Resume critique

[TooTallVal80]

OK, I am constantly updating my resume. And in a way so I won't have to have 2 pages. I made that mistake before, But thankfully my internship art director showed me how to organize my resume in a way where it only fits on one page. So recently I recieved some more tips and since I'm a new member here, I was wondering if you guys can take a look at my updated resume. Thanks!

[morea]

Looks good... a few tips though:

My career counselor suggests leaving months off any employment dates and just listing the years. She also tells us not to list our year of graduation because it can lead to age discrimination (too old / too young). They say that your resume is not a tool to get a job, but rather a tool to get an interview, and you go from there.

I'm not sure that your career objective is worded right, it seems a little bit awkward. (Those are never fun to write!) Also, it looks a little crowded between the 'experience' and 'freelance' sections, IMO.

I like your logo, I like your color scheme and I like your font choice. Nice work!

You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

[TooTallVal80]

morea said...
She also tells us not to list our year of graduation because it can lead to age discrimination (too old / too young).
Ooo, didn't know that about. But it does make sense by the sound of it.

morea said...
I'm not sure that your career objective is worded right, it seems a little bit awkward. (Those are never fun to write!)
Oh, man, I hate doing that. At times I was thinking of leaving it out!

morea said...
]Also, it looks a little crowded between the 'experience' and 'freelance' sections, IMO.
Eventually I will have to make it 2 pages. But for now, I'll just leave it as is, until I feel I'll have to space it out.

But thanks so much, morea for yoour comments. I just happened to pick that particular color. And the abstracr design for the logo just came out of my head. No meaning really.

Post Edited (TooTallVal80) : 10/3/2004 4:36:50 AM GMT

[Kool]

Val, as someone who hires designers and has read hundreds of resumes let me give you my opinion on yours. It's a perfectly acceptable resume. If it were submitted to me I would give it maybe 4-5 seconds. What you have to understand is that when a design job opening is published. The employer will receive a huge amount of resumes. Most of them basically like yours. Informative but dull. You need to put some of your personality into it. Your objective paragraph, you got that out of a book right? I have seen varitions of this sentence a million times. It really doesn't tell me anything. In my opinion this is the most important part of the whole resume with experience being the second. Tell me in your own words what you really want to accomplish and why I should hire you. Even if it's something simple like 'I want to be the best Graphic Designer in the world.' I like your layout a lot. It says that you are creative. Pretty much all the information in it is a series of lists though. Instead of just listing the things you did in your experience state it in a sentence and don't be afraid to use some humor.

I hope you will receive this in the helpful spirit it was intended. I would be happy to help you further. If you are interested PM me. I won't write it for you but I will help you if I can. /emoticons/cool.gif

I love children but I don't think I could eat a whole one.

[PrintDriver]

Kool, I'm so glad to hear you say that. I posted basically the same thing on HAK's thread in the Showcase. Coconut had a boilerplate cover letter formula in there. I am SOOO tired of seeing it.

You guys are GD's. Get creative. Like Kool says, it's OK to be entertaining, just don't be flip.
Val, honestly I didn't finish reading it. The layout, colors and text are ok but it was too list-like all the way thru. You have to sell yourself in your objective so don't place it in the middle somewhere.

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[Vikia]

Val,

I would have to agree with Kool. I too have hired creative professionals and have gotten hundreds of resumes to filter through.

One tip I would give would be to not list specific jobs ie., Showtimes for IMAX showings. I would not say 'some' posters. I would be more general and just list 'signage, posters, fliers'. This way you have not minimized your abilities and experience in the readers mind. After you get the interview would be the time to be specific and show examples. You might even provide a link to your online portfolio.

It is more important to get across that you have experience with overall job types than listing specific jobs.

I would also say 'designed' ads instead of 'making' ads; I would say 'Vinyl Signage' instead of 'Vinyl Weeding Signs'; I would say 'Customer Service' instead of 'counter work'.

I like the offsetting information areas.

Good luck,
Viki

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Graphics & Design on Demand

Post Edited (Vikia) : 10/3/2004 4:56:59 PM GMT

[Vikia]

PrintDriver said...
Kool, I'm so glad to hear you say that. I posted basically the same thing on HAK's thread in the Showcase. Coconut had a boilerplate cover letter formula in there. I am SOOO tired of seeing it.

You guys are GD's. Get creative. Like Kool says, it's OK to be entertaining, just don't be flip.
Val, honestly I didn't finish reading it. The layout, colors and text are ok but it was too list-like all the way thru. You have to sell yourself in your objective so don't place it in the middle somewhere.

I think it is actually better to be list like in the resume, because employers want a quick hit of bulleted items to quickly digest. The place to sell yourself with your peronality and objectives and how you can be the answer to the employers dreams is in the Cover Letter. Often the Cover Letter is even more important than the Resume, because this is where you convince the reader to give you an interview.

http://www.vikianderson.com/forumimages/valogo.gif (http://www.vikianderson.com)
www.vikianderson.com (http://www.vikianderson.com)
Graphics & Design on Demand

[PrintDriver]

Vikia,
I'm a BIG fan of bulleted lists. It's long, run-on lists with commas I dislike.
I went back to look at it after reading your comments and what you pointed out regarding limiting her experience is probably what made me stop reading it. I didn't even get to the vinyl signage stuff and that's what I'd hire someone for if I was looking.

The cover letter is the most important place to sell. I'd almost rather there weren't an objective statement in the resume.

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[TooTallVal80]

PrintDriver said...
Coconut had a boilerplate cover letter formula in there. I am SOOO tired of seeing it.
Wha?? Boilerplate? What in the world?? /emoticons/lol.gif

PrintDriver said...
You have to sell yourself in your objective so don't place it in the middle somewhere.
I thought that's where you are supposed to put it? So it should be in the top I'm guessing, like before 'Experience'?

PrintDriver said...
what you pointed out regarding limiting her experience is probably what made me stop reading it. I didn't even get to the vinyl signage stuff and that's what I'd hire someone for if I was looking.
OK, I read what you were saying over and over again. And still don't get what you mean.

Post Edited (TooTallVal80) : 10/3/2004 8:34:45 PM GMT

[TooTallVal80]

Kool said...
Your objective paragraph, you got that out of a book right? I have seen varitions of this sentence a million times. It really doesn't tell me anything. In my opinion this is the most important part of the whole resume with experience being the second.
Now that I look at it, it looks I'm advertising in the classifieds.

Kool said...
I hope you will receive this in the helpful spirit it was intended. I would be happy to help you further. If you are interested PM me. I won't write it for you but I will help you if I can. /emoticons/cool.gif

Thanks Kool.

[TooTallVal80]

Vikia said...
I would also say 'designed' ads instead of 'making' ads; I would say 'Vinyl Signage' instead of 'Vinyl Weeding Signs'; I would say 'Customer Service' instead of 'counter work'.

But should I still put 'weeding somewhere like 'Weeding Vinyl Signs'? Or just leave weeding in the 'Design Skills' area.

[PrintDriver]

:)

A boilerplate is a standard format that is used usually without any thought or review. We get boilerplate graphic specs all the time. NO ONE uses CibaChrome anymore. But I digress.

The Objective usually goes at the top but more and more people have been leaving it off and using their cover letter to state their objective.

Vikia pointed out that you put limits on the skills you had listed in your resume. You did some posters, you were making signage - not designing posters and signage. Two different things. I make signs. Someone else designs them. If you designed the posters, say so!

Weeding vinyl is about THE dullest most boring thing about making signs. It requires practice but not a lot of skill. Did you do the file work? That is the hard part. Getting some designers' files ready to cut requires a deep knowledge of Illustrator or the sign program and shows intuitive thinking and problem solving skills. Did you do the application? That means you pay attention to details.

Did you design the signs? Did you design the business cards? Again Vikia was right about the Customer Service as opposed to counter work.

Help around the office? What's that? Type letters, filing, answering phones, making coffee?

Your Freelance section is good. If you designed the logo tags for K. Crystal you need to say so. Ditch the dates.

Your skills section is ok. Fix the spacing on the dot between weeding and Mac. You might change Signs/vinyl weeding to 'custom vinyl signage production', if you did file prep and/or the application. Leave off the 'production' if you didn't. Weeding is a given.

What kind of a job are you REALLY looking for. Did you enjoy the signage and poster stuff? I always point out that there are large format career directions out there. Museum exhibit display panels are really just large posters. Think about where you want to go and what you want to do. Studio, Corporate, 'Show production', Advertising, Environmental design (interior display), ???

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

Post Edited (PrintDriver) : 10/3/2004 10:33:52 PM GMT

[coconut]

I think it is a bad choice to say " I have some experience in..."


Rather, explain how much experinece you do have.


You say you helped around the office, get further in depth.


never have a bullet at the end of a line.






What do I look like a smoken monkey?

[TooTallVal80]

PrintDriver said...
A boilerplate is a standard format that is used usually without any thought or review. We get boilerplate graphic specs all the time. NO ONE uses CibaChrome anymore. But I digress.
Dang..

PrintDriver said...
The Objective usually goes at the top but more and more people have been leaving it off and using their cover letter to state their objective.
That's what i was thinking of doing. Because to me it looks out of place!

Printdriver said...
Weeding vinyl is about THE dullest most boring thing about making signs. It requires practice but not a lot of skill. Did you do the file work? That is the hard part. Getting some designers' files ready to cut requires a deep knowledge of Illustrator or the sign program and shows intuitive thinking and problem solving skills. Did you do the application? That means you pay attention to details.
Man the weeding was the most tedious work I have ever done! Made a lot of mistakes but I got the hang of it. Did I do the file work as in cutting? Yes I did. A designer used the application and printed out the vinyl. And I've watched over and over and how he had to constantly maneuver the vinyl.

Printdriver said...
Ditch the dates.
Why? Should someone see how many months or years I've had in the freelancing?

PrintDriver said...
hat kind of a job are you REALLY looking for. Did you enjoy the signage and poster stuff? I always point out that there are large format career directions out there. Museum exhibit display panels are really just large posters. Think about where you want to go and what you want to do. Studio, Corporate, 'Show production', Advertising, Environmental design (interior display), ???
I'm really looking into doing corporate I.D., logo design, posters, Illustrations and brochures. the signage was boring because I just filled in the names, times, and dates of the movies in an already made signage.

[Vikia]

TooTallVal80 said...
Vikia said...
I would also say 'designed' ads instead of 'making' ads; I would say 'Vinyl Signage' instead of 'Vinyl Weeding Signs'; I would say 'Customer Service' instead of 'counter work'.

But should I still put 'weeding somewhere like 'Weeding Vinyl Signs'? Or just leave weeding in the 'Design Skills' area.

Is weeding a design skill or a production skill?

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Graphics & Design on Demand

Post Edited (Vikia) : 10/6/2004 7:23:50 PM GMT

[Vikia]

PrintDriver said...
Vikia,
I'm a BIG fan of bulleted lists. It's long, run-on lists with commas I dislike.
I went back to look at it after reading your comments and what you pointed out regarding limiting her experience is probably what made me stop reading it. I didn't even get to the vinyl signage stuff and that's what I'd hire someone for if I was looking.

The cover letter is the most important place to sell. I'd almost rather there weren't an objective statement in the resume.

Sorry PrintDriver, you misunderstood. I am a big fan of bulleted lists as well, which is why I suggested LISTING (meaning a bulleted llst) those skills. But in the context of answering her, I simply separated them by comma. I was not very clear.

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Graphics & Design on Demand

[lkw]

you might want to spell check your resume.. i didn't go through the whole thing but i found in your objective.. environment is spelled incorrectly.. trust me... if you make any spelling mistakes... you won't be hired

[Wonder Woman]

Have you thought about adding a background graphic? Something that draws the reader's eye down the page - possibly joining to main titles of each section. A very transparent shape, using the light purple in your logo might look good. However, it may cause problems if it needs to be photocopied at all?

Saving souls from Comic Sans

[TooTallVal80]

Wonder Woman said...
Have you thought about adding a background graphic? Something that draws the reader's eye down the page - possibly joining to main titles of each section. A very transparent shape, using the light purple in your logo might look good. However, it may cause problems if it needs to be photocopied at all?

I've tried that. Before the logo was upside down; looked like a flame. Back then I had it as I backdrop, lowered the opacity. To me, it didn't look right. I'll try it again as it has been awhile.