Paragraph style

“Creative and detail-oriented graphic designer with 5+ years of experience developing engaging and innovative digital and print designs for clients in various industries. Skilled in visual strategy, layout development, branding and delivering high-quality design solutions. Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign). Adept at collaborating with marketing teams, clients and other stakeholders to bring creative concepts to life. Known for strong work ethic, excellent time management and ability to balance multiple projects while meeting deadlines.”

List style

• Creative and detail-oriented graphic designer with 5+ years of experience in digital and print design.
• Expertise in visual strategy, layout development, branding and delivering high-quality design solutions.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
• Strong ability to collaborate with marketing teams, clients and stakeholders to bring concepts to life.
• Known for excellent time management, multitasking and meeting tight deadlines.

Our unique resume templates include a skills section where you can add six to eight of your most job-relevant skills. You can include additional skills in other sections of your resume, such as the summary or work history. A few tips to ensure your resume skills section is optimal are:

• Choose skills that the employer deems essential in the job advertisement. Browse the job description for these keywords and include the skills you possess.
• Include a balanced mix of soft skills and hard skills that demonstrate you’re a well-rounded candidate with expert knowledge and even better interpersonal skills.
• Never repeat this section’s skills in other areas of your resume. Only mention skills once to avoid sounding repetitive.

Here are some of the most in-demand skills for this year’s job market:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) fluency
• Emotional intelligence
• Problem-solving
• Strategic thinking
• Trend forecasting
• Cloud computing
• Cybersecurity
• Data analysis
• Project management
• User experience (UX) design

Your resume’s work experience section is crucial for showing recruiters all your impressive accomplishments throughout your career. How​​ you organize your work experience will depend on your chosen resume format. Inexperienced job seekers who opt for a functional resume format will omit the bullet point descriptions in favor of an expanded skills section.

If you’re opting for chronological or combination resume formats, you’ll need to complete the following to craft a strong work history section:

• List past jobs in reverse chronological order.
• Add your official job title, company name, location (city and state) and dates of employment.
• Include bullet points describing unique achievements that demonstrate your skills for the position.

Here are some examples of work history descriptions for various jobs you can use as inspiration when writing your own:

Photographer

• Captured dynamic and engaging event photography for corporate conferences, trade shows and private events, delivering high-resolution images for marketing and promotional purposes.
• Collaborated with event coordinators and marketing teams to ensure key moments were documented, tailoring style to fit client’s brand and aesthetic.
• Edited and retouched up to 500 images per event, ensuring timely delivery within 48 hours, resulting in 30% increase in repeat clients.

Event Planner

• Planned and executed 50+ corporate events, weddings and private parties annually, managing budgets from $10K to $100K.
• Collaborated with vendors and venues to ensure smooth events, increasing client satisfaction by 20%.
• Coordinated logistics and on-site operations, achieving 98% on-time event delivery rate.

Content Creator

• Developed and published 100+ blog posts, videos and social media content, driving 27% increase in audience engagement.
• Collaborated with marketing teams to create branded content, boosting website traffic by 15%.
• Managed content calendars and optimized posts for SEO, improving organic search visibility by 32%.

The final section to complete in your unique resume template will be the education. Essential for showing you meet the basic academic requirements, the education section must include the following:

• A list of your degrees in reverse chronological order. Include your college university’s name and location (city and state).
• Optional academic accomplishments like GPA or Honors.
• Relevant coursework to showcase more skills (best for recent graduates).

Here’s an example of an education section so you can know how to format it:

Education

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley — Berkeley, CA

• Relevant Coursework: Web Development, Data Structures, Algorithms, Software Engineering, Database Systems
• Key Projects: Developed a full-stack web application using React, Node.js, and MongoDB; Created responsive websites with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

Web Development Certification
Codecademy — Completed: December 2021

• Covered front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and back-end development (Node.js, Express).
• Built real-world projects, including a responsive portfolio website and a RESTful API for a web service.

Action verbs are a great way to add impact to your resume content. They give recruiters a clear idea of exactly what you accomplished, making your resume more concise and dynamic.

Here are some examples of resume action verbs:

• Executed targeted email campaigns that resulted in 15% increase in customer engagement and 10% boost in sales.
• Developed scalable software solutions using Python and Java, reducing system downtime by 34% and improving overall efficiency.
• Resolved customer inquiries and issues via phone, email and chat, achieving 95% satisfaction rating and reducing response time by 20%.
• Led cross-functional teams to deliver complex projects on time and within budget. Save 15% on project costs through efficient resource allocation.
• Implemented new onboarding processes, reducing employee training time by 25% and increasing new hire retention by 15%.