When you see a posting for your dream job, it's easy to get excited about the thought of applying and landing it. But what if you don't have your resume created or up-to-date?
Nearly every job posting requires submitting a resume. So, when you see your next career opportunity posted but don't have your resume ready, you'll need to prepare it quickly.
That's why we use job resume templates. These templates have the content and style that you need to feel confident about your application. They'll help you land the job you've been waiting for.
I'll share 20 of my favorite free creative resume templates for download that I've found from around the web as well as some top-quality premium resume templates. Starting with these templates for creative resumes and customizing them will save you hours of work and ensure that you can apply before the job closes. We'll also look at some resume tips that help you showcase your best work.
Premium Creative Resume Templates to Save Time
My favorite way to skip ahead when building a resume is to use a creative resume template that's got all the components of a successful resume.
When you start with a creative resume template, you just drop in your details to complete the process. That's why I always start with a creative resume template.
Here's a quick look at some of the best resume templates in the Elements library:
Envato Elements is an all-you-can-download service for creatives. Elements brings a vast selection of the best creative resume templates (and other design assets). For a single flat rate, you get access to every PSD and Word resume template (and so much more) in Elements' library.
Let's take a look at some of my favorite creative job resume templates that I've selected for your use.
We'll also examine some templates from GraphicRiver, a pay-as-you-go choice, with many impressive options as well. Make sure to check out GraphicRiver's best sellers to see the best of their selections.
5 Top Creative Resume Templates (Premium from Envato Elements)
Here are some of the top examples of the best premium creative resume templates from Envato Elements:
1. Creative Resume
This clean and clear three-column style embodies the "flat" school of design perfectly. It's got all the placeholders mentioned early in this article for rapid resume development.
2. Creative Resume & CV Template
For a more unique creative resume or CV template need, there are few options that are better than this one. It's got beautiful illustrations and friendly graphics. The pseudo-timeline approach is a way to connect your past to the future.
3. Pro Resume 3
Another solid choice, this Pro Resume is a bold option from the Envato Elements library. This resume leans toward a personalized experience by leading with a profile photo and plenty of space for a bio.
4. Colorful Creative Resume Templates
For both Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word, this option certainly doesn't try to fly under-the-radar. With a contrasting selection of colors and clean typography, your resume seems likely to be reviewed by a hiring manager.
5. Colorful Stylish Resume
This creative resume template has no shortage of colorful elements yet maintains readability thanks to its arrangement. Use this template for both Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word to make a splash with the hiring manager.
Envato Elements (Design Without Limits)
Envato Elements has a compelling offer. For a single monthly price, you get access to thousands of creative resume templates. On top of that, you’ll also get access to other templates such as business cards, fonts, web mockups, and more. Download as many templates as you need, customize them to your needs, and use them in an unlimited number of job applications or other projects.
Sign up for Envato Elements and take advantage of everything this low monthly subscription has to offer.
15 High-Quality Premium Creative Resume Layouts For Microsoft Word & Photoshop (GraphicRiver)
If you want a premium resume template option, but only want a single use template consider one of these templates from GraphicRiver. The templates on GraphicRiver are easy to edit. Choose from thousands of available templates as you can see from the screenshot below:
With GraphicRiver, you buy the template you need individually for a single use. Take a look at some of our best-selling resume templates in Photoshop and Word format below:
1. Creative Resume CV Template
This creative resume template has a two-column layout that makes it easy to differentiate between your skills and contact information and the education and experience section. The template is easy to edit in Illustrator. It comes with a matching cover letter.
2. Creative Professional Resume Template
If you’re looking for a clean and professional template, consider this creative and professional resume. The template's got plenty of space to list your education, experience, and skills. You can also include a logo or a profile photo to make it stand out more. Edit the template in Photoshop or Illustrator.
3. Colorful and Creative Resume
Try this resume template if you want a colorful, yet professional creative resume design. This template comes in two color variations with space for a profile photo. Include your personal or summary statement and list your skills, education, and experience.
The template includes a matching cover letter. Customize it in Photoshop or Illustrator.
4. Professional Resume and Cover Letter Template
This attractive resume template comes in three different color versions. It includes templates for both a resume and cover letter. The use of well-organized layers and layer groups means it's easy to customize on Photoshop. Not a Photoshop user? Edit this template on MS Word or Adobe Illustrator.
5. Clean and Creative Resume
While all elements are fully editable and customizable, you'll probably want to keep the clean and minimalist design of this resume template. It comes with layouts for both a resume and cover letter. Replace the placeholder content in either Photoshop or Microsoft Word.
6. Resume Bundle 2-in-1
If the budget is tight, you can't go wrong with this 2-in-1 bundle of professional and creative resume templates. All graphics and icons are included as well. Easy to personalize with either InDesign or MS Word, these templates come in size A4 and print-ready at 300 dpi.
7. Professional Resume - CV
With three different color schemes, this GraphicRiver selection offers plenty of bang for the buck. This unique resume or CV template works well for those with multiple language skills under their belt. It gives you the chance to show your skillset.
8. Ansel Resume
Certainly inspired by the photographer of the same name, Ansel has a stark black-and-white style that makes it easy to read. The contrast and white space of this resume makes it a breeze to follow the information through your career.
9. Bold and Clean Resume
The Bold and Clean resume is a wonderful reminder that simple combinations of lines, text, and shapes are enough to craft an eye-catching resume. Lead with a brief bio in the "profile" section, followed by all your experience in the placeholders.
10. Elegant Resume Kit
There are a ton of great choices in this selection, and creative resume template for Photoshop and Word is no slouch. It features easy bar graphs to fill in your skillset and show your core competencies.
11. Clean Resume/CV
Creative and minimal are totally compatible design concepts. This unique resume or CV template for Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop and more is a perfect example of that.
12. Monochrome Resume Template
This template relies on a clean layout rather than color to make an impact. But if you prefer to add a shot of color, easily do it by editing it in Microsoft Word, Mac Pages, Photoshop, or Illustrator. This is a complete set with templates for a two-page resume as well as a cover letter, which can double as a thank-you letter. The designer also provides after-sales support.
13. Clean and Modern Resume Template
If you want to make an impression that's subdued, professional, and modern, this template is for you. Easy to use and customize, this template comes in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Microsoft Word formats. The accompanying instruction guide will help you make the resume your own.
14. Creative and Clean Resume Template
To leave a great first impression and present yourself in a professional manner, consider this resume template. It's got a very clean and creative design that can be used for corporate job applications. Edit the template in Photoshop. It comes with a matching cover letter.
15. Minimal Resume Template
This is a simple and minimal resume template that gets straight to the point with your education, skills, experience, and other important information. Include a profile photo to make your resume more personable. Customize it in Photoshop.
3 Characteristics of a Great Resume
Unfortunately, there are almost always more job applicants than available jobs, even in a strong jobs market. So, it's your job to build a resume that stands out from the crowd.
You've got to be bold and stand out so that your job application will make it to the top of the stack and land you an interview. A job resume may not land you the job, but it's the first step to get your foot in the door and start the conversation.
Here are three key sections that most job resumes feature, and how you can fill them out to help you build the best resume possible:
1. Personal Section Characteristics
A personal section can give a brief background on your interests, mission statement, or other fast facts that help "put a face with a name" to the reviewer.
2. Experience Section Characteristics
An experience section can help you link your past job or volunteer opportunities to the position that you're applying for.
When applying for the job we all face the challenge of crafting our career story so that it shows a proper fit for the current role. Write a new resume with each job application. That requires writing your experience in a way that helps you showcase yourself correctly.
When it comes to experience, the most important part is connecting your experience to the job at hand. Focus on sharing skills that make you a good fit for the job you're applying for. For example, if you were a customer service representative in the past and are applying for a financial analyst role, mention any projects where you worked with financial data.
3. Education Section Characteristics
The education section showcases your learning experiences, formal and informal, that make you the right choice for the job.
In your education section, you might not have an advanced degree or the perfect field of study. That doesn't mean that you can't list off the courses you've taken online, through other jobs, or on your own. Also, list any extra courses you took while in a formal educational program that makes you an ideal fit. For example, that computer science course you took despite being a business major.
Applying for a job and articulating your experience is made easier when you start with a proper job resume template.
Here's a tutorial that'll provide more information about listing your education on a resume:
25 Free Creative Resumes Templates to Download for 2020
When you don't have the budget for a premium template, use free creative resume templates to package your experience without the expense.
I've scoured the web for the best of the best when it comes to free resumes. The templates I've selected each bring something different to the table, but they all have the basic resume requirements.
1. Subtle Creativity. This free creative resume or CV template for Microsoft Word has just enough color to set it apart from the crowd.
2. Artistic Flyer. This neat, two column resume for Microsoft Word helps you separate your details from your past career experiences.
3. Boast Resume. Boast is a free creative resume template for Microsoft Word that's got skills placeholders that allow you to represent your acumen with charts.
4. Ardent. I like free stylish resume templates that include a placeholder for your profile pictures. Ardent includes that for personalization.
5. What a Doll. A bright, colorful resume template like this one won't go unnoticed by a reviewer. The sharp color scheme and content placeholders make it good for showcasing your experience.
6. Clean Resume Template. This package has six different color schemes, so rest assured that there's an option that fits your sense of style. The minimalist approach has creative ways of crafting your experience.
7. Olympic Resume. With just a hint of accent color in five different shades, the Olympic Resume is a bold contender that doesn't sacrifice professionalism for a sense of style.
8. Yosemite Resume. Like the Olympic Resume above, Yosemite takes a less classic look. But it still features all the content placeholders that help you skip the lengthy work of building a resume.
9. Job Hopper Resume Template. Whether it's because you've moved around geographically or have sought diversity of experience, you might have had many roles in the past. The Job Hopper resume template is structured so that you can marry together all those experiences in a way that puts your best foot forward.
10. Balanced Resume. Straight from Microsoft, here's a unique modern creative CV or resume template in Word for free download. The modern font choices and good use of white space make this a trustworthy and bold choice for your application.
11. Bold Monogram Resume. The slick look of this monogrammed option as a free creative resume or CV template for Microsoft Word seems like a strong contender as a standout.
12. Crisp and Clean Resume. Check out this beautiful choice designed in partnership with MOO for a professionally designed gratis resume.
13. Jack Porter Resume. The Swiss school of design inspiration is strong in this free Adobe Photoshop resume template.
14. Casey Resume Template. Here's a timeline style template for Adobe Photoshop can sequence all your experience to make an impact.
15. Gagne Resume Template. Including a cover letter for a bonus, the Gagne is a bright and colorful choice perfect for a creative career.
16. Dark Minimalistic Resume. A timeline approach like this helps you link up all your experiences to show why you're the very best candidate.
17. Contrast Resume. An easy-to-update resume like this colorful choice helps you prepare a resume for your dream job rapidly. Fill in the profile pic for resumes that count on your personality to set you apart.
18. Shiny Amber Resume. This free Microsoft Word resume template has a sunshine-inspired feel thanks to its beautiful bright hues.
19. The Headline. The headline for this resume is your name. Fill in the placeholder with your name to make a lasting effect on a potential employer.
20. Mr. Mint. Rounding out our selections, the mint colors in this resume are a nice change of pace. They keep your resume friendly and easy-to-read.
21. Professional Purple. The purple shades in this free stylish resume template are a nice way to stand out from the usual black and gray shades that many candidates use.
22. The Sophisticated Candidate. Try this resume template if you’re applying for a job in a high-end industry. It's got a more sophisticated creative resume design.
23. On Point. As the name implies, this resume is on point with traditional layout and a nice profile photo in the header.
24. Vintage Rose. This is another creative resume that stands out with its color scheme. Customize it in Word if you’re not a fan of the subtle pink shades.
25. The Personal Branding. If you’re fresh out of college or if you’re changing industries and need to highlight your traits, consider this resume template.
Benefits of Using Professional Templates
There's no doubt that there are a lot of free resume templates out there. But a professional premium template has some advantages and benefits over the free templates. Here are just a few of them:
1. Professional Templates Offer More Customization Options
Professional templates offer a lot more customization options than their free counterparts. Tweak every section, color, font, and any other part of your resume as you like. Make it fit your personality as well as the job you’re applying for.
2. Professional Templates Come With Extras
As you’ve seen above, professional resume templates often include extra files such as matching cover letters. In some cases, they even come with matching business card designs. This means you've got everything you need to leave a professional impression on your employer in one package instead of trying to piece together various free templates.
3. Professional Templates Offer a Greater Design Variety
Lastly, professional resume templates offer more design variety. You’re not limited to the same layout as every other template as is the case with many free resume templates.
Learn More About Resumes
In this tutorial, we tackled the daunting task of building a resume. But, as it turns out, it's easy to build a great looking resume when you use free creative resume templates available for download. The pre-built elements in a template mean that you need only update the placeholders with your details.
If you want more choices for creative resume designs and tips, the articles below are a great way to keep learning. Check out these tutorials to see other options and approaches for crafting your experience to your next employer!
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Use These Best Sources of Premium & Free Creative Resumes Templates Today
Save time by downloading premium templates. You'll get unlimited downloads of the best creative resume templates from Envato Elements–including all the fonts, icons, and other design elements you want to make your resume stand out.
Or, pay only for the resume template you use from Envato's Marketplace, GraphicRiver. This is a great option if you're on a budget because each template is available for one low price per use.
And, of course, you can download the free creative resume templates I shared above, if you're strapped for cash.
Why not download your favorite creative resume template today and get started on your next resume?
Also, how do you prepare your resume when time is tight? What tips would you share with other Tuts+ readers? Let me know in the comments section below if you've got a bit of career wisdom to share.
Editorial Note: Our staff updates this post regularly—adding new resume templates with the best, trending designs.
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