New York Dreamer

Here are some useful tips from my friend’s blog. (www.cianca.com)

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I often get requests from friends and their friends who are looking for jobs to take a look at their resume. It always surprises me by the number of mistakes or perhaps assumptions that people sometimes make with their resume. There are some pretty well “Do’s” and “Don’ts” (at least I think there are).

So here my quick rules regarding a great resume.

1. Keep it Simple! Repeat, Keep it Simple!
2. Only 1 Column! This is a resume, not a newspaper or brochure.
3. Use 1 and only One, Uno, Eins, Ichiban, Yi, Typeface or Font!
4. Make sure that the Typeface you use is EASY TO READ! A Sans is usually best.
5. NEVER MAKE YOUR TYPE FACE SMALLER THEN 10 or 11 POINT. We are getting older and don’t want to bring out a magnifying glass to read a resume.
6. Make sure your Typeface is compatible with Macs and Windows.
7. Sending a resume as a PDF is fine, but be prepared to immediately send the same resume as a word document on request. If you are sending your resume to a recruiter or HR department at a corporation, always send a Word version and include a PDF of the same document (just to be safe).
8. Get rid of anything that doesn’t apply. It’s just noise, and I certainly don’t need more in my life. Remember, Keep It Simple.
9. DO NOT REPEAT YOURSELF – I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve seen that say the same thing 20 times – they are the ones that immediately go into the Bin (the one under my desk marked “Shredder”).
10. Eliminate anything that is obvious, redundant or overly general. For example, saying that you have Experience with writing doesn’t tell me anything. I expect everyone to have experience writing. But if you have “Experience Writing, Editing and Proofing Scripts” or “Copywriting Experience”, that’s a SKILL that can be used.
11. Unless you performed a job that required your travel, I have no interest in knowing what countries you have been to. Vacation is not part of work! On the other hand, If your job required that you travel to Antarctica, Kenya and Tibet as Foley, then I’m interested. Feel free to tell me during the interview if you feel that it’s relevant.
12. Don’t tell me that you have a skill that you can no longer perform. For example, if you used to work with machinery and lost an arm, don’t make it seem that you are still capable of doing the same job, unless you really can. For example, I’ve had a woman who give me a resume that was great, indicated that she could work on location just about anywhere, but when she came in for an interview, she revealed that she was a single mom with two small kids, so having her go to the jungle in Ecuador for 6 weeks was out of the question.
13. If you can fit your resume on one page, then by all means please do so. If you have an extensive background that spans pages, then have two resumes. Call the longer one your “CV” or “Curriculum Vitae”. Use the short one as your default resume and have your CV ready to produce on demand. If you resume must span more then one or two pages, make sure that the important stuff fits on the first page. I realize that a lot of people in entertainment usually have many credits. Try to list these, but be brief with them. I don’t need to know, in detail, every thing that you did in the past 40 films, television shows and commercials you worked on.
14. Read it again. What can you remove? What did you describe twice or more times? Did you forget anything? Are there grammar or spelling mistakes?
15. If your resume is going to be longer then one page, ALWAYS put a footer with your NAME, Phone Number and Page Number.
16. ALWAYS put your first and last name on your resume. A resume that is called RESUME.PDF usually ends up in the trash.
17. Don’t stress that you can multitask. This is such an overused resume “word” and frankly, nothing more then a bunch of crap. Most people can’t multitask very well, and those who claim to be able to do 25 times at the same time usually do none well, and frankly scare me.
18. One more time, Simplify! This is a resume, it is designed to get me interested in you and your potential to fit into a job that I may have. I am not interested in reading your Biography.
19. Make sure your structure follows this:
    • NAME & CONTACT INFO
      I need your name, your phone(s), your email and your city, state and zipcode. I don’t need your street address. If you have a blogs/reel/portfolio/website online, put that here as well, don’t make me hunt for it because it’s buried someplace else. If you have an IMDB or Linkedin page you can also list the url here. But never put more then 3 url’s in this section. It’s also OK to split this section (and only this section) into two columns. I’d rather have 2 columns of 3 lines each then have you use up 6 or 7 lines with your contact info.
    • CARRER OBJECTIVES
      I want to know what you want to do, where do you see yourself in 5 years?
    • SUMMARY OF YOUR SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS
      I will read this first and determine if your skills match what I need).
    • JOB HISTORY & DESCRIPTIONS
      This backs up your Skills Summary above. Keep your descriptions to short, relevant bullet points. I don’t need a “How To” on using After Effects, just that you used it, and maybe 1 (one!) example of the use. Tell me the name of the company, the date range, and your job title in the first line. As a rule of thumb, try to limit the number of items. I don’t need to know every single thing you did, even though you might think that your 25 different things from maintaining the website to cleaning the toilets will somehow enhance my view of your abilities.
    • RELEVANT SKILLS
      If you are applying for a job as a Graphics Designer, then put down Computer Software you use, but your ability to field strip an M16 blindfolded probably doesn’t apply
    • PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
      If you are any, list them. Some organizations, such as the PGA or the WGA have high standards and a comprehensive vetting process, and membership carries extra weight.
    • EDUCATION
      Unless you are in high school, only tell me what College(s) you went to and what degrees you received. DO tell me of any special training you have received, either on the job or as part of a program. If you have taken a weapons wrangling course and have an FFL certification, then I’m interested. Don’t EVER exaggerate or lie or misstate your education and training. If you only completed 3 years of college, it’s usually OK based on your experience as described in your Job History and Skills. If you tell me that you have Weapons Certification and it turns out you don’t, well, that’s a felony almost everywhere and I won’t bail you out when you get arrested.
    • LANGUAGES
      I’m always interested in your language skills, especially if you are a fluent speaker and bonus points if you can read and write.
    • EXTRA STUFF
      If there is some extra items that you feel someone might be interested in knowing about you, then you can list it here, and only assuming that you have space to do so. Also don’t go overboard. I probably won’t read this part, but if I do, I don’t want to see more then 2-3 lines. Remember, you always have the interview to tell me more about yourself.
    • REFERENCES
      When I get a resume, I don’t care to have references listed. When I’m ready to hire you I will ask for them. However, it’s usually a good idea to just put a notice at the very end of your resume that states: “REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST”

So there you have it. These are my quick and dirty rules for resumes.