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Your Résumé |
Your résumé should be an error-free, creatively written, professionally designed business document which evolves with you as a designer.
- It's a business document, not a portfolio piece. Avoid over-designing it.
- Proof read, proof read, proof read.
- Make it only one page long.
- When presenting it, prepare for any eventuality. Have a backup plan.
- It's a living document. Update it as you grow as a designer.
Your résumé is a living document. It needs to be updated as you gain new experiences at work. As you grow as a designer, you can also change the look to better reflect your current your skills.
Do your best to keep your whole résumé to one page. This will force you to get to the point and exclude extraneous details. Prospective employers will appreciate your brevity.
Include your complete contact information in a clear and obvious manner. If the document will end up in PDF format, don't include text URLs. They're ugly on the page. Link your text or link social media icons in the PDF.
You can include a statement right up front that says what you're looking for. A job is too obvious and bland. You can state how much you want to be part of the team, make change, etc…
When communicating your experience, don't exaggerate or leave things out. Include successes in previous jobs. If one of your listed successes was a team effort, say so. The ability to work in a team is actually a positive attribute.
If your previous jobs seem irrelevant to a position in graphic design, tell them which skills they gave you that will be of use to them. For example, if you worked at the returns counter at Canadian Tire, that would likely make you skilled at dealing with clients. You may even be able to tame the most rude, irate customers. That's an asset. Say that. Include travel, military, academics, accreditations, internships, volunteering and other life experience which would contribute to your value as an employee. Don't forget to state whether you're multi-lingual.
Be sure to address the recipient by name. Be formal about this. The commonly used Hey, I'm Johnny and I love design is too casual.
If you're going to use bullet lists, use action verbs to start each item, like these:
- authored
- brainstormed
- communicated
- conceptualized
- curated
- customized
- derived
- designed
- diagramed
- drafted
- edited
- illustrated
- imagined
- influenced
- inspired
- intensified
- modeled
- proofread
- published
- redesigned
- researched
- strategized
- storyboarded
- translated
- transformed
- visualized
- wrote
Speaking of lists, you do not need to list every design software title you know. It's enough to state that you are proficient with using them. You can mention that if you excel at one more than others if you specialize in a discipline—After Effects for motion graphics, for example. Do not claim to be a Photoshop god. Sorry, but you're likely not one.
{% include /svg/resume-software-skills.svg %} Avoid listing software titles. Who says you're 75% proficient in Photoshop‽The issue here is that it's a no-win situation. Either you under-sell or over-sell yourself. If you state that you're an 9/10 with Photoshop, you better deliver 9/10. If you're 3/10, don't tell them!
In my opinion, a really sharp looking mug shot is valuable. If you e-mail your résumé beforehand, the employer will recognize you when you go for an interview. Don't obscure your face in any way. Make yourself recognizable in the picture. It'll make you more memorable. The only down side is if your photo is not professional enough. Have someone help you set up for the photo. Comb your hair and be well lit. You can take it with your phone.
Hopefully your résumé will only be one page long. That means the file size will be small. You can export your PDF with the Print Ready preset. That'll make the photo look sharp if they output on paper. Test it yourself.
Who doesn't like a walk on the beach at sunset? Listing travel in your interest is obvious. Now, if you had an exceptionally remarkable travel experience, please tell us. Your four-day bender in Punta Cana doesn't cut it. As a teen, I sailed a tall ship across the South Pacific. That's something worth talking about, because it affected my growth as a person.
Unless you're actually a professional photographer, gear and all, avoid listing photography as one of your skills. First, it's offensive to all pro photogs out there. Second, you better be ready to deliver a full-fledged photo shoot. Third, we've all taken that one incredible shot with our iPhone. One photo does not a photographer make.
It's crucial that you read and re-read your résumé to ensure it's error-free. Run your spell checker. Don't trust your spell checker! Have others read it. Have non-designers read it. They're not only reading for errors, they should give you feedback on the tone.
Achieving the appropriate tone in your writing is important. It can be very challenging. Your résumé is not really the place for humour. Your tone can be witty, but not flippant. It can be light-hearted, but not frivolous. It should be formal, but not overly-so. See how this isn't simple? If you have any doubts, just state things plainly.
It may be a good idea to have more than one design of your résumé if you're going to send it to designers vs freelance clients. Tailor your résumé for the recipient.
You should have a cover letter. It needs to be addressed to the recipient by name, with their title and business contact information. Make the letter short. Research is needed here. If you can specifically target the skills they're looking for, you can demonstrate that you're the best fit for the position.
If there was a job posting, answer the language in the posting in your cover letter.
Your résumé is a professional business document. It shouldn't be origami art—better simple and well executed than over-designed. Avoid clichés or contrived concepts that'll be more of a burden on the employer. You'll need to gauge the degree of creativity you put into your résumé. If you go overboard, the document overwhelms and confuses. If you stop short, you could be perceived as unimaginative or unmotivated.
How far do you go with your design? That's up to you. To start, your layout, typography and colour treatment needs to be flawless—even to a seasoned designer.
Design your résumé to have a consistent look with your web site and other social media platforms.
Avoid using a template. You're a graphic designer. Design and build your résumé from the ground up.
Apply all the production skills you have. Resolution, file size and colour fidelity are all important.
Paper? Who needs paper? Sharing a PDF file works well and saves trees. A responsive web page is really great too. Both is best! Either way, build it to be accessible. It has to work for recipients, no matter the screen and their abilities. Ok. Have a few paper backup copies with you.
Once you've completed your PDF, the last thing you should do to it is open it in Acrobat. Hit ⌘-D.
- Set the Navigation tab to Page Only if you only have a single page.
- Set Page Layout to Single Page.
- Set Magnification to Full Page.
When the recipient opens your PDF, it'll be zoomed to show the whole page.
If you send out a resume in PDF format, make sure to name the file with your name. Appleseed-Johnny-Resume.pdf. The recipient may receive hundreds of them. They need to be able to find yours in the crowd.
You can e-mail your PDF as an attachment. You should also keep it in the cloud, in Dropbox or in Google Drive. Leave it in the same location in case someone goes back to retrieve it at a later date.
This is my take on some résumés, good and bad. Watch on YouTube (9m33s).