Every week I receive resumes from aspiring designers. They tend to fall into one of three categories: the e-mail with a Word doc attachment, the elaborate package with novelties, and the e-mail with a .pdf and/or web link.
The e-mail with Word doc variety get a reply e-mail explaining that I prefer to see examples of work and creative abilities. The classic resume format of objectives, qualifications, education, employment and references set in Times New Roman or Arial just doesn’t say, “I’m a creative person and will be an asset to Imp Designs.” Everyone’s objective is the same (to get a job) and most new designer’s qualifications are the same (a list of programs they know). I don’t really care where or even if you went to school for design; I want to see what you can do. Employment listings only mean something if they are relevant—internships for example.
The packages always get looked over pretty thoroughly, but not necessarily right away. If we’re busy or on a tight deadline, the mailed in resumes go in a pile on the corner of my desk until the schedule eases up. When I get around to looking at them, I usually scan the material for a website link that hopefully will show more work examples. Sometimes the packages contain a little novelty; I don’t know when the trend of sending little novelties started, but I think they are mostly a waste of money. I once received a softball sized inflatable beach ball with a resume… it was cute, but what the hell does a beach ball have to do with CSS coding ability or layout skills?
So by now, you probably have figured out what I consider to be the perfect resume for getting work with Imp Designs. A brief e-mail with a link to a website is my favorite. No matter how busy I am, I tend to click that link out of curiosity. I can look over the site in an instant and get a feel for the applicant’s coding, design, and organizational style and abilities. The .pdf attachment works for me as well, especially if the .pdf has been properly compressed and includes a link to a website!
Whatever format you decide on, make sure you proof it before sending out that e-mail blast. A resume with clumsy grammar or misspellings has to have some AMAZING graphics attached to it to escape the trash can. My two favorite “bad” resumes both involved misspellings. One applicant sent me an email proclaiming her “attentoin to detail” as being her biggest asset. Another, in an attempt to display his ability to handle responsibility, wrote of his duties as a night manager. “I am responsible for the nightly depositits,” he wrote. Depositits? Now THAT sounds like an interesting job!