Create Your Resume
What to Include on Your First Resume
Many students and recent graduates worry that they don’t have enough experience
to create a compelling resume. Don’t be concerned. Once you start to really
think about your background, you’ll be surprised at what you have to boast
about. The content of your resume will be determined by your own unique
experiences, skills and background but as a general guideline you should
include:
* Positive personal characteristics
* Technical and computer skills
* Coursework relevant to your desired profession
* Educational accomplishments (include your GPA if it’s over 3.0)
* Skills and experience gained during internships or summer jobs
* Other related accomplishments (design awards, recognition, winning
competitions etc.)
* Work History (include unpaid work if it relates to your target positions)
The key is to emphasize those things that demonstrate your value and to leave out
those things that don’t. For example, if you are looking to work in the Gaming
Industry, your ability to work in 3DMax will be important - but the fact that you
have won awards for water skiing won't! Don't include hobbies unless they
directly relate to your goal.
Resume Design
• Many people are surprised to learn that resume design is just as
important as content, but it’s absolutely true. Research suggests
that your resume has less than 20 seconds to make the right
impression, so it must be eye-catching and easy to read. To get
ideas for layout and structure, go to the library or online and
study the resume reference works specifically written for
students. All contain examples of professionally-written resumes
and will help you decide on the best approach.
• As you work on your resume, keep your reader in mind and
remember his/her basic concern: will this candidate add value?
If you answer effectively by highlighting relevant skills, personal
characteristics and accomplishments, your resume will open the
right doors and generate interviews.
Basic Resume
This basic outline will describe content
only, not design. We should be very
concerned with design, but content is
very important. This isn’t rocket science
so let’s not make it more difficult than it
needs to be.
So Starting from the top of the resume:
Contact Information
Name – address (just city and state if you wish) – email – cell
phone (often helpful but not required)
Example: (Does not have to be centered. Just have all the info
together, but not in a table.
•
First name Last name
•
1111 Main Street, Anytown, MN 55000
•
xxx-xxx-xxxx
•
[email protected]
Objective
What are you looking for / what do you want to do. Very very
important. What is your goal? What do you want to do? Two
sentences if possible. Try not to start with “To Obtain” many
Objectives read like this:
“To hopefully obtain a challenging position working with a team
of gaming professionals to obtain skills in the concept art and
design field.”
What is that objective saying to you?… It’s too generic and doesn’t
really say anything.
Be specific about what you are seeking and what your skills are.
Not what you’d “hope to obtain” or “like to have.”
Technical Skills
List out what you know and what you have
exposure to. Software Proficiencies, both in
Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop 5.0,
InDesign 5.0, Illustrator) kind and the
Microsoft Office Suite kind (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, etc) and also specialty software
specific to your chosen career objective. Best
to list them in order of experience and
capabilities. Start from what are you good at
and then to what are you just learning.
What’s next Education or
Work Experience?
Depending on how much work experience you have,
you may want to put your education first. Here is a
good way to make this determination—
IF number of relevant (art specific related) jobs is less
than 2 THEN Work Experience should be next and
Education will be added later, IF years experience at
1 jobs is greater than 2 years THEN again Work
Experience should be next on the resume. Thus, only
if you have 1 art relevant job (or none) under 2 years
experience, should you add Education next on the
resume.
Work Experience
The Work Experience section should be organized in chronological
order, most recent first. Containing - Company, location, start
and end date, title, company description or industry clarification
and bullet point list of duties for each employer.
Example:
 XYZ Company, Baltimore, MD 03/2007– 09/2010
 Concept Artist
 Define duties using action words.
 Example: Developed, Initiated, Lead, Proposed, Managed,
Maintained, Produced, Created, Integrated, Designed ,
Administered, Expanded, Trained, Demonstrated…
 Use shorter phrases or 1 to 2 sentences.
 Should be direct and contain Tools Used, Responsibilities,
Outcomes, benefits to the company.
Outstanding Projects
If you have an Outstanding Project (often freelance) with
experience relevant to an employer, or maybe something award
winning, add it prior to the Work Experience section. Be direct
and cut to the technologies used. Also, add the outcome and
your responsibilities with this project. Try not to use long
paragraphs, but use bullet points when you can. Example:
•
Developed this “web site” for a specific use which resulted in
this outcome.
•
Responsibilities included. – Add bullet points here
•
Technologies used: XYZ, ABC, so on.
Education
Degree title (BFA in Illustration and Animation)
Learning Institution, date and graduation
Any additional info regarding additional training, certifications or
classes. Listed as bullet points below:
•
Bachelor of Fine Arts
•
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland,
Graduation Date: May, 2010
•
Major: Illustration, Minor or Concentration: Creative Writing
Cumulative GPA: 3.35, Deans List
Association/Awards/Honors
List related organizations, groups, awards especially in
your specific desired field or professional
development related areas. Including professional
associations (Society of Illustrators, Illustrators
Partnership of America, Illustrators Club, Graphic
Artists Guild, etc) frequent affiliations (ICON, Art
Directors Club, gallery shows, etc) use college
groups if within the last 2 years. Finally, awards,
honors (Society of Illustrators 2008, 2010, American
Illustration 2007, Spectrum 08, 09, 10). A partial
client list may be used here as well, again bullet
points.
References
“References available upon request.” Make
sure you have at least 3 ready, but never
send to an employer unless they request
references. When requested be sure to
provide accurate, up-to-date information and
forewarn your reference that they may be
hearing from a potential employer/client. In as
much as possible, have your references be
individuals that relate in some fashion to your
professional objectives.
Yes
• name your resume file FirstnameLastname.doc
• have month/year start and end employment dates.
• use bullet points and / or short phrases, 2 sentences
max.
• have someone you trust look over your resume for
small typos
• allow yourself 1, 2 or 3 pages depending on work
experience. 1 page is not a rule.
NO
• submit your resume in .PDF, .InDesign, Photoshop, or other
formats- (MS Word only)
• name the resume file Resume10.doc, or JohnS.doc. Use first
and last name only
• Over-design your resume. Don’t over do it. Be sure any images
are clean and immediate.
• describe projects or responsibilities in long paragraph form.
• list hobbies or personal affiliations (fly fishing club, cosplay, civil
war reinactment)