~/blog $ cat the-ultimate-resume-guide-for-artists-and-developers.md

The Ultimate Resume Guide for Artists and Developers

~7 min read [career] [resume] [game-industry] [portfolio]

I’ve been where you are — freelancing, working full-time, updating my resume, building my portfolio, and always looking for ways to stand out to employers. Over the years I’ve worked for companies both on a project basis and as a full-time employee, and I’ve been through countless resume revisions trying to make mine as good as it could be.

Beyond my own job hunts, I’ve also helped companies build teams. For the past seven months I’ve been working as a project manager and lead, actively hiring Unreal Engine artists and developers through LinkedIn, Discord communities, Games Jobs Direct, and similar platforms. Hiring and interviewing has essentially been my full-time job.

In that time I’ve reviewed over 600 resumes and sat in on more than 200 interviews. What I see most often is genuinely good candidates with poorly presented resumes. More than 70% of the resumes that cross my desk have basic issues that could easily be fixed. This guide covers how to structure your resume properly and improve your chances of getting hired.

Quick Tips Before You Start

  • Always submit your resume as a PDF. Not TXT, not DOC — just PDF. It preserves your layout on every device.
  • Keep the file size small — a few hundred KB at most.
  • Don’t embed high-resolution photos or portfolio pieces directly in the resume.
  • Make sure all text is selectable. Recruiters need to copy, search, and paste parts of your resume, and applicant tracking systems (ATS) need machine-readable text to parse it at all. A resume exported as a flattened image may look fine, but it’s unsearchable — and that alone can get you filtered out before a human ever sees it.
  • Every link should work two ways. It should be clickable directly from the PDF, and it should also display the full URL as text (for example, https://linkedin.com/in/yourprofile) so that anyone who can’t click it can copy and paste it instead.

The Header Section

Your resume should open with a header containing these elements.

Full name

At the top, in a large font (think Heading 1), put your full name:

Amir Nobandegani UE5 Developer

A small profile picture next to your name is common in many regions, but be aware of local norms: in the US, UK, and Canada, photos on resumes are generally discouraged (many companies avoid them for bias-prevention reasons). When applying to companies in those markets, skip the photo and let your portfolio speak for you.

Position

Write your current or desired position directly under your name.

Short description

Add a short, roughly three-line summary of who you are and what you specialize in. For example:

“I am a passionate game developer with over a decade of experience specializing in Unreal Engine. Throughout my career, I’ve worked on a wide range of projects, including co-op puzzle games, multiplayer PvP board games, immersive VR simulations, and metaverse platforms.”

Include links to your LinkedIn, ArtStation, GitHub, or other professional profiles. Each link should have three parts: an icon for the platform, the platform’s name, and the full URL. For example:

(icon) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourusername (icon) GitHub: https://github.com/yourusername

Important for artists: if you don’t have a portfolio, you’re making a huge mistake. Use platforms like ArtStation or Behance and keep your work updated. Lead with your strongest pieces — and curate ruthlessly. Recruiters and art directors judge a portfolio by its weakest piece, so cut anything that no longer represents your current skill level rather than uploading everything you’ve ever made.

Important for developers: if you don’t have visual work to showcase, create a GitHub account, open-source a few codebases, and make them public. If you make games, an itch.io page with playable builds or a demo reel of gameplay clips is just as valuable — recruiters love being able to actually play or watch what you built. A personal website works too, but only if you invest the time to make it professional; otherwise it hurts more than it helps.

Skills Section

This section should focus on your specialties. Don’t clutter it with irrelevant skills or hobbies.

For artists, list the software you know first, followed by your specific skills with those tools:

  • Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter
  • Hard-surface modeling, texturing, UV mapping, organic modeling

For developers, tailor the section to your focus:

  • Unreal Engine
  • C++, Blueprints, multiplayer, UI, AI, VR

Avoid these mistakes:

  • Don’t list irrelevant skills like “Google Sheets” or “Bitcoin Mining.”
  • Avoid subjective ratings like “C++ 9/10.” If you must include levels, explain what they actually represent.

Highlights Section

This is where you showcase your best work. If you have a demo reel or portfolio, link to it here. Keep each entry simple:

  • Title: the name of the project
  • Description: a very short explanation of what you did
  • Link: a direct link to the work

For example:

“Developed a co-op puzzle game in Unreal Engine. Focused on creating an efficient multiplayer framework and optimizing performance for VR.”

Experience Section

This is your work history. For each entry, include:

Title and company

State your position and the company name — for example, UE5 Developer at Inoland Studio.

Dates and duration

Include start and end dates plus the total duration — for example, Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 (1 year).

Description

Be technical and concise. Don’t just say you were “the best employee” or that you “worked on 10 games.” Explain what you accomplished, what problems you solved, and how you contributed to the project:

“Developed a multiplayer framework for a co-op puzzle game using Unreal Engine. Integrated C++ and Blueprints for efficient gameplay mechanics and optimized rendering pipelines to improve performance on lower-end systems.”

Freelance work: if you’ve freelanced, combine your gigs into a single entry unless a specific project had notable outcomes. For example:

“Freelance Game Developer (Various Clients) — Created VR training simulations for medical professionals, focusing on immersive environments and real-time feedback mechanisms.”

Education Section

Keep this section simple — just the degree and the institution:

Bachelor’s in Computer Science University of Tehran

Only add a description if it highlights something notable, like a major research project.

Additional Sections

Feel free to add any of the following, but keep it clean and simple:

  • Languages: e.g., fluent in English and Persian (Farsi)
  • Certifications: e.g., an Unreal Engine learning-path certificate from the Epic Developer Community, or a Unity or Autodesk certification (note that Epic no longer runs a formal “Certified Unreal Developer” exam program, so list course completions honestly for what they are)
  • Courses: e.g., Advanced C++ for Game Development (Udemy)
  • Hobbies: e.g., 3D printing, mechanical engineering
  • References: it’s fine to leave this section off entirely — recruiters will ask when they need them. If you prefer to include it, a single “Available upon request” line is enough.

Portfolio (Optional)

If you must include portfolio pieces directly in your resume:

  • Optimize all images to keep the file size down.
  • Place this section at the very end of the resume.

How Recruiters Actually Read Resumes

This guide is based on my personal experience and input from other recruiters I’ve worked with, so it’s not a definitive formula — but it reflects common practices and expectations. Every recruiter has their own method for reviewing resumes. Here are the two most common approaches I’ve seen:

  1. Role, description, and skills first. Some recruiters start with your role, the description of what you’ve done, and your listed software skills. Then they move to your experience entries, reading them in the exact order they appear.
  2. Role and portfolio first. Others look at your role and immediately open your portfolio to see what you’ve made. Only after that do they check your skills and experience.

Regardless of the method, what matters is that your resume is easy to read and navigate. Most recruiters won’t wrestle with a poorly structured resume — if they can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll close it, move on, and likely mark you as rejected.

If you’re applying for jobs you’re genuinely a great fit for but keep getting rejected within the hour, the problem is probably how you’re presenting yourself — and it starts with your resume.

Common Mistakes That Lead to Instant Rejection

From my experience, these are the mistakes that make recruiters close a resume immediately:

  • Plain-text resumes. No structure, formatting, or design signals no effort or professionalism.
  • No clickable portfolio links. If your portfolio is listed as just a username, or the link exists but isn’t clickable, it’s frustrating. Always make portfolio links clickable and display the full URL.
  • Unselectable text. If recruiters can’t copy information to save, search, or open links, that small mistake alone can lead to rejection.
  • Too much information. Long paragraphs full of unnecessary detail are a real problem — a ten-paragraph “About Me” section, or ten separate experience entries for two years of work history, each with ten paragraphs of its own. Keep it concise and to the point.

A Final Word of Advice

Having a unique style and good design is always welcome, but never complicate your resume. Stick to industry standards, keep the structure simple, and use larger fonts for the important parts: titles, links, and skills.

Your resume is your first impression. Recruiters need to find the most relevant information quickly, so make it readable, accessible, and professional.

I hope this guide helps you present yourself in the best possible way. Good luck, and I wish you success in your career!