Whether you're just starting out in the design world or have been involved for a while, your application for employment needs to be designed in such as way as to grab the attention of the employer within a couple seconds. Designers sample resume styles and formats are available online if you want to grab attention.
The employment world is tough all over, and for designers it's even tougher, everyone is penny pinching and waiting for the economy to get better before they look for new hires. For those companies who are hiring, they're getting inundated with applications.
This means you'll need to make sure your application is designed to grab attention quickly or your application will wind up in the garbage no matter how much experience you have. You'll be competing against hundreds of applicants and that means that the personnel looking at applications gets tired of reading all the way through very quickly.
This means a couple seconds of scanning is all they'll give to most of the applications. And the last thing you need if you're looking for work is to be bypassed. Meaning, you better spend some time on your cover letter and application.
Your cover letter is what can make the difference, that and an easy to read format that hits your high points quickly and easily. By designing your resume to suit the company hiring, you'll know exactly what they need to know and be able to put that information into a format that exemplifies your highest qualities.
If you don't toot your own horn, someone else will toot theirs and you'll miss out. Look for designers sample resumes and cover letters so you can put your best design forward when you apply for work. Then make sure you get more than just a couple seconds by the interviewing personnel by having a standout application.