Resume Help

I need help with building a more proper and thorough resume for my required internship next semester. I've got great opportunities with a few studios, including of course, Sony pictures. I dont know how or where i should list my positions as a Cinematographer and Editor in the last two films I worked on, or how or if i should list prior smaller shorts, and how or if I should specifically mention stuff like LittleBadRomance being featured on the Playstation blog, kotaku, and Media Molecule blogs, or the live performance shoot of Lady GaGa, and other Musicians.

Help! <3

http://www.brianmoreno.com/uploads/resumetnl.doc

I'm probably going to take flack for this, but I'd put whatever shows you have experience and passion for your work. I've got a cool job or two because of my hobbies and not my grades or previous jobs.

But whatever you put, try to keep the best stuff on the front page. A lot of people only look at the first page seriously and glance at everything else.

I'm not really one to talk about resumes considering I hate my job and can't get my resume to be considered for the life on me. But this is what jumped out about your resume:

1. It ain't pretty.
2. Your positions for these companies aren't immediately clear. You should put your job titles up there. Ex:

Date - Job title, Apple Computers, Mission Viejo, California
Description

You should put what's most important at the top. Considering your experience I would go Experience; Education; Relevant Skills

You should also put your experience in chronological order. This thing is all over the place.

Yeah. Mr-K is right. Management and human resources is full of lazy stupid dicks. They don't want to spend the time looking for information.

See thats why i really need help. This resume had a lot of "help" from my university and what it considers to be correct, and proper, but they really suck in terms of trying to help me shape a media work based resume.

Where i have the most confusion is I really have no idea where to start or how Media resumes are usually formatted, and what kind of work (be it paid, personal, research, school based) are fit for mention.

I wonder if Yellerdog or Mykozo would know. They've both worked for Tv shows.

The only work you should put on it is work that is doing the type of job you are applying for. If you want to be a DoP don't put I worked tech support at Apple. Also yeah, stuff should be in chronological order. It's not a bad idea to show something else that you're really good at. Say you're really good at ceramics or something like that. Something else you've dedicated a lot of time in. Check out this video.

I would also cut stuff down. A lot of recruiters don't want to have to read a paragraph to figure out what you did some place. Break it down to like bullet points. I mean you have a paragraph under your own business that can be broken down to probably 2 bullet points if that.

Also IMHO it shouldn't look pretty, just black text is fine. Every recruiter I've talked to from Feature Film Animation places all said the same thing. When they see overly done resumes with fancy design and this and that is usually a red flag that the reel is going to suck. Almost all of them said that 9.5 times out of 10 the reel connected to that overly designed resume sucks complete shit.

don't most reels suck shit anyway?

I agree with mr-k, it ain't pretty.

For comparison, this is pretty much what I wound up with after my uni got done with it: (i'm not saying mine is any good, just showing what UMD had me wind up with. Lord knows it hasn't gotten me a job) I happen to think it's aesthetically pleasing, though

oh hush!

For illustration/design work I get, a resume that shows company first, the position, along with a brief description work most. Put in chronological order, but you don't need to have dates listed per se. Also, try to use your desscription to highlight maybe a specific achievement, rather than daily duties.

Ditto on the length - keep it short and sweet. Aim what you put on there so it's relevant to the position. Like when I send a resume for a design job, I specify my work at Disney in regards to prepping trend portfolios and building assets. If its illustration I highlight my work in creating original icons & patterns. Of course I did all that, but a place looking for an artist may not care as much about design, and vice versa.

Also, don't include any positions that have no relevance to the job. It comes off as padding the resume. Like I would never mention IGN guides because it's not in my direct career path. Instead use that space for a section that lists other aspects you may want them to know. Your specific examples of LittleBigRomance or working with Lady GaGa could all be mentioned here (unless those were job-specific experiences, but even still, mention them!).

Rich's is nice looking and isn't complicated

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

Also IMHO it shouldn't look pretty, just black text is fine. Every recruiter I've talked to from Feature Film Animation places all said the same thing. When they see overly done resumes with fancy design and this and that is usually a red flag that the reel is going to suck. Almost all of them said that 9.5 times out of 10 the reel connected to that overly designed resume sucks complete shit.

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I'm not saying he should be dicking around with fancy fonts or colors, more that he should just work on formatting. I mean, mine is just arial black, 9 point font. And I recently rejiggered it so that it filled up the whole page rather than overloading the left margin. But when I think about it, the whole thing might be too dense.

I'll just go ahead and post mine, it's based off a girl who was hired at my girlfriend's work recently. I rather like it, but I mean I haven't gotten any responses from it, so it could be a train wreck for all I know.

This one is what I've been using since Disney and Cartoon Network laid some feedback on me.

Here are some general guidelines that I have been told to follow:
- Keep it to one page. Two pages is generally accepted as okay, if you have spent a fair amount of time in the industry and have a huge amount of experience. For someone just out of school, keep it to one page.
- Fill the page. There is a lot of white space in yours; you could probably change your margins to 1" and increase the font to 12.
- Don't just look at it on the screen. After every few revisions, print it out; it will help corrections and general eye appeal.

Edit: Here's mine in its current state of edit; this thread reminded me to update it.

I've reduced mine down a lot, but I agree with everyone here. Length, Chronological order, and list job experieance to the job requirements.

Length is a concern. Mind you, mine is not short and I've been trying to reduce mine. My Uncle who was a manager said that all the important stuff should be on the first page (ie: a resume should not be two pages). I've gotten conflicting info on that last part. But so far two managers I've run tino other than my Uncle agree. If you have to have two pages. The first page should be where all relevant info should be placed.

Also, like everyone said Chronological order. That's a necessity. Whether its listing month and year, or m/d/yr, or any variation. You need to do that.

Finally, this one take with a grain of salt. Some people told me to do this others told me not to. But some say to only put the jobs that are relevant to the job you are trying to aquire. And if you have any special skills that could help ... put them down as well. So, like ShinJohn said. If you have ceramic skills put them down, if you know that will help you get the job. Other people told me thats rubbish (aka managers). So, its more of a YMMV type thing.

Here's mine. I basically follow the ShinJohn theory. If I am going for a customer service job. I take out the Red Lobster and Borgata job. If, I'm going for a cooking job. I do the opposite.

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Originally Posted by Tones

Here are some general guidelines that I have been told to follow:
- Keep it to one page. Two pages is generally accepted as okay, if you have spent a fair amount of time in the industry and have a huge amount of experience. For someone just out of school, keep it to one page.
- Fill the page. There is a lot of white space in yours; you could probably change your margins to 1" and increase the font to 12.
- Don't just look at it on the screen. After every few revisions, print it out; it will help corrections and general eye appeal.

Edit: Here's mine in its current state of edit; this thread reminded me to update it.

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You've got a neat resume, but I'm generally a fan of having education up top for someone recently out of school.

(I have a secondary resume with an objective up top as well, much like yours)


So, anyone got any jobs in the NY or MD areas for me? :D


Also--Kris (and anyone else) -- I'm going to Radegast on Dec. 27 for a friend's birthday. If you're not doing anything, you should come by. It's close to you, if you're still in DUMBO

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Originally Posted by Advocate

Length is a concern. Mind you, mine is not short and I've been trying to reduce mine. My Uncle who was a manager said that all the important stuff should be on the first page (ie: a resume should not be two pages). I've gotten conflicting info on that last part. But so far two managers I've run tino other than my Uncle agree. If you have to have two pages. The first page should be where all relevant info should be placed.

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As a recent grad, I feel like it'd be a mortal sin for me to go over a page. I doubt I could even if I wanted to, though.

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Originally Posted by Rich

You've got a neat resume, but I'm generally a fan of having education up top for someone recently out of school.

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I dropped out, so putting it up top seems to emphasize it a bit too much.

ah, didn't notice that. Why'd ya drop out after 7 semesters?

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Originally Posted by Mr-K

I'm not saying he should be dicking around with fancy fonts or colors, more that he should just work on formatting. I mean, mine is just arial black, 9 point font. And I recently rejiggered it so that it filled up the whole page rather than overloading the left margin. But when I think about it, the whole thing might be too dense.

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Ahhh ok. I thought you meant for him to dick around with a logo and fancy lines and shit. I swear I see some resumes that are just ugly as fuck from being overly designed out the ass.


My resume is actually like a page and 1/2 about. I have a fair amount of recent work experience though so I like to have it all on there. Also for me since I have to submit a reel, I make the pages of my resume the front and back cover of the dvd case.

My resume is a page long. I list the bands I've played in, and then some shit I made up that would be difficult to check on.

People hire me.

LOL

Mine is actually now 100% true. That wasn't always the case!

I think people put too much thought into resumes. Just put the information you need to know. No bells, no whistles. Just the facts. My resume's two lines long.

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DOC HOLLIDAY

the internet

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If you have more experience than education, that should go first. A functional resume is best when you have years of experience and it's your greatest strength. Everything you list should be from the most recent down to the oldest, and unless you have so much stuff that's not relevant, it doesn't hurt to put all your experience in the general field.

Also, be sure to place any skills you have that are relevant at the top. For example, if you're adept with a bunch of programs that would be in demand, that doesn't need to wallow at the end of the resume. You're selling your experience and skills, and these are the things potential employers need to see first.

The whole one page thing is a myth. If you have a bunch of stuff that's not relevant, then cut it down. If everything you want to put is 3 pages long, then your resume will be 3 pages long. The more experience and jobs you have, the longer it will be, and the impulse to squeeze everything into a single page is wrong.

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Originally Posted by Melf

The whole one page thing is a myth. If you have a bunch of stuff that's not relevant, then cut it down. If everything you want to put is 3 pages long, then your resume will be 3 pages long. The more experience and jobs you have, the longer it will be, and the impulse to squeeze everything into a single page is wrong.

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See that's what's confusing me. Some managers told me to keep it short. You're telling me well that's not exactly true.

I think it falls in the YMMV territory.

I have to disagree. Applications are for details. A resume is a pitch or a trailer. How many trailers have kept your attention for over 2 mins?

It's exactly YMMV, that's the thing. People say that it should be one page - period. That's false, because someone may have a ton of relevant experience that deserves to be on the resume. You shouldn't expect that person to chop off their experience to make a single page so it looks nice.

On the flip side, someone with little experience and/or education shouldn't pad their resume. Your resume should be exactly as long as it needs to be in order to include everything a potential employer will need to see. That can be different pages for different people. Hell, a single person could have several different versions of their resumes of varying length, depending on the job for which they're applying.

There is no ironclad, one-page standard.

OK. Well yeah. I'm just saying it's a good guideline. Your resume better be some James Cameron shit though if you expect the reader to get past the first page.

Alls I'm saying is most people likely don't have so much experience that a second page is required.

I think it depends on what type of job you're going for, and how you list your experience. If your experience breaks down something like this.

TNL, New York, NY
Freelance Writer July 2009 - November 2009
Article Name 1
Article Name 2

I don't think going over a page is bad, or much for them to read. How ever if you list stuff like this.

TNL, New York, NY
Freelance Writer, July 2009 - November 2009
I wrote articles for the website. I also edited other peoples articles and I gave Nick regular hugs and kisses, because some times he gets lonely. I also moderated the forums because some folks just can't play nicely. This was when I earned my legendary status from Nick. He really appreciated my hardwork and all the hugs and kisses. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

Then yeah, no one is going to read past the first page. It really depends on how your shit is laid out, how readable it is, and what type of job and the position you're applying for.

I do a lot of hiring, and resumes that are over one page almost always strike me as needlessly long. For example, if you're an applicant that has a bunch of published articles, I'd rather not see a complete list, but either the most recent ones, or one or two directly prevalent to the job.

I look at a resume as something that helps get you an interview; you can elaborate on why you're good for the job and expand on your experience then.

Generally speaking, if I like what I see on the first page, the resume goes in the callback file. Also, a long resume can send the message that the applicant is sending out the same resume for all jobs, especially if the extraneous content is unrelated to the job being applied for....therefore the applicant might not care much about the job itself.

I'd much rather see someone show that they can sell themselves directly to the job by editing their resume; it shows me they can prioritize and organize based on a particular goal, and it also sends the message that they're interested enough in the job to take extra steps.

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Originally Posted by Rich

ah, didn't notice that. Why'd ya drop out after 7 semesters?

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I had a lot of credits from architecture that didn't mean anything for other majors, and my last two semesters have been a bust. Better to leave willingly than get kicked out IMO.

Your resume should always be one page long and short. Keep the novel for your interview. Whenever I've had my hand in the hiring phase I've always appreciated people who can keep it short and save me some time.

Also a picture of you goatse'ing is always a surefire hit.

Don't be ridiculous! 1guy1jar is the only thing that can get the attention of today's crowd.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

Don't be ridiculous! 1guy1jar is the only thing that can get the attention of today's crowd.

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Best video on the internet

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Originally Posted by Drewbacca

Your resume should always be one page long and short. Keep the novel for your interview. Whenever I've had my hand in the hiring phase I've always appreciated people who can keep it short and save me some time.

Also a picture of you goatse'ing is always a surefire hit.

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In light of recent descusion about resume length, I've decided to update my resume, yet still keeping concise -- who I am, what I do, where I'm from.

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DOC HOLLIDAY

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/p...&pictureid=862

the internet

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I trimmed fat, i threw the comiccon job as first, added the two major films ive worked on. Hows it looking? although admittedly i dont feel like much changed

I also need to start thinking about a cover letter.

A textbook I used recently had a section on writing resumes; I scanned it and sent it your way, assuming the e-mail you included in your draft is correct.

And for the job seeking of TNL, here is a tip that was brought up in one of my prepare-for-the-workforce classes:

Just after your interview, write a concise hand-written thank you note. Use the address from the business card they give you. Within it, go over a few of your important assets that would benefit the position. Get it in the mail immediately. After I got the job, my interviewer later told me that it was the best thank you letter she had received all year. It's just another small detail to set you apart from the pack.

my resume is just over one page, its like one and a fourth page long, I had to go onto a second page b/c my job history expanded. I pretty much feel like if you want to show that there were no gaps in unemployment you might not care if it goes over to another page. Its not like i have many jobs in my life either, so is 1 1/4 of a page too long?

You can't trim that shit to 1 page? I'll be honest the majority of my profession is portfolio, but I know a 1 pager means you can pair down your shit. Is all of the work you've put on your resume relevant? And is it recent? If you have 5 of the same job-types for a position I'd put the most recent 3 down and trim the others.

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Originally Posted by B-Ri

I trimmed fat, i threw the comiccon job as first, added the two major films ive worked on. Hows it looking? although admittedly i dont feel like much changed

I also need to start thinking about a cover letter.

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Use real bullet points, not hyphens at the beginning of each line--those hyphens are hideous. Also, I'm sure it's rendering different for me than it is for you, as some of your lines have large gaps in the middle (a tab) and break a couple words later. And since they're not breaking where your tab is, the second line isn't indented to match the first. Using real bullet points will fix this.

I don't have much resume experience, but what do you guys think of submitting resumes in PDF format? I've always preferred it--it guarantees the formatting looks the way you want it without any chance for odd renders on the reader's end or missing fonts, and avoids letting whatever Word program the reader is using underline your last name as misspelled because it doesn't know what a "Sallee" is.

I've heard conflicting info. Some people say keep it to one page. Other people say keep it to two. Some people say, just write down that you did a few things, while other people says you should write down all of the most pertinent things you did and responsibilities you had your at your position.

Everybody's opinion is different on the matter. And it's bloody infuriating.

Fuck if I know. I hate resumes and I hate writing them. I broke every rule mentioned in this thread so far. However, I did everything I was told to do by other people (intern supervisors, kindly ex-bosses/superiors, instructors, etc).

And my redesign is trash.

Applying for jobs is going to suck when school's over.

Edit: I prefer .pdf submissions.

You could probably parry yours down to one page if you make the font a little smaller and not make your name so HUGE

The name being bigger looks good. The weird 1 column layout in the middle of the page is what's causing it to go to 2 pages. The 1 column layout looks good but I'm not sure it's functional.

Oh, my bad, I was looking at the old resume. Yeah, the weird column thing is just wasting page space and is actually kind of difficult to read.

For the first design job I got out of college (actually it was internship/placement) I put Apple calculator as one of the programs I was a master at. They saw it an laughed and I got a callback.

I think im happy with content now, but i think formatting still needs a little cleaning up

Isn't it "Apple Computer" and not "Apple Computers"?

Actually, I thought they recently dropped the Computer part totally.

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Originally Posted by Drewbacca

The 1 column layout looks good but I'm not sure it's functional.

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I've only used it for school purposes.

Don't talk back

Is my resume too long?

http://i.imgur.com/2eduP.jpg

The brown stains on the letter really sell it.

Baby, your white tube top and jean skirt drives me crazy.

Edit: Whose ready to cum?

It certainly works for me.

In 20 years their grand children will discover this in a chest in their attic.

Resumes are easy. Just list all of your accomplishments and try to make it neat/concise.

And yes, it's better to be in PDF format than in Word. I found that out the hard way when I realized my formatting was getting completely fucked up in the conversion process.

Cover letters are what really suck, because you have to write a new one every time you apply somewhere new.

Well, that, and actually having accomplishments that are worth putting on a resume in the first place -- that's the toughest for me, at least; there aren't too many jobs where 1CC Gunbird 2 comes in handy.

Now with cover letter, and in PDF format. What do you guys think?