Monday, November 24, 2014

Re: Resume Versus Portfolio

It's funny that you bring up resumes--I'm actually in the process of redesigning mine for an internship application (and just in general), so links to creative resumes are definitely appreciated! Pinterest has some good ones too.

I wouldn't prioritize resume over portfolio, or vice versa; I think both are equally important in a job application (people do want to see where you've been, after all). On the one hand a resume acts as a quick summary of what you've been up to in the professional world, but on the other hand a portfolio will tell someone more about your work than a resume will. Main message: don't neglect either. Treat both as equally important. In general I would assume that some people will prefer to look at a resume and others a portfolio, and they should all be accommodated in either case.

What did you include in your design resume?
Name, contact information, education, and anything even vaguely industry-related (e.g., I am including a non-design internship that required me to work with a CMS because I have had exactly one design-related job). I'm also toying with the idea of including a picture, which I've seen on others' design resumes--may or may not go through with it. Tbh I'm kind of stuck. Another thought I had was to draw my picture (in place of using a photo), which will demonstrate illustration and Photoshop skills.

What did you exclude?
Physical address. My current design includes a physical address, but I read that including an address might cause you to be eliminated from some jobs based on how far away you are, and whether you might need more time/money to relocate.

Did you take a traditional route or a more creative one?
Initially a more traditional one (I was applying mostly to secretary jobs and such), but I'm taking a more creative route atm.

How do you decide what should go into your portfolio and what shouldn’t?
Uhh. It's pretty bloody arbitrary, actually. "Do I like this? Yes, I do," or "No, I don't." That's pretty much my selection process.

Have you started working on your portfolio?
Not unless you count Behance, which I don't.

How long is your portfolio? (I’ve read that it should be between 8 to 12 pieces)
It's out of date so I don't know how large the final one would be, but I haven't heard about any size constraints, so I didn't realize that 8-12 was an ideal number. It makes sense to limit yourself if you're emailing the portfolio as a pdf or whatever, but on the other hand if the portfolio is web-based I would prefer to have all my work up there for people to browse.

How did you orient your design work?
I'm not sure what you mean by "orient," but the pieces I would choose for my portfolio would be mostly the quirkier ones (people might as well know what they're getting) and a few of the serious ones for the more humorless employers out there (and also to demonstrate that I know how to design within specific branding guidelines).

No comments: