I am cuurently looking for a new job and I have two questions about my resume.
I am learning a new skill in my current job, enviromental design, but I don’t have any environmental design in my portfolio at the moment. Is it bad to mention that I am working on environmental design projects in my resume/cover letter?
During college, I got into my school’s juried exhibition three times and got honorable mentions two years in a row. I also had a photograph of mine published in my school’s literary magazine. Would potential employers want to see my achievements in my portfolio or not since it was from college?
I agree with Smurf2. In addition, I think both the things you mentioned are fine for a resume and portfolio if they’re relevant to the job and appropriate for your situation.
A general rule about whether this or that will hit the mark in a job interview is difficult. One art director might respond one way and other very differently. All you can really do is think through the problem and try to place yourself in the position of the person who will be interviewing you, then sell your skills as being a good fit for the job.
As for including college achievements, like those you mentioned, again, it would depend on the job. If you’re a recent graduate applying for an entry-level position, yes, of course, they’re appropriate. However, if you have several years of experience under your belt, touting college-level awards might come across as an indication that you haven’t grown or improved much since then.
The only thing I’d say about college level-awards - if you’ve recently completed them it’s good to show on the CV. I wouldn’t put college stuff on my Resume today as it was over a long time ago for me.
But about 15 years ago - even though I had a lot of experience - I put courses down like WebMaster course that I had finished as it was relevant to a position I was going for - I had recently completed it - and it shows the employer that you’re willing to upskill.