Capability

50 Shades Of Resume #48: The Emergency Sticker

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Resume 48

Jonathan Wong would like to warn you. Namely, he’d like to warn you he’s an awesome artist.  Fortunately he’s got a big sticker for that.

This emergency sticker is actually the cover to a more standard resume (in the lower right hand corner). It’s sort of part of the resume, a portfolio, a cover letter, and more. I wanted to include it for sheer unusualness.  Also it’s really cool.

What he did was create an emergency sticker, treating himself as a kind of emergency resource (and apparently biohazard, but hey, artists are biological). It’s an amazingly detailed creation for a kind of preview/lead-in, so what can we learn from it:

  • It’s a giant punch in the face of pure talent. A lot of work went into this, from design, to aging it, to putting in little details, to making it look right. You really don’t doubt this guy has talent and an eye for detail.
  • Remember, this is the cover.  With this kind of lead in your resume is almost secondary.  In fact, that could be an interesting combo – deliver an amazing cover letter with a more standard resume.
  • It’s interesting how it leads into a more standard resume – a heavy one-two punch and then the detailed, regular information. He literally uses his “finishing move” first – not always something I recommend, but in this case he does it right.  This is a massive statement.
  • * It shows a sense of humor. At first it looks dangerous, then you get the humor involved. That says a lot about his personality as well as skills.
  • * It’s unique. I doubt you’ll have seen anything else like this in your day.  Or year.
  • It makes me wonder about ways to rethink the resume, portfolio, and cover letter.  By turning his cover letter into a statement of talent (and thus a mini portfolio) it plays into the resume by showing his abilities  What other ways could we recombine the elements of our job search?

Any criticisms? Actually, not any. This is straight up clever and effective. I’d just note that if you try something similar, do it your own way.

Steve’s Summary: I’ll want to interview the guy based on seeing this.  You just don’t do something like this and not have a bunch of talent – and that’s before I get to the resume (and part of the reason it’s in this series).

[“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

Way With Worlds: When Good and Evil Collide and Exchange Insurance Information

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When Goats Collide

We’ve talked Utopias, their rarity, and how and why to create them in our worlds. We’ve talked Dystopias, their commonality, and why to create them anyway despite their near-omnipresence. I’d like to discuss a related, similar issue in worldbuilding – what happens when “good” and “bad” parts of the setting meet.

It’s an area near to my heart because stories and games, tales and legends, are often written on the borders, the liminal spaces, the transitions. It’s where the richness grows, when things cross over.  Even a conflict or a difference is a chance for rich worldbuilding and storytelling.

Also because mostly when the Good and the Bad collide it’s often implemented in a manner that’s terrible.

So, let’s start out with what often goes wrong when Light and Dark decide to unload a can of whupass. Sometimes you have to put up the warning signs before someone goes off the worldbuilding road.

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50 Shades Of Resume #47: The Path

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Resume 47

Remember when we saw Scott Stedman’s “wheel” resume earlier? Well he’s done other experiments in resumes as well – in this case he went from the wheel to a path, showing his education, experience, and skills. and how they intersect. It’s not one path – it’s several coming together in a very unusual resume.

What can we learn and what stood out for me?

  • It’s really different – an attempt to go both nonlinear and linear. I’m not entirely sure it works, but it’s very ambitious, and is food for thought.
  • The colors of the paths also seem to tie into the various text headings.  A good way to help people understand it.
  • Despite having a lot of graphics and less text, he actually says a lot with his limited text. He choses his words well.
  • These precise descriptions also have a bit of an informal feel – which works with a resume that uses an abstract concept. It keeps it human.
  • He chose his color schemes and stuck with it, and works with the limited color set.

I do think it has some issues:

  • This is creative, but also a bit too busy.  It’s going to overwhelm some people.
  • The resume seems to be indicating how this “came together” in 2014, but I think that could be indicated with some notes, larger text, etc.
  • I think the fonts would work better bolded, and there might be a bit too much text – just a bit.
  • The aside about one of his photos becoming popular could be made larger – or left out.
  • I like how he calls out his title as a photographer, and could use that concept elsewhere in the resume.

Definitely am ambitious resume. I have to wonder what his next experiment will be.  Then again, I’ll probably share it with you.

Steve’s Summary: A clever resume, but does need to be paired with a regular one. It also shows bold choices – I admit if I hadn’t met him through email I’d want to discuss his ideas with him, because this level of “rethinking” makes me want to know more about him.

[“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