Graphic Design Resumés
Leaky Penny (2616 pencils) | Mon, 2011-08-15 04:23Hey guys,
So what's the deal with GD resumés? Do the people hiring rather see intricate, colourful resumés or your more traditional Word format black and white ones?
The reason I'm asking is because I'm currently on the market for a full time and I still have the ol' CV in Word on my HDD and it DEFINITELY needs revamping.
If y'all got any links or ideas please share.
—
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
Commenting on this Forum topic is closed.
Depends what kind of place you're applying to and for what job, and especially the personality of the hiring manager, which you unfortunately can't predict ahead of time. The colorful creative resumes are usually for fresh college graduates, while mid/high level job seekers have experience & training that speaks for itself. It's getting more common to include a link to your online portfolio on the resume if you want to show off you skills.
Also, just because it's black & white and undecorated doesn't mean you have to use a cliche Word template.
im in both the design and video biz. and when i advertise for help i ask for SAMPLES.
in most cases, i dont give two shits about your resume. and usually say DONT SEND ONE.
i want to see what you can do and how creative you are.
if i were advertising for an accountant it would be a different story.
two most important things (in my eyes) for a resume (other than the content).
1) good typography. really good typography.
2) proper hierarchy and readability
if you can do it in a creative way, that's great. if you have a cool concept, especially one that is the kind of thing you'd propose to a client trying to solve a similar problem, even better.
but if it looks like you tried *REALLY* hard to make it different just to be different, or colorful just to be colorful, or something like that, i think you're missing the point.
i honestly can't imagine you doing "cutesy" creative.
so good typography, readable, good hierarchy, not tacky/cheesy/cutesy. my personal style is fairly clean, simple, so that's how i set up my resume. lots of light typefaces, hierarchy set up some with weight, some with letterspacing or possibly all caps (judicious). mine's all in grayscale. yours may differ because your style is different, but it should still have a level of professionalism to it.
+100
Call me old school, btu flashy crap like the stuff posted in the first link below just doesn`t do it for me. I can actually feel myself rage just trying to figure some of them out.
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
Just the facts, man. Easy to read, easy to understand, don't try to slip something past them. Feel free to stretch the truth a little - but don't lie. Let your portfolio speak for your artistic talents and your resume speak for your career history.
The other comments have pretty much nailed it.
Here are a couple links I always look when revisiting my resume.
http://bit.ly/ohbNVi
http://bit.ly/pfEsux
If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.
Ah! That first link is what sparked this whole topic. The only ones I would actually read through are the ones by Jeremy Fleisher, Loyez Geoffrey, Jonathan Smith and Jordan Lapointe.
The others deserve a punch in the face.
That second link is great though, lots of help there.
I'm old school when it comes to resumes. A good grid, nice typography and clearly structured will win the day. Looking at a lot of these resumes one can't help but think: Just cause you know a few tricks in Photoshop doesn't mean you should use them. that's what your portfolio is for.
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
I agree 100% with Leaky Penny. A few of these are nice, most of them are garbage. A resume isn't a place to show how much you like Mad Men or Google.
Yeah obviously some of those are way over the top and I'd be shocked if they actually use them as real resumes. I would guess most of the crazy ones were just a "look what I can do!" project.
Here's another link with some much more professional looking, well designed resumes:
http://jobmob.co.il/blog/beautiful-resume-ideas-that-work/
If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.
Bad example, I feel. A lot of those resumes look like suped-up word documents.
Ah, but a lot of them are well designed with grids, nice typography and clear to read. Compared to the mess that the other link presented, these are much easier to digest.
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
Those weren't great either but a lot of these aren't very good examples of good layout or typography. They're very heavy for my eyes.
Totally disagree with one of the "Don'ts of a resume" listed on that first site...
Reasons You Left Past Jobs
My "reasons" are big sellers. They say things like "left for better position" and "left to start my own business" - they're all very positive and map out the trajectory of my career. If you're getting canned everywhere you work - obviously you wouldn't want them. But if you're moving straight up the ladder? Hell yeah - put it on the list. It can only help.
meh. reading that really doesn't mean that much to me. "left for a better position." of course you're going to put a positive spin whenever possible. "left to start my own business" would probably be obvious by the next job listing in your resume. to me, i see those as about as useful as a generic objective statement.
as a reviewer, those are the kinds of things i want to talk about in an interview. in an interview, i can have a conversation about it and gauge your response (verbally and physically). in the resume, it comes across as filler. it doesn't really tell me much about why i should interview you.
is it an "omg don't' do that?" no. but i don't see any real value in doing it. it's just fluff. i'd rather see another 5-10 words on an accomplishment or white space for me to write notes.
Agree to disagree, G-man. When you look at my resume - I want you to see a career arc that goes straight up - no lay-offs, no dismissals, no downgrades... That's a bigger plus than yet another line about job responsibilities imho. Yes, you can probably read between the lines and get the same idea - but it's worth spelling it out... I've never disappointed anyone who's hired me. That's the bottom line.
You can use a post-it for your notes. ;-)
This makes sense if you have an impressive history and great references but personally I'd keep it brief (I'm curious to see how this is done, actually).
Side note: arc's go up and down*.
Very simple - you have all your info...
Company name - Dates worked
Job description, responsibilities, etc...
"Left position to start Art D. Rector Design, Inc."
That's it. Nothing fancy. They can ask questions if they want more info.
Side note: The plan is for my arc to start it's descent the day I retire. :)
i guess we can agree to disagree, then. honestly, a couple of lines you right like that in your resume won't really tell me the story you think it does ("I've never disappointed anyone who's hired me") when i review a resume. and you're the only person i've ever seen bring it up as something positive to do.
again, i don't think it's a bad thing to do, necessarily. i wouldn't look down on someone for doing it. i just don't think it adds any real value.
side note: i don't think being laid off tells me anything bad about a perspective employee, either.
Well that certainly wouldn't be a new thing for us - agreeing to disagree.
You should keep in mind that employers often "lay off" unproductive employees simply to get rid of the dead wood without much effort or hassle. They're not good enough to keep, but not bad enough to fire - someone who is untrainable, for instance. So "lay them off" and let them collect a little unemployment. It's worth the price to bring in somebody more productive. A very common practice (at least where I am).
and they also lay off people because they don't have enough business to keep them. or a business goes under.
i don't presume the negative on that.
I agree with you, Greg. It sounds defensive.
Mara
I agree with Leaky Penny. I like Jeremy Fleisher's, Jonathan Smith's (except his contains too much personal info), and Jordan LaPointe's resumes.
The others are too much unless it is part of a targeted marketing package or on your own website. Otherwise, it is best to make it equally understandable to the HR person as well as the hiring manager.
Leave the HR person or the hiring manager the option of being able to print out your resume in black and white if they need to pass it on to someone else.