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Set and Exhibit Designer resume example

A resume for a Set and Exhibit Designer needs to show the work itself: design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. Day to day that means work like this: develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations; prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Display Coordinator
  • Exhibit Designer
  • Scenic Designer
  • Set Designer
  • Designer
  • Exhibit Coordinator
  • Exhibit Preparator
  • Historical Society Window Dresser
  • Installations Designer
  • Projection Designer
  • Display Designer
  • Event Decorator
  • Event Designer
  • Exhibit Specialist
  • Exhibits Manager
  • Food Stylist
  • Miniature Set Designer
  • Museum Exhibit Designer

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.
  • Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.
  • Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.
  • Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements.
  • Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.
  • Attend rehearsals and production meetings to obtain and share information related to sets.
  • Confer with clients and staff to gather information about exhibit space, proposed themes and content, timelines, budgets, materials, or promotion requirements.
  • Research architectural and stylistic elements appropriate to the time period to be depicted, consulting experts for information, as necessary.
  • Observe sets during rehearsals in order to ensure that set elements do not interfere with performance aspects such as cast movement and camera angles.
  • Collaborate with those in charge of lighting and sound so that those production aspects can be coordinated with set designs or exhibit layouts.
  • Select set props, such as furniture, pictures, lamps, and rugs.
  • Design and build scale models of set designs, or miniature sets used in filming backgrounds or special effects.

27 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Act-3D Quest3D
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Adobe Director
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Apache Subversion SVN
  • Autodesk 3ds Max
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk Maya
  • Autodesk Revit
  • AutoDesSys form Z

45 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Airbrush paint applicators
  • All-purpose scissors
  • Claw hammers
  • Digital still cameras
  • Electric arc welding equipment
  • Furniture staplers
  • General purpose paintbrushes
  • Handsaws
  • Laptop computers
  • Liquid crystal display LCD projectors
  • Paint application rollers
  • Personal computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Operations Analysis
  5. 05Speaking
  6. 06Time Management
  7. 07Coordination
  8. 08Complex Problem Solving
  9. 09Judgment and Decision Making
  10. 10Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Fine Arts
  • Design
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Building and Construction
  • History and Archeology
  • English Language
  • Communications and Media
  • Mathematics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 33%Bachelor's Degree
  • 33%Master's Degree
  • 10%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Set and Exhibit Designer do?
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. Day to day that includes work like develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations and Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.
What skills should a Set and Exhibit Designer put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Operations Analysis, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Set and Exhibit Designer list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Act-3D Quest3D, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, and Adobe Director. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Set and Exhibit Designer work?
O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Display Coordinator, Exhibit Designer, Scenic Designer, and Set Designer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Set and Exhibit Designer need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 33% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Set and Exhibit Designer role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.