Resumes for Your Dream Job by Bill Mawhinney

A compelling and eye-catching resume is critical when you’re looking for a job. It needs to stand out, but also deliver vital information that sets you up as the ideal candidate for the posting.

Bill Mawhinney is a graphic designer and Adobe Stock Templates Contributors known for his easy to use and attention-grabbing resume templates. He has a series of templates which can be found inside the updated “New Documents” dialog InDesign CC and in our Adobe Stock marketplace. These pre-designed resumes are a great launch pad for your new career and are completely customizable to help you snag your dream job.

We spoke with Bill about how his career path led him to graphic design as well as his journey and success into the stock industry.

Adobe Stock: When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

Bill Mawhinney: Like most designers, I’ve been interested in Art and Design my whole life. Drawing and painting from a young age, I actually wanted to be an architect because it was a desirable career at the time. As computers were uncommon in the home, I didn’t have much experience with them until I left school and went to college, where a tutor introduced me to the work of David Carson and his ‘The End of Print: The Graphic Design of David Carson’ publication. That was a massive turning point for me, knowing from then on that I wanted to be a graphic designer.

AS: What did the beginning of your journey look like?

BM: After studying Graphic Design at University (where I met my wife Adele), I was desperate to try my skills in the real world. Quickly securing a job as an in-house designer, I realized that I had a lot to learn! After a year I moved to my wife’s hometown, and started working with a commercial printer, which I can say taught me an immense amount about the various printing processes and client relationships. Those skills and knowledge I still use today.

AS: What lessons have you learned along your career path?

BM: I spent the subsequent years trying my hand a little bit of everything; web design, video editing, interactive learning, exhibition design, vehicle livery, branding, books, brochures and almost anything that can be designed, and although the experience was invaluable, I found some of these projects lacking in creativity and sought to eventually work for myself, looking to create and expand my knowledge further.

AS: How did you get into stock?

BM: I had used stock sites in the past, usually for images or website templates, never realizing that they also included other types of print templates. My early submissions included magazine and resume/CV templates, and I dabbled with uploading illustrations. I soon found that I had the most success with my first resume/CV template, as that section wasn’t particularly busy at the time. So I decided to concentrate on that, which has been working well so far!

After a few years of modest earnings, my wife Adele came on board to help me with marketing and promotion of my templates on social media. It was then that we saw a spike in sales, and it became apparent that it might be possible to make this a full-time venture. We took the plunge in March 2016 and haven’t looked back. It’s a great start, and we are coming up with new ideas all the time on how to expand and grow.

AS: What makes a good resume?

BM: By definition a resume is a summary, so I try to keep all my designs succinct, legible and eye-catching, which is what I would expect from a resume that I would receive or use myself. Your application may only be viewed for a few seconds if you’re applying for a competitive position, so short, sharp and useful information is what makes a resume stand out for me.

AS: What advice do you have for new or young designers?

BM: I cannot stress enough the fact that seeing your work in person, printed or people interacting with it is essential to grow as a designer. It’s very easy in our modern, digital world to lose sight of the physical world in which your designs will live. I’m thankful that I had a lot of experience working with clients, getting feedback and understanding printing processes before making the leap to digital stock, but I would stress that getting into a studio, commercial printers or anywhere that you can see what happens with your design after it has left your computer is paramount!

See more of Bill’s resume templates on Adobe Stock.