As a creative services manager, you may find it particularly challenging to encapsulate the breadth of your creative achievements without overwhelming potential employers with too much detail. Our guide offers targeted strategies to finesse your resume, ensuring your most impactful accomplishments shine through concisely and effectively.
- Defining the highlights of your creative services manager career through your resume summary, objective, and experience.
- Real-world creative services manager resume samples with best practices on how to stand out amongst the endless pile of candidate resumes.
- Most in-demand creative services manager resume skills and certifications across the industry.
- Standardizing your resume layout, while maintaining your creativity and individuality.
If the creative services manager resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
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- Set Designer Resume Example
- Lighting Designer Resume Example
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- Associate Creative Director Resume Example
The importance of format and layout in your creative services manager resume
Consider you're an HR professional at company X, evaluating two creative services manager candidate resumes. John Smith presents a simple, traditional, and easy-to-read resume. Edward Price, however, uses a non-conventional, often illegible format. Whose resume would you spend more time on to understand their experience? This scenario underscores the importance of your creative services manager resume’s design. It should be simply formatted and clearly communicate why you are the ideal candidate for the role.Achieve this balance by:
- Listing your experience, beginning with the most recent and relevant, in reverse chronological order;
- Ensuring your header contains essential information, such as contact details, a headline, and a portfolio link. Include a professional photo in the creative services manager resume header if you have one;
- Including only the most important and relevant resume sections to showcase your expertise and stand out from other candidates;
- Editing your creative services manager resume to be no longer than two pages if you have extensive relevant experience. Use your limited resume space judiciously.
Also, remember that your creative services manager resume might initially be scanned by an Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
When it comes to ATS:
- Opt for simple and legible fonts like Raleway, Rubik, Lato, etc., making your experience easy for the ATS to scan;
- Use serif and sans-serif fonts, both of which are ATS-friendly;
- Avoid overused options like Arial and Times New Roman, which, while suitable, may lack personality.
Contrary to a common myth, our recent study shows that the ATS can effectively process both one-column and two-column resumes. Learn more about this in the ATS myths guide.
Finally, when submitting your creative services manager resume, always export it as a PDF to ensure all information remains intact, making the document easier to print, read, and scan.
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PRO TIP
If you're in the process of obtaining your certificate or degree, list the expected date you're supposed to graduate or be certified.
The key to your creative services manager job-winning resume - present your expertise with these sections:
- A header to make your resume more scannable
- Snapshot of who you are as a professional with your resume soft skills, achievements, and summary or objective
- Job advert keywords in the skills section of your resume
- Resume experience quantifying your past job successes with metrics
- A relevant education, certification, and technical sills section to provide background to your technological/software capabilities
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Proven track record of leading creative projects from concept to completion, including successful brand campaigns, design initiatives, or multimedia production.
- Expertise in creative process management, including workflow coordination, team collaboration, and delivering under tight deadlines.
- Strong portfolio showcasing exemplary design skills, innovative ideas, and successful execution of integrated marketing strategies.
- Proficient in creative software and technologies related to graphic design, video editing, and digital media production.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills, demonstrating the ability to inspire creative teams and liaise with clients and stakeholders.
Experts' advice on writing your creative services manager resume experience
While the excitement and motivation for writing your creative services manager resume was present in the first hour (or so), you now find yourself staring at the blank page.
The resume experience section is the one that allows you to make a memorable impression by matching job requirement with your past jobs and accomplishments.
To help you write this resume section, here are four mistakes you need to avoid:
- Listing every job you have had so far, including the irrelevant ones. Before that, consider each of your past roles based on relevancy to the role. It may be the case that the job you had 15 years ago may have taught you invaluable skills that are appropriate for the role;
- Including irrelevant work experience items. Those are past jobs that aren't linked with the role you're applying for (or so they seem). Consider how your past jobs will serve your professional presentation: will they be filling in a gap in your work history, or just taking up space?
- Focusing on responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Your creative services manager resume shouldn't just be telling recruiters what you did in the past - as it's most often the case that candidates have had similar responsibilities. But, rather, the experience section should showcase the success you've attained in each past role, thanks to your unique skill set;
- Consider listing just your professional experience. Any role you've had in the past - e.g. volunteering, internships, etc. - can make it into your creative services manager resume experience section. Make sure to include it alongside numbers and results.
Two more things you need to remember about your resume experience section.
The first are keywords. Or those specific job requirements that are crucial for the role . Ensure you've integrated them across your experience section to get sorted closer to the ideal candidate profile by the Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
The second are action verbs. Each of your experience bullets should start with a strong action verb, followed by your specific skill and your on the job achievements. Follow this formula to hint to recruiters what your unique value as a professional is.
Still with us? In the next section, we will show you how industry-leading professionals have avoided the four most common mistakes, while integrating keywords and action verbs in their experience section.
- Led a team of 12 designers and coordinated multiple large-scale branding projects, ensuring timely delivery with a 30% increase in team efficiency.
- Managed the creative direction for national advertising campaigns for a leading retail brand, contributing to a 20% increase in seasonal sales.
- Developed and implemented a new creative workflow process that reduced project turnaround time by 15%, enhancing client satisfaction rates.
- Overhauled the visual identity of a major software company, directly influencing a 25% growth in brand recognition in the target market.
- Pioneered the adoption of an agile project management style in the creative department, shortening project timelines by an average of 18%.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop multimedia marketing materials that increased customer engagement by 40%.
- Launched an in-house creative services department, building the team from the ground up to serve internal stakeholders and leading to a 50% reduction in external agency costs.
- Implemented a company-wide rebranding initiative across all digital platforms, consistently meeting milestones and increasing web traffic by 35%.
- Conceptualized and executed a comprehensive social media strategy that amplified the company's online presence, achieving a 50% boost in social media interactions.
- Harmonized the creative vision for product launches with market research, ultimately enhancing consumer retention by 22% over the previous year.
- Steered the development of an award-winning advertising campaign that generated a 15% surge in market share for the flagship product.
- Negotiated and managed vendor contracts that led to a 25% reduction in print and production costs without compromising quality.
- Revitalized the company’s digital content strategy, resulting in a 200% increase in content output with a significant enhancement in quality and storytelling.
- Orchestrated the launch of a new mobile app, directing the creative aspects and achieving 1 million downloads within the first six months.
- Secured and managed a robust pipeline of freelance creatives, increasing the department's scalability and flexibility for diverse projects.
- Drove the creative strategy for global marketing campaigns aligned with corporate objectives, resulting in a consistent year-over-year growth of 18% in global brand recognition.
- Curated a successful brand partnership with a leading fashion label, which increased our social media followings by 60% across all platforms.
- Spearheaded a cross-departmental initiative to integrate user experience design with branding, markedly improving the user rating of the company website by 1.2 stars.
- Directed a multidisciplinary team in crafting a comprehensive rebranding for a legacy product line, attracting a new demographic and resulting in a 27% sales increase.
- Executed a streamlined asset management system that reduced file redundancy and improved creative asset findability by 40%.
- Fostered a collaborative environment that prioritized creative exploration, leading to the development of an award-winning marketing campaign recognized by the industry.
- Designed and executed a brand evolution strategy for a Fortune 500 company, enhancing customer loyalty and contributing to a 4% revenue increase YoY.
- Overcame a tight fiscal environment by strategically reallocating resources, which maintained creative output without additional personnel costs.
- Leveraged data analytics to refine creative campaign targeting, achieving a 15% higher engagement rate compared to previous efforts.
The following content includes information from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data represents the top responsibilities present on the task lists for creative services manager professionals.
Top Responsibilities for Creative Services Manager:
- Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
- Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
- Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
- Review and approve art materials, copy materials, and proofs of printed copy developed by staff members.
- Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements.
- Attend photo shoots and printing sessions to ensure that the products needed are obtained.
- Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Report the percent increase in client satisfaction scores due to improvements you've implemented in creative processes or service delivery.
- Quantify the growth in brand engagement metrics as a result of your creative campaigns or initiatives.
- Specify the budget size you've managed for creative projects to give a sense of scale and your financial acumen.
- Highlight the number of cross-functional teams you've collaborated with to demonstrate your ability to work in a complex organization.
- Measure the percentage of projects delivered ahead of schedule under your management which indicates efficiency and time management skills.
- Identify the number of direct reports you've supervised to show leadership and team management experience.
- Quantify the reduction in operational costs through process optimizations or vendor negotiations you've led in the creative department.
- Showcase the number of industry awards won by your team as a testament to the high-quality work and innovation you've driven.
Action verbs for your creative services manager resume
No relevant experience - what to feature instead
Suppose you're new to the job market or considering a switch in industry or niche. In such cases, it's common to have limited standard professional experience. However, this isn't a cause for concern. You can still craft an impressive creative services manager resume by emphasizing other sections, showing why you're a great fit for the role:
- Emphasize your educational background and extracurricular activities to demonstrate your industry knowledge;
- Replace the typical experience section with internships or temporary jobs where you've gained relevant skills and expertise;
- Highlight your unique skill set, encompassing both technological and personal abilities;
- Showcase transferable skills acquired throughout your life and work experiences so far.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
List your educational qualifications and certifications in reverse chronological order.
In-demand hard skills and soft skills for your creative services manager resume
A vital element for any creative services manager resume is the presentation of your skill set.
Recruiters always take the time to assess your:
- Technological proficiency or hard skills - which software and technologies can you use and at what level?
- People/personal or soft skills - how apt are you at communicating your ideas across effectively? Are you resilient to change?
The ideal candidate presents the perfect balance of hard skills and soft skills all through the resume, but more particular within a dedicated skills section.
Building your creative services manager skills section, you should:
- List up to six skills that answer the requirements and are unique to your expertise.
- Include a soft skill (or two) that defines you as a person and professional - perhaps looking back on feedback you've received from previous managers, etc.
- Create up to two skills sections that are organized based on the types of skills you list (e.g. "technical skills", "soft skills", "creative services manager skills", etc.).
- If you happen to have technical certifications that are vital to the industry and really impressive, include their names within your skills section.
At times, it really is frustrating to think back on all the skills you possess and discover the best way to communicate them across.
We understand this challenge - that's why we've prepared two lists (of hard skills and soft skills) to help you build your next resume, quicker and more efficiently:
Top skills for your creative services manager resume:
Adobe Creative Suite
Project Management Software
Content Management Systems (CMS)
Graphic Design Tools
HTML/CSS
Video Editing Software
Digital Marketing Tools
Social Media Management Platforms
Branding Software
Analytics Tools
Creative Thinking
Communication
Leadership
Time Management
Collaboration
Problem Solving
Adaptability
Attention to Detail
Strategic Thinking
Interpersonal Skills
Next, you will find information on the top technologies for creative services manager professonals from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Top technologies for Creative Services Manager’s resume:
- AJAX
- Cascading style sheets CSS
- Adobe After Effects
- YouTube
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
PRO TIP
If the certificate you've obtained is especially vital for the industry or company, include it as part of your name within the resume headline.
How to include your education and certifications on your resume
We're taking you back to your college days with this part of our guide, but including your relevant higher education is quite important for your resume.
Your degree shows recruiters your dedication to the industry, your recent and relevant know-how, and some form of experience in the field.
Your creative services manager resume education should:
- Include your applicable degrees, college (-s) you've graduated from, as well as start and end dates of your higher education;
- Skip your high school diploma. If you still haven't graduated with your degree, list that your higher education isongoing;
- Feature any postgraduate diplomas in your resume header or summary - this is the perfect space to spotlight your relevant MBA degree;
- Showcase any relevant coursework, if you happen to have less professional experience and think this would support your case in being the best candidate for the role.
As far as your job-specific certificates are concerned - choose up to several of the most recent ones that match the job profile, and include them in a dedicated section.
We've saved you some time by selecting the most prominent industry certificates below.
The top 5 certifications for your creative services manager resume:
- Project Management Professional (PMP) - Project Management Institute
- Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) - Adobe
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) - Scrum Alliance
- Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) - American Marketing Association
- Certified Brand Manager (CBM) - Association of International Product Marketing & Management
The content below includes information from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data represents the top associations for creative services manager professionals.
Top US associations for a Creative Services Manager professional
- Professional Association for Design
- Promax International BPME
- The One Club for Creativity
PRO TIP
Bold the names of educational institutions and certifying bodies for emphasis.
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Professional summary or objective for your creative services manager resume
creative services manager candidates sometimes get confused between the difference of a resume summary and a resume objective.
Which one should you be using?
Remember that the:
- Resume objective has more to do with your dreams and goals for your career. Within it, you have the opportunity to showcase to recruiters why your application is an important one and, at the same time, help them imagine what your impact on the role, team, and company would be.
- Resume summary should recount key achievements, tailored for the role, through your career. Allowing recruiters to quickly scan and understand the breadth of your creative services manager expertise.
The resume objectives are always an excellent choice for candidates starting off their career, while the resume summary is more fitting for experienced candidates.
No matter if you chose a summary or objective, get some extra inspiration from real-world professional creative services manager resumes:
Resume summaries for a creative services manager job
- A veteran creative services manager with over ten years of experience leading design teams and spearheading successful campaigns for major retail brands, proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, and known for a landmark rebranding project that increased company revenue by 30% within the first quarter of implementation.
- Dynamic leader in the advertising industry, transitioning into Creative Services Management after excelling for eight years as a Senior Art Director with expertise in visual storytelling, digital content creation, and a track record of boosting client engagement by over 25% through innovative campaign strategies.
- Former IT Project Manager seeking to leverage over a decade of experience in technology solutions and team leadership into a creative pivot, bringing forth strong project management skills, an analytical approach to creative challenges, and a passion for blending tech and creative visions to drive brand growth.
- Graduate in Graphic Design fueled by a passion for building memorable brand experiences, adept in the latest digital design tools and eager to apply theoretical knowledge and fresh perspectives to create impactful visual content that aligns with strategic business objectives.
- Invested in starting a vibrant career in Creative Services Management, holding a Master's degree in Marketing and armed with an eagerness to absorb insights from industry experts, to master cutting-edge design software, and to contribute to a team dedicated to setting the pace in marketing innovation.
- With a strong foundation in freelance graphic design and a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts, this emerging talent is committed to developing as a creative services manager, bringing fresh ideas, a keen eye for aesthetics, and a relentless drive to elevate brand narratives through compelling and engaging design.
Average salary info by state in the US for Creative Services Manager professionals
Local salary info for Creative Services Manager.” Source: My Next Move, National Center for O*NET Development. Accessed 10/15/2024
| State | Average Salary (in USD) |
|---|---|
| US National Average | $106,500 |
| California (CA) | $130,610 |
| Texas (TX) | $80,940 |
| Florida (FL) | $92,000 |
| New York (NY) | $150,830 |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | $88,150 |
| Illinois (IL) | $102,050 |
| Ohio (OH) | $91,700 |
| North Carolina (NC) | $90,790 |
| Michigan (MI) | $86,360 |
Four more sections for your creative services manager resume
Your creative services manager resume can be supplemented with other sections to highlight both your personality and efforts in the industry. Use the ones you deem most relevant to your experience (and the role):
- Awards - to celebrate your success;
- Interests - to detail what you're passionate about outside of work (e.g. music, literature, etc.);
- Publications - to show your footprint in the wider community;
- Projects - to pinpoint noteworthy achievements, potentially even outside of work.
Key takeaways
- Your resume layout plays an important role in presenting your key information in a systematic, strategic manner;
- Use all key resume sections (summary or objective; experience; skills; education and certification) to ensure you’ve shown to recruiters just how your expertise aligns with the role and why you're the best candidate;
- Be specific about listing a particular skill or responsibility you've had by detailing how this has helped the role or organization grow;
- Your personality should shine through your resume via the interests or hobbies, and strengths or accomplishments skills sections;
- Certifications go to provide further accreditation to your technical capabilities, so make sure you've included them within your resume.
