CBR’s New Policy – A New Rallying Point?

by

As you may have heard, CBR decided to shut down and restart their message boards. The incident that brought this about was the harassment, threats, and attempted breach-of-bank that Janelle Asselin faced after criticizing the cover of Teen Titans #1. Abuse had occured on the CBR forums, and owner Jonah Weiland put his foot down, locked the forums, began a reboot of them in amore moderated format, and took responsiiblity for not doing more earlier.

It was a decisive, serious move, but beyond all his policy changes and plans, Weiland stated his thesis cleary.

He told the harassers, the abusers, and their ilk they were not welcome at CBR. He told those who were there to insult, to troll, and to cause trouble that they should go away.

He told them to get out and then locked the door.

I think he’s on to something the geek community should pay attention to.

Read more

50 Shades Of Resume #30: The Comic Book

by

Resume 30

Joshua Drummond pretty much looked at the standard resume, crumpled it into a a ball, set it on fire, and said “I’m gonna do it as a comic book.” The result is essentially a small “Scott Pilgrim Versus The Career.”

As you can guess this is one of those resumes so unique that analyzing it a bit of a challenge because, well, it is a comic book. So consider this analysis “in context.”

What can we learn:

  • The entire resume feels personal, which is important for connecting with a reader.
  • The personal intro where he’s speaking right to the audience is a good touch – an effort to connect with the audience.
  • He also has a nice aside at the beginning making fun of standard resume descriptions.
  • He sums up his career history with a series of panels. That’s a different idea because some are obviously not quite “wow look what this did for my career.”
  • He ends with a big panel of “action publishing” that also includes punching a Hitler stand-in, a nice reference to the classic Captain America image.
  • He illustrates his hobbies in a similar way, going into a series of panels.
  • He closes with a very honest statement about his search, and then references.

A few things to change or consider:

  • Since this resume is so non-standard, it’s best paired with a regular resume. Joshua does that, sending it out with a strong cover letter and regular resume.
  • Not sure it’s ever a good idea to include Hitler in a resume, but doing the classic Captain America punch is a nice touch.
  • References may not always be needed.

As noted, it’s hard to critique a resume like this since he’s made this such a personal artistic effort. But there’s a lesson in that – and as we’ve seen in other resumes – that sometimes when you do something different, go all the way.

Steve’s Summary: I’d get a good laugh out of this resume, but also like the personal touch and the detail. It shows an effort to connect and a lot of imagination.

[“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 #29: The Cute Combo

by

Resume 29

A lot of resumes get crazy or formal, but Emily Bain takes hers in a more cute direction. Doinated by a large cartoon image of herself, it goes with a more whimsical look – but also does that hard trick of deviating from standard resume style while keeping all the vital elements in place. It’s a real combo of cuteness, different styles, and rethinking resumes.

Here’s what we can learn from this interesting and charming take:

  • The cartoon picture at the top sets a whimsical stage for the resume. That’s a nice bit of mood setting.
  • The introduction’s “hello” and the prologue make it personal. That further fits the spirit of the resume – and keeps the use of graphs below from being dehumanized.
  • She goes for a two-column resume, which we’ve seen before. In this case it’s an effective division – the left side shows her background, the right what she can do. That’s a good division for keeping the standard elements in a new – and functional – arrangement.
  • The use of different text colors, thicknesses, and designs is well done, each color or size having a purpose.
  • The little icons next to each title keep the whimsical feel.
  • The Skills and Expertese sections are highly effective. It shows her levels of skill with a five-point scale, and how her expertise is divided up in a nice, color-coded method.
  • I also like how she uses the hexagons multiple time, maintaining a theme.
  • She includes her hobbies at the bottom of the skills section – always good, but it also putting it in the area she shows her abilities emphasizes how they tie into her skills.
  • The ending with “let me tell you my story” is a great closer, and fits the personal sense.
  • The resume really speaks of a desire to communicate. The careful layout, the use of clever graphs, all show a desire to say something.

I have few criticisms of this resume, but a few things:

  • I’d have liked a little more detail in the work section to know a bit more. But it might not be needed.
  • The expertise section, though clever, isn’t quite clear.

Overall, a very solid, charming resume that does things differently – but it’s friendliness keeps those changes from seeming aggressive.

Steve’s Summary: I’d love to see a resume like this coming across my desk. Clear, cute, communicates well, and takes a different tact while making it work.

[“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