Riccardo Sabbatini is not messing around.
His resume, and it feels a bit disrespectful to call it “merely” a resume is a giant animated extravaganza. It has a soundtrack. It has superhero jokes. Then when you get to the end it like to flyers of his resume for different subjects. The resume itself is a project all its own.
So of course, that’s not going to deter me. I’m going to analyze this sucker, because this is taking a resume to an extreme.
What can we learn, beyond the fact you can fuse jazz and techno effectively?
- I like how early on he documents that this resume craziness is its own saga. That’s not only a good project, it shows his commitment and is just interesting. I can relate.
- The use of a soundtrack that’s fun and bouncy is unexpected – and it keeps the sense of whimsy.
- The animations for the most part are actually fun and interesting – and makes the resume more attention-getting.
- He has a varied but consistent style throughout. The resume has a consistent look but it has enough leeway it stays visually interesting.
- There’s a lot of humor throughout. Obviously.
- I like his incorporation of software logos and colors into his “superpower” section in the form of a Hulk-like superhero. It’s a good use of iconics and is clever.
- After his skills he shows the things he can do and these sections have an almost philosophical feel, such as “it’s all about the type.” This says what he can do and shows what he thinks
- The links to “physical” resume designs at the bottom is a great touch. It leads people to finding somewhat more traditional resumes.
Now all his hard work aside, there are things I’d change:
- Some people will have their minds blown by this – some will be overwhelmed. That’s just the way it goes, but if you follow in his footsteps, keep that in mind.
- I’d put the links to physical resumes on the side or highlight them at the top or throughout – the way he shows his earlier resumes.
- I actually think the large header detracts. I’d make it smaller so you get to the good stuff faster
- The need to scroll through all of this is time-consuming. Now though the resume is a great example of his skills, it’d help to add a “jump to” button or make it seem multipage.
- Some of the sections seem a bit overlarge depending on the screen you’re viewing them on.
- The section showing physical resumes seems overlong.
One thing that is a great takeaway is that he’s made a great resume his own obsession and project. If you’re into something like this, it is a good side project. Much as I wrote a book on resumes, Riccardo made his quest for the wild, crazy, fun resume its own thing. Maybe you might take on a similar quest to get a great resume, build skills, and blow people’s mind.
In fact, let me suggest that maybe the secret to your next resume is so combining it with other projects it becomes something new. Maybe it merges completely with your portfolio or manifests it. Maybe it becomes your testing ground and you update it monthly. Who knows?
By the way, I’m not going to analyze “proper” resume flow here. Riccardo just did his own thing.
Steve’s Summary: Pretty much my reaction to first seeing this was “wow.” This is a stunt resume and a show-of-talent resume. I’d appreciate it, but then would go to the traditional resume to drill deeper, while showing this to the creatively inclined who wonders “what can the guy do.”
[“50 Shades of Resume” is an analysis of various interesting resumes to celebrate the launch of the second edition of my book “Fan To Pro” and to give our readers inspiration for their own unique creations.]
– Steven Savage