How to Update Your Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective

Seeking a remote job in the graphic design industry? Then you need to craft a compelling resume that leaves a hiring manager with no choice but to hire you. And rewriting your remote graphic designer resume objective into a professional summary is the first step to coveted employment.

For those with technical savvy and artistic aptitude, graphic design is a career with a positive outlook. Despite changes in technology and communication mediums, this creative position is forecast by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to grow by 3% in the next decade. It seems there is no shortage of employers that want to make their sales and marketing resources look perfect.

Changes in technology have introduced changes in the job, however. While before there was more of an emphasis on hand-drawn illustration and page layouts for use by printers, today, much of a graphic designer’s time is spent working on digital assets such as websites, online advertising, and email marketing. This means that graphic designers today need more technical skills, and experience in user interface design and development is in great demand.

If you are a creative professional seeking to advance your career, a well-written resume formatted according to current guidelines is necessary to make a good first impression. In the past, most resumes would begin with a career objective for a graphic designer. However, the currently accepted resume format uses a professional summary to introduce you to potential employers.

If this is your first time writing a professional summary, use the tips and examples below to draft one that is sure to impress your future employer.

The Difference Between a Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective and a Professional Summary

A resume objective and a career summary have several distinct differences:

How to Write a Great Professional Summary

There are four easy steps to creating an effective remote graphic designer professional summary.

1. Review applicable job advertisements. Identify 3-4 jobs that most closely match your ideal position. After that, identify the minimum requirements and main job duties that most closely match your experience.
2. Begin your summary with an overview of your background, important soft skills, and qualifications illustrating you meet or exceed the minimum requirements.
3. Include one or two sentences that highlight your skill set. Focus on the ones that show you can execute important job duties and include numbers if appropriate.
4. Finish the summary with information about your communication and leadership abilities. Especially important for remote positions, emphasize your ability to contribute independently, work in virtual teams, or lead remote employees.

Tips for Optimizing Your Remote Graphic Designer Professional Summary

After you update your graphic designer career objective, make sure to review the tips below before applying for your next position:

1. Write From a First-Person Implied Perspective

All resumes are written from a first-person implied perspective. This means write it as though you are writing about yourself, but leave out personal pronouns like ‘I,’ ‘my,’ and ‘me.’

2. Change Your Perspective

Remember to shift your perspective from focusing on what you want in a job to illustrating that you are exactly the right person for the job.

3. Include Specific Information Regarding Your Experience

Make sure that when you mention your experience or accomplishments in your summary, you back up your statements with details.

4. Optimize for ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems)

To optimize for ATS, identify keywords to use when describing your experience and skills by studying the language used in the job ads. Find out more about how to pass ATS software from Virtual Vocation’s Job Coach, Holly Leyva.

5. Avoid Using Technical Jargon or Acronyms

A summary full of alphabet soup and obscure phrases makes it difficult to read and understand. Even within the same field or industry, terms can vary. Ensure you write in plain English and remember that your resume will usually be reviewed initially by non-technical personnel.

6. Watch Your Language

You may indeed have garnered “amazing” results from your last design, but that doesn’t mean anything to a potential employer. Refrain from padding your summary with empty phrases or overusing the thesaurus. Instead, focus on demonstrating your skills and quantifying your successes.

7. Interject Soft Skills

The summary is the only opportunity on a resume to provide an indication of your personality. Don’t overdo it, but throwing in a “dedicated” and “innovative” or a “collaborative,” can give potential employers insight into your personality strengths.

Examples of How to Rewrite Your Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective Into a Professional Summary

Below are a few examples of rewritten graphic designer objectives.

Goal: Highlight Technical and Design Skills

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective

To obtain a challenging position as a graphic designer contributing with highly developed design skills and technical aptitude.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

1. Rewrite your objective:

Creative, technically oriented graphic designer with experience planning and executing commercial design projects that accomplish strategic business goals.

2. Add a sentence that supports your experience or expands on your skills:

Skilled at brand development, recognized for producing unique and effective design resources that establish and reinforce corporate visual identity.  

3. Finish with communication style and leadership experience:

Collaborative communicator focused on building positive virtual relationships with project owners to effectively translate written or spoken concepts into visual designs.

Goal: Illustrate a Wide Variety of Design Experience

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective

To obtain a position as a graphic designer and utilize a comprehensive skill set to create designs for a wide variety of projects, including marketing collateral, print ads, and web design.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

Adaptable, inventive graphic designer with a wide variety of experience creating visual concepts and designs in a variety of formats and mediums. Technically savvy professional, skilled at producing print collateral, designing web pages, and maintaining visual ID standards. Focused on fostering remote connections with colleagues and vendors to ensure consistency across all aspects of a business’s visual presence.

Goal: Target Intermediate Positions That Require Previous Digital Design Experience

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective  

To take on a challenging position as a remote graphic designer to build upon proven successes in developing and implementing original and innovative visual concepts.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

Innovative commercial graphic designer with 5 years of experience developing digital designs and online marketing resources that exceeded project goals. Exceed target analytics while increasing the quantity and quality of website engagement via original designs and applications. Collaborate with internal departments and manage vendors to facilitate on-time delivery of design projects.

Goal: Seeking a Senior-Level Agency Position

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective  

Experienced graphic designer looking for a position as a senior creative designer working for a large advertising agency.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

Talented senior-level graphic designer with extensive experience developing and implementing advertising campaigns in a fast-paced agency environment. Credited with developing original concepts that successfully engage with targeted audiences and achieve client goals. Proven track record of leading distributed teams of creative professionals to achieve project goals on time and on budget. 

Goal: Focus on Management Skills and Teamwork

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective

Work at home graphic designer seeking a position where proven marketing knowledge and management skills can be leveraged to create a productive team environment.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

Inclusive, creative team leader with experience managing all aspects of visual design projects specializing in the healthcare industry. Talented graphic designer with a background in marketing skilled at successfully leading projects from concept through evaluation. Collaborative leader focused on fostering trusting, productive virtual teams.

Goal: Targeting Senior-Level Graphic Design Leadership Position

Current Remote Graphic Designer Resume Objective

To join with a progressive organization that will benefit from talents in building, mentoring, and leading virtual teams that develop winning creative campaigns across diverse platforms.

Rewritten as a Professional Summary

Solution-oriented team leader with extensive experience planning and executing creative projects that accomplish strategic goals. Thrive at managing projects and operational workflows to design winning campaigns across diverse platforms. Hire and mentor top talent, building productive teams and implementing effective communication strategies.

What to Do If You Are Just Starting Out

Creating a professional summary for a remote graphic designer position can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. Without practical examples of your work, it can be difficult to demonstrate your skills. But if you’re a recent graduate or making a career transition, here are a few tips:

Here is an example:

Enthusiastic graphic designer with a recently conferred bachelor’s degree in design poised to make an immediate impact translating design visions into digital resources. Creative thinker, recognized for designing a professional, targeted website for a local business as part of a school project. Proactive communicator dedicated to building positive relationships in a virtual environment.

Before You Go…

Updating your remote graphic designer resume objective as a professional summary is the key to ensuring your resume meets modern hiring requirements. Luckily, this format is also a better way to highlight your soft skills and accomplishments. First, clearly show that you meet the minimum requirements of the job. Then, use the summary to showcase the areas where you excel. In general, be concise, optimistic, and focus on why you are a great fit for the position.

Do you have any tips on turning your graphic designer resume objective into a professional summary? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and questions. We’d love to hear from you!