Interior Design CV Example
Updated 25 June 2026
An interior design CV must do two things well: prove you can deliver projects from concept to completion, and signal that your portfolio is worth opening. Recruiters in residential, workplace, hospitality and retail practices look for sector experience, software fluency tied to real deliverables, and a clean, well-structured document that reflects your eye for layout and detail.
Interior Design CV examples
Junior Interior Designer
entryForegrounds studio projects and internship experience, ties software to deliverables, and includes a live portfolio link in the header.
Senior Interior Designer
seniorDemonstrates leadership across RIBA stages, quantifies project scale and client retention, and shows sector specialisation with a clear portfolio link.
How to write an interior design CV
An interior design CV should run to two pages and follow reverse-chronological order. Put your portfolio link in the contact block at the top, it is your most important asset, and recruiters will judge your style from it before reading a single bullet. Use a professional domain (firstname-lastname.co.uk) rather than a generic hosting URL.
What to include, section by section
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Contact & portfolio | Name, location, phone, email, LinkedIn and a live portfolio link (top of page, never buried). |
| Personal statement | 2-3 sentences: your sector focus (residential/workplace/hospitality/retail), years of experience, key strengths (e.g. FF&E, space planning, AutoCAD/Revit), and the level of role you are targeting. |
| Experience | Job title, company, dates, location. 3-4 bullets per role showing project scale (sqm, budget, number of projects), RIBA stages you own, software used and outcomes (client approval, repeat business, awards). Lead each bullet with the sector. |
| Skills | Two groups: CAD/BIM tools (AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Rhino) and rendering/presentation tools (V-Ray, Enscape, 3ds Max, Adobe InDesign/Photoshop). Also list FF&E, space planning, mood boards, technical drawings, sustainability. |
| Education | Degree or diploma in Interior Design or Interior Architecture, institution, dates, and any standout studio projects or live briefs. Graduates with no employment history should detail final-year work and placements here. |
| Professional membership & certifications | BIID membership (UK), NCIDQ or ASID (international), or relevant CPD. Signals professional standing. |
| Additional info | Sustainability knowledge, trend awareness, languages if relevant to the practice's client base. Keep it concise. |
Keep the CV itself visually clean: consistent fonts, clear hierarchy, restrained use of white space. For an interior designer, the document is a sample of your layout skills. A cluttered or inconsistent CV undermines your design credibility before the portfolio is opened.
Personal statement examples
Award-winning senior interior designer with nine years of experience delivering high-end residential, hospitality and workplace projects across the UK and Europe. Proven track record leading design teams through concept to completion, managing budgets up to £2.5 million and securing a 92% repeat-client rate. Skilled in AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp and client-facing design strategy, with BIID Professional membership and a portfolio of published work.
Creative and passionate interior designer looking for a new opportunity to use my skills in a dynamic team. I have experience in various design projects and am proficient in design software. I am a hard worker with an eye for detail and a love of beautiful spaces.
Writing your experience
Interior design recruiters want to see project scale, the stages you owned, and the tools you used to deliver them. Every bullet should follow the pattern: sector and scale, what you did (concept/space planning/technical drawings/FF&E/on-site), software or method, and the outcome (client approval, budget, repeat business, awards).
Before and after
Before (vague duty): Responsible for producing drawings and specifications for various projects.
After (sector, scale, tool, outcome): Produced GA plans and FF&E schedules in AutoCAD/Revit for a 1,200 sqm hospitality fit-out, approved first time and delivered 4% under budget.
Before (bare software list): Used SketchUp and V-Ray to create visuals.
After (project context and result): Created photorealistic renders in V-Ray and SketchUp for 12 high-end residential pitches, securing 10 new commissions worth £1.8 million.
Before (no metrics): Managed FF&E sourcing for residential clients.
After (scope, budget, approval rate): Sourced and specified FF&E for 15 residential projects with budgets up to £150,000, achieving 95% client approval and 80% repeat-client rate.
Action verbs for interior design CVs
Use verbs that match the RIBA-style stages and deliverables recruiters expect:
- Concept & planning: Developed, designed, planned, conceptualised, created
- Technical delivery: Produced, drafted, coordinated, specified, detailed
- Client & team: Presented, led, managed, mentored, negotiated, secured
- On-site & completion: Delivered, coordinated, resolved, supervised, completed
Lead each bullet with the sector (residential, workplace, hospitality, retail, mixed-use) and the project scale (sqm, budget, number of projects). This makes your experience legible at a glance and helps ATS and human readers match you to the role.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
A degree or diploma in Interior Design or Interior Architecture is the standard entry route in the UK. List your qualification, institution, dates and any standout studio projects or live briefs, especially if you are a recent graduate with limited employment history. Final-year projects that won awards or were exhibited should be detailed here, as they stand in for professional experience.
If you completed placements or internships as part of your course, mention them either in the education section or as separate experience entries, depending on their length and scope.
Professional membership and certifications
- BIID (British Institute of Interior Design): Student, Associate or Professional membership signals professional standing in the UK. List your membership level and year.
- NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification): Recognised internationally; relevant if you have worked or studied outside the UK.
- ASID (American Society of Interior Designers): Similar to NCIDQ; include if applicable.
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Short courses in sustainable design, building regulations, accessibility, fire safety or new software (e.g. Revit, Enscape) are worth listing if recent and relevant.
Do not list GCSEs unless you have no higher qualifications. A-Levels or equivalent are fine to include if you are a recent graduate; otherwise they can be omitted to save space.
Common mistakes to avoid
Listing software as a bare skills list without project context (e.g. 'AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp').
Tie each tool to what you produced with it: 'Produced GA plans and FF&E schedules in AutoCAD/Revit for a 1,200 sqm hospitality fit-out.'
Failing to state your sector specialism (residential, workplace, hospitality, retail).
Lead each project bullet with the sector and scale: '1,200 sqm hospitality fit-out' or '15 high-end residential projects'. Hiring practices specialise, and a hospitality CV reads very differently from a residential one.
Burying the portfolio link in the body text or omitting it entirely.
Put your portfolio URL in the contact block at the top of the CV, using a clean professional domain (firstname-lastname.co.uk). The portfolio is your most important asset.
Listing duties instead of deliverables and outcomes (e.g. 'Responsible for producing drawings').
Show what you delivered and the result: 'Produced technical drawing packages for 8 workplace projects, approved first time and delivered on schedule.'
A cluttered or inconsistent CV layout that undermines your design credibility.
Keep the CV visually clean: consistent fonts, clear hierarchy, restrained white space. For an interior designer, the document itself is a sample of your layout skills.
Claiming expertise in a sector (e.g. hospitality) that is not reflected in your portfolio.
Make the portfolio and the CV agree. If your CV says hospitality, your portfolio must lead with hospitality projects. Mismatched claims read as padding and erode trust.
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Leads with degree, studio projects and internship experience; emphasises eagerness to learn and contribute. | Leads with years of experience, project scale and value, client retention rate, awards and professional membership. |
| Project scale and metrics | Small-scale projects (200-500 sqm), budgets up to £50,000, supporting role on larger schemes. | Large-scale projects (1,000+ sqm), budgets up to £2.5 million, portfolio of 40+ delivered projects, repeat-client rates and awards. |
| RIBA stages owned | Supports concept development, mood boards, space planning and technical drawings under supervision (Stages 2-4). | Leads projects from concept through to on-site completion (Stages 2-6), manages design teams, coordinates with consultants and contractors. |
| Software and deliverables | AutoCAD, SketchUp, Enscape, Adobe InDesign; produces layouts, mood boards, renders and basic drawing packages. | AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, V-Ray, 3ds Max, Adobe suite; produces full technical packages, FF&E schedules, specifications, client presentations and on-site coordination. |
| Client and team responsibility | Attends client meetings, supports presentations, works under direction of senior designers. | Leads client relationships, pitches and presentations; mentors junior designers, manages budgets and programmes, negotiates with suppliers. |
| Professional standing | BIID Student or Associate membership, recent graduate or 1-2 years of experience. | BIID Professional membership, 7+ years of experience, published work, awards, CPD in sustainability or building regulations. |