RE: Interesting use of infographics for a resume

Subject: RE: Interesting use of infographics for a resume
From: David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:16:02 +0300

As usual, Fred is insightful and accurate. To build on what he said,
personally, I think the idea of an "all purpose" resume is itself
flawed. I believe it is better by far to have resumes that are
designed from the beginning with a particular company or position in
mind. I have seen some examples of folks who studied the graphic
approach used by a company in its logos, stationery, website, and
such--and then put subtle similarities into their resumes and cover
letters.

As one very clever gentlemen told me, he wants to fit in without it
being a conscious observation on the part of those doing the
screening--he wanted his materials to seem familiar and not at all
"unusual" to the screeners. After all, they are generally looking for
a "team player" in large organizations.

Thus, his font selection, paragraph formatting, use of white
space--all was designed to be compatible with the target company's
usual environment with just enough variation not to seem to be a copy.

For an artist or graphic designer, however, I believe it would in most
cases be expected that the appearance would be especially well done,
as a minimum. In the case of a non-creative company, obviously it
should not be garish--but the appearance should stand out from the
ordinary--or for what reason are they looking for a graphics
professional to begin with? When coupled with a knock-out sample
selection, the impression should be memorable. The resume would say "I
can kick up your usual graphics a notch--but I am not a threat and
would fit in well" while the portfolio should give a solid indication
of the directions possible with that person's experience and talent.

On the other hand, "cutesy" graphics intended to show prowess in
business illustration are dangerous. A little humor, sure--but that is
not, in my opinion, a place to get too "creative"--especially if the
creative element gets in the way of clear and powerful message
communication. In that line, businesses in my acquaintance want
strong, memorable, and powerful messaging that is fueled by the
graphics without overtly calling attention to the artist. It's all a
part of demonstrating to those looking at the samples why *their*
needs will be filled by the artist...and, generally, they leave the
"cutesy" stuff to the gift shops.

David





On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 09:00, <techwr-l-request -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> wrote:
> From: Fred Ridder <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com>

>
> In most companies that aren't directly involved in creative fields (e.g. ad agencies, design firms, maybe video game developers), resumes have to make it past recruiters, hiring managers, and HR types before they ever reach someone who really understands what the job is about. I think the room for creativity in the resume, per se, is significantly constrained by that reality of the hiring process in most companies. That's why creative types have a portfolio that is separate from their resume. The portfolio is the place where creativity makes a difference.
>
> -Fred Ridder
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