Thomas Walsh ⋅ Manassas, VA Retired from Food Safety & Inspection Service/USDA ⋅ 25 years experience

Greetings, and congratulations on closing in on your degree. I've done a career change or two myself and you are wise to start preparing to sell yourself the best way you can early. I'm guessing you are already milking the university's career counseling services for all the help they can give. Without having direct experience in graphic design, I can only offer general resume input (and would be willing to review what you put together).
However more to your point I'm going to suggest two things. One is do some research to see what your competitors are putting out as their resumes. Googling for "graphical design resumes" I stumbled upon a site which appears to be a clearing house for employers and job seekers (www.upwork.com/). There is nothing wrong with taking someone else's description of work they've done and using their words if they are better descriptions of what you also have accomplished. You are interested in showing what you can do, not in how well you write.
Secondly, I'm going to offer googling for "graphical design professional associations" which are great places to begin networking. This site "https://www.graphicdesigndegreehub.com/lists/5-great-professional-associations-for-graphic-designers/"; could be a starting point. Depending upon where you live there might be a local chapter where you can meet people face to face. Some professional associations even maintain their own job postings for members.
Finally, as I was closing in on my MS there were occasions where I did pro-bono work to get experience in my field. While it was under the umbrella of the university & my major, I included those activities as work on my resume. You do the work, and should get the credit on a resume as well. So, you might want to see if there aren't opportunities to do similar pro-bono work on your own to help build your portfolio. I hope this helps and if you have any questions, feel free to volley back. Take care & be safe!!!!! TCW

Christopher Bigelow ⋅ Ramsey, NJ Bigelow Illustrations ⋅ 37 years experience

The most important thing is that you have a portfolio of work to show, as a web link or .pdf file, that has work relating to the companies you are applying to. If you are willing to intern it is clear you are anxious to learn, so if offered a position make it clear that you expect to do so and won’t just be used as menial labor.
Employers will want to know what software and operating systems you are proficient in, so make sure you include that information.
Unfortunately the art & design field is full of people looking to take advantage of young artists. Do your best work and do everything you can to please your employer or client, but be certain you are being paid financially or with VALUABLE education for every hour you invest!
That said, it can be a very rewarding career and working with other creative people will keep your mind open and life interesting

June Webb ⋅ Chevy Chase, MD JWebb Inspire ⋅ 17 years experience

Hello Jobana,

You may want to consider checking out the Fiverr APP where you can start a side gig with your graphic design work. My degree from ions ago was in graphic design at UMD. It’s also useful for you to learn how to develop websites using WordPress or HTML. Also, check out Canva as well for more ways to discover graphic design work to sell your designs.

If you need any help on how Fiverr works, please feel free to message me on Linkedin.

June Webb
LinkedIn.com/junewebb

Belinda McEachern ⋅ Blythewood, SC U.S. Army, Private First Class ⋅ 15 years served

Hello:)

I would like to suggest that you check out the website hloom.com. It’s absolutely awesome in providing verbiage and style for your resume and cover letter. Thanks

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Jobana,
I would recommend contacting Hire Military to see if they have any internships. I would also conduct numerous Informational Interviews with actual graphic designers in the area. Introduce yourself as a transitioning service member needing help finding out about the Graphic Design career field. Research Informational Interviews so you follow proper protocol. These will not only let you know what is going on in the real career, but also ask for other designers the current interviewer could recommend. I would also look at career groups on LinkedIn and Facebook professional. These provide up to date information and a great opportunity to ask questions about the career. Be sure and stay in seeking information mode, the minute you cross and start asking for a job you will be shipped off to a web site. Many doors can open when search for information and conversing with professionals. Thanks for your service. God Bless.

jobana weber ⋅ San Diego, CA U.S. Navy, Petty Officer First Class ⋅ 20 years served

Thank you all for the information and assistance. I really appreciate it!

Andrea Bryant ⋅ New York, NY American Corporate Partners ⋅ 5 years experience

Hi Jobana,

First of all, thank you so much for your service! Secondly, there are a few folks on here who can review resumes in general. I can't speak to graphic design SPECIFICALLY, but in general with creative fields.

You would want a resume to provide details on schooling, volunteer work; time sensitive things where you gained experience in your field and what programs you are familiar with and use to produce your work. For example, do you use PremierePro or Final Cut Pro? What you would want to include with any submission, whether for a job or an internship, would be a portfolio of your work. Which brings me to my next point.

Is your graphic design work in still images or video? That is going to dictate how best to submit a portfolio. Also, in terms of where you are applying, the outfit will likely give criteria on what to submit and how to do so.

With the basic framework, a quick set of eyes to review your resume can be found on some of the other cover and resume posts, like this one:

https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/6372/assistant-updating-resume

There are helpful links to get started and Advisors from our site who would be happy to take a look for you.

Good luck!

Best,

Andrea