Ask HN: non-traditional resume advice | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: non-traditional resume advice

11 pointsecaroth9 comments

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT spam, I am not looking for job offers or anything of the sort - just advice.

I am about to start applying for positions for a developer at creative studios in my area (marketing/ad agencies, boutique web shops, etc). To try and stand out a little bit I created a resume that is pretty non-traditional for a developer, though many graphic artists do similar things. I am just looking for some advice from people who have done the same, or who have a hand in hiring for such places. Is a resume like this a good idea or should I scrap it and stick with a more traditional resume? The design is intended to be printed with no margins, and I believe it will be nice to hand out at seminars/events as well as mail in a nice envelope, though I am worried about the fact that the digital version is not quickly searchable/selectable like a normal doc or PDF. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! here it is: http://ecaroth.imgur.com/resume

Comments from someone who doesn't do hiring:

* You're not going to get hired at any place that automatically processes resumes. Fog Creek would drop this resume, too. Boutique designer shops are a better bet, but keep this in mind.

* If I understand you correctly, printing this on an ordinary office printer may cut off your contact information. This is not a good thing, consider repeating it somewhere in the middle of the page. Also consider starting the text a little further from the margin.

* Drop the "objective". It says little, and you're not following the traditional format anyway.

* Are you sure you want to list education before experience? "Senior software engineer" probably beats "B.S.".

* Consider adding specific examples to the experience section, e.g. "I made employer.com/coolfeature".

* "UW - RIVER FALLS...": all caps draws a lot of attention. Consider switching to lower case or Title Case.

* "TECHNONOGY", "deterining": ouch. ;-)

* I'd expect the SQL thing under library/platform proficiencies; "architecture design" might be better placed there as well.

* "Team / Project management": you can drop the second cap

* "Page 1 of 2" is fine, but I assume you will usually print this front and back?

Thanks for all the input, it is GREATLY appreciated! I plan on getting this printed at kinkos on good paper (no margins) and dropping them off in person at places so I wasn't too worried about having a digital format, but I think I will create one and put a link to it on this copy and in my emails. As far as specific examples, I was hoping that this would help drive people to my online portfolio which contains all that. Good call w/ switching the experience/education, that makes sense.

Spelling mistakes were to be expected, I need more revision - just testing the waters w/ the design and format first.

I thought the new thing for resumes was a bio...a 1-2 paragraph blurb, and them some very brief points about experience/education.

That aside, i can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something I find hard to read about it. Maybe there's too much going on for my taste. Maybe it's the font (which is nice, but fancy). Maybe its my own preference for minimalism. Maybe the color..maybe the "wasted" space on the right.

Finally, the picture. Dude, you're a handsome guy, no doubt about it. But the tri-color circle looks a little childish for me. In fact, putting a picture on a resume is iffy for me..I've seen it before, and I think i've always laughed. Also, and remember I'm just trying to be helpful, if you do stick with a picture, I wonder if a more professional look might have a positive effect. Less colorful shirt (even a white Tee would be better i think)...maybe drop the piercings. I know, its who you are, and you shouldn't work at a place that doesn't like that..but oftentimes the person who puts your resume in the huge pile is doing so very mindlessly based on some pretty set rules (and they aren't who you'll be working with/for anyways, so why not compromise a bit, 'cuz they won't)

My gut instinct looking at this is that it is really hard to believe you held a senior position as a student; it seems even weirder that you held a senior position at a university - an institution which doesn't have anywhere near the turnover of the private sector.

Also, a senior engineer after only 2 years in your current position and just out of college?

I'm sure it's true and good for you, but I know a lot of people will notice it and wonder.

Good call on the university thing, it was a student position however that was the actual title they used. I'll change it to 'Senior Student Technician' instead. I obviously wasn't a senior engineer the day I started at my current job however I did rise fast and that has been my title for a long time. Is there a better way to illustrate a change of position at the same employer, AKA should I have multiple listings in that section for the same employer but with a different title? I should add months to the dates as well. I started my current job in Jan 08 so it's been almost 3.5 yrs. Better change that, thanks for the heads up!

I would do it in HTML using some fancy CSS3, shows you know what you're doing at least for web stuff. Also makes it scannable in the SEO sense

I'm in your exact position. I'm bored with traditional resume and even if I'm a developer I want do create a creative one instead of a plain PDF to reach out creative agencies too. But I think that I'll follow the path of a single page portfolio with some css3 and js effects that stand out without being too fancy and disruptive.

You've misspelled "philosophy". Also, something wrong with the photo; don't necessarily get rid of it, but it needs to be a bit more sober (black and white? wearing a tie?).

Is this in HTML5? With your permission I'd like to use this for my free resume app, http://www.cvstash.com, to be one of the selectable free templates. It looks really funky. You can reach me via phektus at gmail dot com, and what I'd make sure each resume that uses your template gets linked to your site so your design skills also gets advertised. :-)

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