# what should a designer's resume look like?



## Jack Hammer (Feb 22, 2003)

i'm trying to write one but think standard bulleting is getting weak

especially since i'm starting to write the same crap for each job



but of course my resume paves the way for my dope portfolio, so i would want a well written one. any pros want to show me examples?


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## BitWit (Feb 24, 2003)

A designer's resume should be written in sharpie on a manaquin arm that starts with "I'd give my right arm to work for you"...

Just Kidding. 

Part of the designer's job is to create new ways of communicating information in a way that is more efficient and interesting. The resume is a real-world assignment that deserves as much creative thought as any campaign.

In this job climate, I think its important to be concise, straightforward, and well-proofed as well as cool. If you've worked alot of jobs doing the same stuff, just list where and when with each job title (which usually explains the general idea) and point out one or two *unique* things you learned or did there. You dont have to list _everything_ you did at every job. You can put those things in another place under _proficiencies_.

Remember to have a third party (human) proofread it before you send it out. At my agency, even if you misspel QuarkXPress, you lost your opportunity to show a portfolio.

Good Luck!


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## Jack Hammer (Feb 25, 2003)

thanks, i am going to re-write my resume this weekend

i like the idea of a proficiency list because it sums up the crap i've been doing all these years


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## Arden (Feb 25, 2003)

I'd suggest you look at a standard job application and work your resume around it and how it's set up.  Try to keep it a page or so, and look around online for tutorials on how to write it.  If you feel daring, you can spice it up by importing your content (yes, you need content first-Word or the like should work) into something like Indesign or Pagemaker and make it look really cool, but companies are less impressed by a flashy resume with nothing to offer than a plain, well-written one.


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## breathofj (Feb 26, 2003)

for my first post...I will say that it's not necessarily true that a company prefers a well written resume to a flashy one. 

When I was working at a design group, we would get tons of resumes all of the time. If they looked good, they went in pile 1 to look at further. If they didn't look good, they went to trash pile. 

That was before they even saw a typed word.

So, in conclusion, I'd say in corporate America a well written resume might be most important. But for design studios, I'd go for the look first.

out


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## t1m0 (Feb 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by breathofj _
> So, in conclusion, I'd say in corporate America a well written resume might be most important. But for design studios, I'd go for the look first.



No reason not to go for *both*.


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## Arden (Feb 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by t1m0 _
> *No reason not to go for both. *



Indeed, just because a person's resume looks good doesn't mean they have the necessary skills for the job.  One person may write up his resume plainly because he believes in keeping tasks simple and to the point and gets the job done straightaway with a minimum of fuss, but this person's resume gets skipped because of this philosophy-not a bad philosophy in design.


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## Jason (Mar 1, 2003)

in my experience the whole resume process is based on a few levels....

1) get your foot in the door - make a great looking resume, one that makes them say "wow, this looks cool"

2) make sure its well written and organized - after you get your foot in the door, and it gets read, you want to make sure the words back up the look

3) follow up, always follow up after sending a resume

thats the basics... of course this is coming from someone who is currently struggling to get a good design job 

anyways here is my resume if you wish to see someones... not saying that mine is the way to do it, or whatever, just an example of my resume 

http://jasonharbourdesign.com/Resume-New.pdf


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