What should my resume look like?
Your resume must reflect your professionalism in
its content and appearance. Using a simple, easy-to-read
layout is essential. Your resume and all of its key
elements should be easily understood at a quick glance.
With this in mind, your content should generally fit
on a single page. Interviewers look through dozens
of resumes, so you should make the reading process
as simple as possible. In addition, there is a good
chance that any additional pages will get separated
and lost.
Keep your font simple as well. It is more important
that your resume be easily read than to have it be
fancy. Keep your choices to the basics (a safe bet
would be Web-safe fonts such as Arial, Verdana, and
Times New Roman).
Go to www.professional_web_portfolio_site.com
Of course, what you put into the resume is as important
as (nay, more important than) the look of the resume
itself. Make sure you include such vital information
as your online portfolio site. This should have a
simple and obvious name such as www.jsmith.com.
If you have a long name that is hard to pronounce
or remember, it might be best to use your initials
or some variation. You want people to be able to remember
you and your site. An address that shows some personality
can work too, but don't get too creative. This aspect
could keep you from getting the job when you consider
that the interviewer is probably a non-creative who
is looking through a pile of resumes. Plus which,
any address that is hard to remember or isn't professional
will work against you.
What makes a good email address?
Like your Web site URL, your email address should
also be simple and professional. Having a funny email
address might be great for a personal account, but
you should have an account set up for professional
purposes as well. Typically using your first initial,
coupled with your and last name, is a good direction
to go in (for example, jsmith@www.jsmith.com).
If your name might be unwieldy, it might be best to
stick to initials.
Why do I need a cell phone?
Having a cell phone or a business-only phone is also
important. Being a freelancer means you are your own
company. A client might second-guess her decision
if she called a company and heard loud talking or
music in the background—wouldn't you? It's important
that you represent yourself as a professional at all
times. In addition, it is very important that you
have 24/7 access to your phone, as headhunters and
freelance agencies often need to fill an opening as
soon as possible, and will often give the job to whoever
gets back to them first. Waiting until the end of
day will cost you jobs. To be able to respond and
accept a position in a moment's notice, on the other
hand, gets you the gig.
What kind of experience should I list?
When listing your experience, think of what skillsets
the client is trying to fill and try to keep your
entries relevant. It is good to list your current
title and the title of your last position if you had
one (for example, Art Director, Marketing Manager,
Mac Production Artist, and so on). If you need guidance
in choosing the right title to describe your position,
refer to the Design
Field Career Descriptions page in the Career Center.
List the dates you held the position for as well.
It is important to not to have any time that is unaccounted
for on your resume. If this is unavoidable, be prepared
to be able to explain your employment gap.
What are the essential details?
A good check list checklist of details to include
under each job description would be: a detailed description
of your responsibilities, the size of the company
you worked for, the size of the team you worked with,
and your role within the team (if pertinent), as well
as any specific software you used.
What other types of experience are important
to list?
In addition to your work experience, your formal
education is also a vital statistic to add to your
resume. You should also include any past educational
achievements, such as degrees or certificates earned,
as well as any awards or honors you may have received.
What else?
You should also have a quick shortlist section of
your resume that is a short, easily readable listing
of selected URLs you may have worked on, an abbreviated
list of clients (once you have a number of clients
under your belt it is best to highlight which clients
you wish to make the memorable ones to the interviewer),
as well as a list of and all of your software skills
you possess. Be honest about your software skills.
You don't need to be an expert with each application,
and very often an agency or a client will test your
software skills. Claiming a higher level of expertise
than you actually possess could make you appear unprofessional.
What shouldn't be on my resume?
Personal information should never be on your resume
(age, personal description, religious or political
affiliations, hobbies, family status). It is illegal
for the interviewer to ask you personal questions,
so don't volunteer any personal information. A resume
is meant to portray your professional life only. It
is assumed that you will supply references when asked,
so there is no need to specifically say mention this
on the resume.
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