Job Search – Page 13 – Steven Savage

50 Shades Of Resume #27: The Super Simple

May 3, 2014 by Steven Savage

Eric Ghandi likes simple, which is a virtue for any visual designer who has to be sure pages and graphics work with phones, tablets, game consoles, and probably telepathic reception. So he’s got a straight up website and a very straightforward resume.

Its actually one of the simplest resumes I’ve seen in ages. It’s almost minimalist while still being visually interesting and engaging. So of course I’m analyzing it.

Here’s what I found works:

This is really, delightfully straightforward. Yes, it lacks details, but at the same time that’s literally its style. It obviously has a goal.
It’s uncomplicated. He goes and gets things done.
He further condenses the skill section into lines of skills, not categories. Normally i’m not for that, but in this case it works with the style.
The use of different font sizes works in this case – as the resume is so simple it’s probably needed to add some detail.
A good use of inverted color schemes (though see below)
Having the header a different background than the text is an interesting choice, it stands out.
I like the dashes of color for the internet connectivity, it ads some pizzaz.

A few issues:

I think the header is a bit large for such a simple resume. It could be reduced.
Not entirely sure the black-on-white text works for the section headers. I might have used different text colors instead.

This is a resume that gets me thinking. It’s so simple it makes me wonder how simple one can go . . .

Steve’s Summary: A solid resume that shows a desire to get things done and is free of BS. I’d like to get this one – but I would want a portfolio.

[“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 #25: The Board Game

May 1, 2014 by Steven Savage

A few years ago Kristian Walsh created a resume that made a game out of his career – literally. Based on the game of life, she charted his life, skills, and accomplishments as a board game that looks a wee bit familiar to all of us that remember those classics.

But Kristain isn’t conspiring to make some of us feel old (that happens automatically), this is a resume that uses a far different metaphor than the standard resume – which in a way is another metaphor. It’s interpreting the CV history as something different.

To boot, he even has a video version available.

Now in analyzing such a unique resume, one faces the challenge in that it “is what it is.” But there’s a lot we can learn

First, this is a clever use of one thing to portray another. That already speaks volumes to a reviewer because it uses an unexpected metaphor – and shows Kristain is capable of thinking outside the box (and into the game box).
It’s actually a timeline resume, and as you “play along” you can see his history. This is a more detailed and personal history than the usual resume, and thus adds a more intimate feel.
The resume also calls out skills as they are learned, giving some sense of skills.
The relevant skills and history are also summarized on the right side of the page, a smart idea given how unusual this is.
Major milestones are called out in the “life-flow” which adds a further sense of what’s going on.
Notice how the “life-flow” takes you to the contact information and the final summary.

It’s actually hard to find issues with the resume as it’s really a success – a complete take of one metaphor and moving it into the other. A few things:

I’d use different colors for the board titles. Maybe code them to show “learned a skill”, “achievement,” etc. It breaks things up and communicates more.
The contact info is just there as usual text. That’s dull, and should be offset, a different style, or made to look like something else (Manufacturers contact information?).

Really, though, its hard to find much negative here. It’s just a clever piece of work. Opens me up to wondering what other metaphors we can use for our job histories . . .

Steve’s Summary: I’d love to see a resume like this come across my desk. Not only does it break up the monotony, it’s witty and makes me think – and tells me the person can rethink things and re-intepret them. Adaptability and imagination are powerful traits . . .

– Steven Savage

50 Shades Of Resume #24: The Colorful Standard

April 30, 2014 by Steven Savage

Peter Hrinko gives us a colorful resume that looks almost like some product packaging. The shaded pictures, the gradient text, the unified color scheme all look like there’s some kind of product here. You’d almost wonder if “Peter Hrinko” is a new graphics card or a band.

Yet what it really is is a colorful version of a standard resume. Peter’s jazzed up the usual resume while keeping it standard. There’s actually quite a few lessons here about making a resume interesting without breaking form:

The use of the inverted color scheme, of dark background and light text (which I covered earlier) is compelling – and he expands on this by using light colored text of different colors. It’s interesting and it stands out, without being distracting.
The large title is actually effective – and it sets the stage for using different-colored headers (below).
Putting the Objective as a quote is a smart, personalizing touch.
He uses different font sizes and colors to emphasize specific sections and areas. That makes them stand out – and note how he cleverly uses multicolor/multi-format headers to make each title have the core word stand out – like “Experience” or “info” This is part of a consistent theme.
The use of darker-colored dividers makes the divisions more subtle, and focuses on the brighter-colored words.
Using a two-column model for his education, work experience, awards, and skills is a bold touch, and a good space-saver.
He incorporates icons into the resume on top of everything else, adding visual richness, drawing the eye, and showing knowledge.
He uses a picture of himself – but it’s a less personal one, it’s him at work. It keeps the personal element, but also adds a sense of the serious.
The picture in the right side is a nice break from “usual resume” look, and along with his photo, breaks up the entire resume.
He does a lot on one page.

There’s also very little I’d change, but . . .

As usual I think skills should go earlier. In this case he also mixes them in with the experience/education/honors column which is a bit confusing. Me might want to move the skills and program knowledge into their own parallel columns.
The “About Me” text is a bit too flush with the picture. Actually, it might go good lower so the picture stands out, or may not be needed.
I’d like to see more work experience, but that might not be possible and still keep it on one page.

As I analyze resumes I’m seeing more “multicolumn” models and changes to standard color schemes. I think these are areas we can really explore as resume-makers.

Steve’s Summary: Hand me this resume and I get a very positive impression. Here’s a solid, professional resume that shows his skills as well as his history, communicating them well – and communication is what a resume is about in the end.

– Steven Savage