Hmm, which is better?

PrintDriver · 02-25-2008, 12:36 AM

Why would a GD willingly point out they can do Office Assistant work? LOL.

Who's going to give you the best reference?

The usual drill, or at least the way it used to be, is you list the last 10 years of work experience and anything relevant before that. Dunno if that is still true. But that's what I'd look for.

gray929 · 02-25-2008, 12:40 AM

I think secretarial assistant sounds most appealing. Sure for drawings and cermamics you need a certain skill, but secretarial work involves more knowledge I think and usually caters to more work which people like to see.

Bastet · 02-25-2008, 12:50 AM

I'm new here, but spent some time in HR and can help with resumes. If the job covers a gap in your employment, it's good to show. Employers don't like to see a prospect has been unemployed for a period of time. They wonder what went wrong. Also, if you spent a long time doing one of these jobs (three years or more) it's good to show as it demonstrates your loyalty to a specific company (something lacking in many job fields).

You can list your GD jobs first under a "Graphic Design Experience" heading and your other jobs below listed as "Other Professional Experience".

I hope that helps

**Buda** · 02-25-2008, 12:53 AM

Hmmm...I haven't updated my CV for a long time.

I've listed every job I've ever had on there.

Should I take out all the food industry jobs I did pre GD school? The non-design stuff too? I only graduated 3 years ago so there's not heaps to my list...

Bastet · 02-25-2008, 12:58 AM

Believe it or not, there are a lot of employers and many fields who really respect food industry experience. That kind of customer service is really tough and anyone who has done it can relate. It's a kind of sick club. I actually read a craigslist post for a GD job last week saying he'd prefer someone who worked in restaurants in the past. He said he respected the field. It was really funny!

**Buda** · 02-25-2008, 01:16 AM

I don't think it's a coincidence that I have friends that happen to be chefs.

Chefs know how to party!

But they work very hard and it's deadline, deadline, deadline come dinner time.

PrintDriver · 02-25-2008, 01:23 AM

Budafist, we all know why some of your friends happen to be chefs.

Bastet is right. Gaps are bad.

**Buda** · 02-25-2008, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by PrintDriver

Budafist, we all know why some of your friends happen to be chefs.

.

Unfortunately, chefs I know don't like to cook at home. I've cooked for my chef friends many times but if I want them to make me a meal, I have to make a booking at their restaurants and pay for it!

I understand it a little. Being in this industry I should be more appreciative of paying someone to do their job and not ask for freebies!

Spunky Nerd · 02-25-2008, 01:38 AM

Thanks for the replies... I am still a little lost on what to put though... I've had too many jobs to list all for the past 10 years if I want to keep my resume 1 page... I am pretty set on listing 3 or 4, two of those being my current and last position (my only graphic design positions). The assistant position ended in july 2004, the drawing instructor position ended in january 2006 when I had my son, so I guess that would be the last job I had unless I want to list working in a day care... I just want to know if a drawing instructor position or an assistant position would look more desireable to an employer, or should I list both? It's hard because I did have a gap (12/06 - 8/07) because the birth of my son and moving. So no matter what I do there will be a gap...

**Buda** · 02-25-2008, 01:47 AM

Hmmm...I've had a bit more of a think about it and what I would be inclined to do is to list every job in the last 10 years but only put the job descriptions/duties for the relevant jobs to the position. That way there should be no gaps.

Just a date, company and position should suffice for those jobs that aren't relevant.

Spunky Nerd · 02-25-2008, 03:46 AM

Originally posted by PrintDriver

Why would a GD willingly point out they can do Office Assistant work? LOL.

Who's going to give you the best reference?

The usual drill, or at least the way it used to be, is you list the last 10 years of work experience and anything relevant before that. Dunno if that is still true. But that's what I'd look for.

So go with the drawing instructor... because if I seriously listed all jobs for the past 10 years, even if I put only business, job title, and date, I would still need more than one pages... I have gypsy blood... I don't stay at a job unless I'm happy there, being the reason why I'm looking for another job now.

PrintDriver · 02-25-2008, 11:14 AM

I think I was being facetious, given all the observations here from designers who were hired to do GD but ended up answering phones and filing paperwork, among other things.

My actual answer was to list anything relevant. You can tailor your resume to the job you are applying for too. Gotta love the digital age. Typing changes has never been so easy

Buda, your chef friends don't 'practice' on you? My friend's nephew is a chef and he likes to practice new things on weekends.

Ovaltine · 02-25-2008, 11:21 AM

If you've had "too many" jobs in the last 10 years, why not go with a functional resume rather than a chronological one. List all the skills you used over the last ten years.
Or combine the two versions. List the skills you've used AND list (without details) the companies you've worked for, positions/dates. This way you cover all bases. You show that there's no gap in your work history, but you also show all the skills you've been using.

Ghastly · 02-25-2008, 02:44 PM

Hmm...not that I condone lying but your last job is the one from which it is most likely you or a potential employer shall be seeking references so being accurate would be important in this case. Any jobs unrelated to the position you're applying for now (and sufficiently far back in the past) it might be advisable to lump some of them together as one job or else perhaps as a set of jobs. Ie; on my cv I have a period of 3 years where I worked for a recruitment agency doing manual labour for zillions of companies. Rather than mention them all I lumped them into "Various warehouse positions" with appropriate start/end date given.
Also any time I spent off work I was able to explain away by labelling these gaps as "Self Study" with a description of what and why I was studying.
(in my case to prepare for uni)

Hmm, which is better?

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