Promoting Yourself with a Good Resume

Miscellaneous February 04, 2008

I know this seems a little off-topic for User Experience Design, but resume-writing IS a graphic art (printed medium typography) so it's worth discussing a little.

I'm amidst a bunch of college seniors struggling to find jobs before we finish school in 86 days and I continually find that many aren't too sure how to make a decent resume. Don't be misinformed; it's not simply putting a list of the stuff you know and have done on a page and sending it off to several companies. There are several details of which a good resume writer should be aware.

CONTENT

Contact Info

At the top, you should have your name somewhere in a large font. Also at the top, either on the opposite side of the page or under your name, include:

(1) Your website (if you have one)
(2) Your email address
(3) Your phone number
(4) Your address (some people include both permanent and school, but you can really just include one)

This allows for easy and quick reference to your contact information if someone needs it fast.

Focus

Your resume needs to have a focus, an objective. What, specifically, are you looking for? This should be written in one clear, concise statement that describes:

(a) the type of position you want
(b) the type of working environment you want
(c) the type of people you want to work with

The skill here is to write everything in as few words as possible. When employers read this line at the top, you immediately stand out more than a candidate without an objective. You're telling them exactly what you're looking for before they even read the rest of your resume. If it's not a match, so be it. If it is, they'll read more.

Education

This part should be pretty standard. Highlight your school(s) and major(s) as well as any minors and important activities that took place (such as academic groups or extracurriculars). If you're in a special program, include a short description.

Some people include "relevant coursework," which I used to as well until I realized that it's not always necessary. You can talk about your coursework in your interview - mentioning it on your resume can waste valuable space that can be used for something that speaks more to your skills. They know you took good classes as part of your education.

Skills

Highlight a list of the skills you have. I'm used to dealing with the technology world, so these of course include abilities with programming and design software among other things. Include only the skills relevant to your objective.

Work Experience

Create a list of only the places you've worked that help emphasize your objective. Saying you want to be an Interaction Designer and putting that you worked as a cashier one summer isn't helping you. Specify the position, the company and the dates involved. Then, in bullet-form, describe the work you did using what are called "action" verbs (one list can be found here). Using the appropriate language can have drastic effects on how you are perceived. For example, consider replacing a phrase like "worked with a team..." with "collaborated with a team..."

Other

Many resumes also have an additional section, either used to highlight personal interests, academic projects or side activities. Use this section only if it helps illustrate your objective. Otherwise, it's just filler text.

DESIGN

I've seen a lot of different designs for a resume. There's a striking difference between the artist's resume and the engineer's. What's cooler is if you have an artist's resume but filled with an engineer's content ;^)



Layout-wise, the standard is the full horizontal, with the name centered at the top and each section taking up the width of the page. The next is the vertical, where the content takes up half the page, includes a vertical line down the left side and the name is left- or right-justified at the top.

Think carefully about which fonts you use. Readability is very important, so don't overcrowd your words and use unreadable colors. Pick fonts that are crisp (sans-serif) and a nice balance of dark and lighter colors/tints. Don't use too small a font - 8px is the minimum!

Make sure your paper is a standard portrait 8.5" x 11" too. And don't overdecorate it with graphics or fancy paper. Yes, they care about the appearance; but they care more about the content.


Overall

Your resume tells a story about you. It's not a detailed story, but more a summary of the major points of the plot. You want to do this. You studied here. You learned these skills and you put them to use at these work places.

When you start looking for jobs, your resume is an extension of yourself. The care and attention you put into it speaks of your character and skill, so put in the effort!

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