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50 Shades Of Resume #23: The Animated

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Resume 23

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

50 Shades Of Resume #22: The Retro Ad

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Resume 22

Chuck Lay’s resume looks like a set of retro ads from a magazine, newspaper, or comic book. The iconic art, the different fonts, the text blurbs, it’s all there. A quick glance at it and you might think for a moment someone was trying to do a retro ‘zine. Actually it was part of something similar that he created.

But it’s all there, a complete resume that just happens to look like it comes with X-ray specs. Let’s dive in and see what we can learn . . .

The high points of the resume:

  • He’s really captured the sense of the classic ads – while keeping them clear. it very quickly gets attention and shows talent and skill.
  • THis resume also shows a definite sense of humor. Not many resumes actually say “I have a sense of humor” effectively, so it communicates personality.
  • The use of the icons in the classic ad look really helps sell it – and breaks up the resume, since many can be rather dull.
  • The “want more” cut out at the bottom is a hilarious and witty addition – and reinforces his contact information.
  • He uses different font colors and sizes to call attention to different sections, as well as different section sizes. Thus, each section is unique and draws attention.
  • This basic idea would not be that difficult to maintain or modify if done right. It would also not be hard to make several versions.

A few issues I have with the resume:

  • The non-standard resume layout may not quite work here. The use of one column for skills (on the right) and the career history dominating 2/3 of the page provides some workflow, but I don’t think it works with the variable fonts and elements – a bit too chaotic. It might work on a different resume.
  • Some of the font sizes are a bit small.
  • I wouldn’t make the Designer Profile section quite as big – it over dominates.
  • I might put the education and affiliations lower on the page – but I say might. With this layout, oddly, it works.

This is a good example of making a resume that looks like something else – but also subtle in its own way. It walks a good line between “looks like this” and “is a resume” while maintaining it’s theme.

Steve’s Summary: Hand me this resume and I’m going to have a good laugh – and a series of ones. Backed up with a good portfolio (because I’d want to see more) and it’s pretty powerful.

[“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 #21: The Scrapbook

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Resume 21

Anna Yenina’s resume looks like it’s made from things lying around the house – a piece of paper, an old photo, pieced of paper, cloth doodads, and a post-it note. Sure, it’s a resume, but a resume meant to look like it’s made from other things. It’s a scrapbook in resume form.

She also disposes of the standard resume format, focusing on skills first, then an introduction, and finally providing more detailed information. The chaotic design is reflected in the arrangement as well – and actually seems to play off of it. The resume makes you pay attention with its unusual nature – and that helps draw you in.

The high points of this resume provide us some instructional lessons:

  • Like other, similar resumes the fact she can make the resume look like something else shows a level of artistic skill and creativity. That’s automatically a way to show talent.
  • The non-standard resume outline actually works here, because it plays into the chaos. That’s an interesting lesson in breaking form by breaking physical form.
  • She very cleverly calls out a basic personality statement with “highlighting” and an arrow at the top, and the green post-it-note is bright enough to call out her skills. That’s a clever way to use the metaphor to emphasize specific traits and keep the non-standard arrangement of the resume working.
  • The informal look of the resume is reinforced by the non formal writing style. That might not work for everyone, but it does maintain the spirit of the resume.
  • The little fine details really draw the eye and get attention. It makes the resume fun. For instance, the little exclamation point at the top is a cute touch.
  • As always, including a photo adds a human touch.
  • The resume itself, via its design, has a more personal feel.
  • The links to portfolios and examples are a good show of “putting your money where your mouth is.”

A few issues:

  • Some of the text seems to have been added via graphic tools and it shows. It could be messed with a bit, possibly to keep the informal feel.”
  • The non-standard arrangement is a bit of a gamble.
  • I think it could have used a career history in some area. It’s worked into the large descriptive paragraph, but it doesn’t give a “feel” of history.
  • There’s a slight glitch around the star on the hobbies page where the text overlaps it. Yes, I do fine detail.

My ultimate takeaway here is using the “chaotic” nature of the metaphor to both work with a non-standard layout and at the same time to highlight important points. There’s something very clever about both subverting the standard resume – and then making things stand out.

Steve’s Summary: If I got handed this resume I’d get a kick out of it – and enjoy the whimsy and the personal touch. It’s clear she’s imaginative and creative off the bat, but it’s almost a humble way of showing 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