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50 Shades Of Resume #17: The Evolutionary Metaphor

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Resume 17

Jimmy More is a producer who’s had a lot of growth in his career. He decided one day that he really need to show how he evolved . . . by showing how he evolved.

Jimmy’s resume is a take on the classic “March Of Progress” evolutionary pictures we’re all too familiar with. In his case, it describes his journey from student to commercial producer as a kind of evolution. Sure we know all our careers evolve, but he just got out there and showed it.

So of course I wanted to analyze it.

Looking at the Ascent of Jimmy, this stands out

  • An extremely clever use of a classic image. Instantly you look at this and get what he’s talking about and how he’s grown, and the metaphor helps.
  • The imagery is very detailed and witty- notice how each character has the trappings of that stage of his evolution. There’s a lot of wit here and it says a lot about him.
  • It’s a variant from the use of standard graphs to use a different metaphor for growth – which can get attention.
  • There’s detail at each stage of his growth, providing more information. He’s not just using this to be funny – though it actually is pretty funny.

Now evolution has a few bumps in the road, and there are a few here:

  • Despite the detail this doesn’t feel to be a “total” resume. I’m not sure it should be, and maybe it needs to be paired with a more standard resume. But it’s not entirely complete.
  • This metaphor may go good as a smaller part of a larger resume.
  • The choice of italic font may not be appropriate, it gets a bit hard to read.
  • The starkness of the resume is nice, but I wanted more detail.
  • Design-wise, I actually feel it needs a border.

One of the things that stands out here is using a clever metaphor for job growth. This may be something for creative resume-makers to look into because there are doubtlessly others we can find and use. Maybe they’re the whole resume -or a part of it – but there has to be other imagery you can use to up communications and show your design skill.

Also I wonder if this may go well with another style – like the aforementioned book resume, or part of a portfolio (which Jimmy does).

Get to it. Start evolving.

Steve’s Summary: I’d get a laugh out of this resume if it came across my desk, because it’s funny – and clearly the product of a talented person. I’d definitely want to see a full resume or more detail though.

[“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 #16: The Colorful And Simple

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Resume 16

Faratiana is a creative person to judge by her many works, but it’s her resume that got my attention. At first glance the colors stand out – but then as you look at it you see how there’s both clever and effective design and a lot of information, all delivered with precision.

Here’s what stands out to me:

  • The skill section is clever. Each color calls attention to a different skill, and the “rating system” tells you how good she is. There’s many ways this could be used on resumes, but the basic idea is whimsical, colorful, – and effective.
  • The colorful “stars” detailing each separate section also call attention to them – without being garish or overdone. This is a good use of bright colors effectively.
  • Every use of color here has an atypical shape – no squares or circles. That further draws attention.
  • Note that the elements of the resume reinforce each other – the star at the top is made of colorful “teardrops” – which in turn are reflected in the skills. The “star” itself is reflected in the single-color stars later in the resume. This adds a consistent design – and shows great thought.
  • It’s a nicely complete resume. It’s all here.
  • The use of different text colors is a useful choice for adding detail and hitting high points. It works well with the use of color.

I have a few critiques:

  • There’s a bit too much white space, It could be a bit fuller.
  • The light-colored fonts are just a bit too light colored and look washed out. In addition, some of the smaller fonts are a bit too small.
  • The use of the white colors in the “skill tears” is good, but a bold may work as they don’t quite carry.
  • A photo of the artist *might* work here to further personalize it.  It might need to be black and white or colorized to fit properly

Overall I’m very fond of this resume, as it’s another one that manages to be a “standard” resume while being creative, and it uses interesting ways to communicate skills – in this case an unusual skill list and a rating system. Finally, it feels very professional.

Steve’s Summary: If I saw this it immediately gets my attention – and then as I look at it I see more detail. I feel I can “get” the creator very easy, and it shows an extremely professional level of 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

50 Shades Of Resume #15: The History Chart

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Resume 15

Greg Dizzia loves a good graph at a level that I almost envy – I might need to try to convert this guy to a career in Project Management. This is just one of his charts, he has others up at Deviant Art.

In this case he mapped the history of his career in one chart. Mixing color coding, timelines, and icons, it’s a mindbendingly dense summary of, well, his career. As a devotee of good info graphics and charts, it’s a bit overwhelming in a delightful way. Ok, delightful to me and people like me.

When you dig deep into what he created, these lessons stand out:

  • This shows a sense of organization – yes, that’s obvious, but that’s not something easily communicated in a resume. Greg really thought this thing through, and tells me he’d probably be easy to work with organization-wise.
  • It communicates a serious love of graphs and designs – as does his other work. It shows not just a sense of organization but serious skills.
  • It says a lot. You can, if you break it down, really get a deep idea of what he did, learned, and what skills he employed.
  • The use of icons is very effective – something I’d like to see more of, and something I’m noticing more of in resumes.
  • It’s visually very appealing. These are good color choices.

Now there’s limits to this:

  • It’s not a traditional or scannable resume. It’d probably have to be paired with a more traditional one.
  • If a person doesn’t take the time to look into it, they won’t really get anything out of it – it’s not a resume to hand to someone for casual viewing.
  • It is impersonal – it says a few things about him, but there’s no sense of “person.” A picture may help out – or an illustration.
  • It’s a testimony to his skills, but it showcases only a few of his skills, and thus needs supplements.
  • Some people might find it overly showy.

I think that this resume and others may be good in a portfolio, supplemented with a regular resume. He might even be able to create a whimsical “graph series” for display – since he apparently loves doing them – and that might be an idea for you, dear reader, to consider.

Steve’s Summary: Hand me this resume and, beyond my deep envy of his charting skills, it’d be a clear testimony to a very organized person that knows how to do specific graphic design. I’d want to see a regular resume and a larger portfolio though.

[“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