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Steve’s Update 5/12/2014

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Not much to update – I had a tooth out (an old root canal that went bad over the decades) and though it went well and my dentist and endodontist are excellent, I was kind of drugged up and not overly enthused about things.  It also means my cooking experiments were reduced because there was only so many things I could eat.  Glad I got that hummus figured out, and my curry sauce on soft vegetables was a delight.

Needless to say, not much beyond this, work, and some gaming happened.  I did start some plans for a new generator and caught up on some Crossroads Alpha, so always trying to keep busy.

And thank goodness for Chipotle’s bowls, Sofritas, beans, and rice got me through a lot . . .

 

– Steven Savage

 

50 Shades Of Resume #36: The Multimedia Experience

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Resume 36

Kieth Montalbo’s resume catches your attention because of the huge pop-culture media collage on the left side. It’s a bit of a treasure hunt of media, characters, and styles, and is frankly kind of fun to pick through.

Of course after you see it you notice he’s got an entire resume going on here, mixing straight up resume and artistry. Let’s see what we can learn from it:

  • First of all, let’s get the giant collage out of the way – it shows his abilities, interests, and is an attention-getter. Does it work? Simply, yes.
  • Beyond the spectacular collage, he has a consistent color scheme and design going that shows more design skills – the “resume” part of the resume also shows his abilities.
  • The “informal” fonts used for headers is a nice addition. It keeps up the semi-formal feel of the resume.
  • The skill section, using the classic “bar” approach works well in this design, working well and consuming limited space. It also works as this is a non-standard resume.
  • The experience section is light on details, but nice and simple, and reflects the other elements of the design. Normally I’d put dates, first but I think this style works – the dates wouldn’t work in the lighter green.

A few things I’d change:

  • Not sure the education section works. The fonts are a bit small. However I do feel some kind of icons or art elements are needed to break the “resume” section up.
  • Not sure the seminar section is needed, and it might be better done combined with the education.
  • I’d also put education and such lower on the resume. Though in this case I think the education section near the top somehow works, probably as it breaks things up.
  • This might be a hard resume to update.

As a note though I think the “collage” works I think anyone attempting to do the same would have to make sure it works with their style, skill, and resume. It’s not just the collage, but everything else has to hang together. In this case it does.  The collage is cool and telling and shows talent – but it’s part of a good resume.

This is also a resume that I think would work good with a portfolio and business card of similar design. It would be a real “unified brand.”

Steve’s Summary: This resume shows a lot of detail, in a fun manner – and pretty much shows what he can do right away. Definitely one I’d like to see, though I would probably want some more career detail.

[“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

50 Shades Of Resume #35: The Personal Touch

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Resume 35

Clifton Roberts would like to introduce himself – and that’s just what his resume does. In fact it opens up with a friendly greeting coming from a picture of himself. It’s a resume that starts right off with the personal touch – and there’s more when you look into it.

It’s a straightforward resume, but there’s little touches and quite a few lessons:

  • The introduction and his “speaking picture” is a great lead in. It makes a personal connection right off the bat.
  • There’s a good unified color scheme.
  • I like how he uses a all cap bold red font for “leads” for each paragraph. it gets attention and makes the resume more visually interesting.
  • Having art of himself (combined with an abstract picture is another way to show his skill.
  • He leads off with skills – but also does something different, working icons representing his software knowledge separately in the “portrait” piece. That’s a different approach, and might be something to consider for other resumes.
  • Skill section also shows a lot of detail.
  • He’s also put a lot of detail into his experience section by using a paragraph approach. Not always something I do, but it works well here.
  • Finally, it’s nicely restrained. It’s precise, not overdone, and effective.

Now a few things I might change:

  • The contact information is a bit dull. I think another speech balloon may be order.
  • He breaks with his red-then-black paragraph structure in his Personal information section. I’d go back to that.
  • The references are probably not needed.

Overall, a well-done resume. Personal, gives you the right information, and has an interesting way to “double display” skills.

Steve’s Summary: A good resume, the kind I’d be glad to see. Professional, clever, and effective, without overdoing it.

[“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