Whew! Lots of constructive criticism, so, having spent the last 30 minutes reading all of this, I'll stick in my two cents...what the heck...I review probably 20 resumes a week, and I've seen it all...........and I have some fun ones tucked away in a "special" file which I pull out when I'm feeling down and blue and in need of a good laugh....
Well now that you have refined and re-refined your resume, I agree, lose the logo. If possible, insert more space between your name/address at the top, and the Education section (push it down).
Move "Travel" section to end of resume, if you must keep it, and delete "References available blah blah blah...."
Left column is force-justified; right column is not. Choose one and be consistent.
It would be easier on the eyes if you omitted the colons after the years under "Honors and Affiliiations," and inserted another space or two.
Those brackets are kind of harsh to me.
One consideration: when sitting with a stack of resumes either on my desk or when I go in my file to pull one that I'm searching for, I find that if the applicant's name is on the upper right-hand side of the page, it typically is easier to find.....
I'm basically in agreement with Clancy, Mum, etc. on the content of your resume. I haven't read through all the crits so sorry if this is redundant, but perhaps instead of "foreign travel" you could substitute "Languages spoken" in the skills section. That suggests you have not only lived or traveled abroad, but that you would be able to communicate decently with people if you were sent somewhere on a job.
From a graphic design perspective, I agree with others that the 2 column structure could work and will be eye-catching. However, there are typographic issues and the information architecture is generally wonky. However, it has in its favor that it is readable.
Are you sure you want people to read "***SO FRESH.. SO CLEAN..*** Brian Frels.... intern architect.... (with an mba).. (and a lot of work experience).." In that order? It is up to you, depending on your self-knowledge, how you prioritize things in relation to each other, especially in that sticky spot when deciding to emphasize your work experience or your education at the start of your career. But it really should go something like
!!!!!NAME!!!!! - !CONTACT INFO! - EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION - Skills & Programs - honors&affiliations - (references). I've always hated the "objective" section of the resume and refuse to put one on mine, so I'm glad to see that you seem to share the sentiment! Right now all of your sections are relatively equal in size. If you squint at it, nothing "jumps out" of the layout except for the green logo. You could do this by choosing more drastic differences between the font sizes and line weights of your type, or by turning all of the headlines into all caps while leaving the main copy in upper & lowercase.
I am not in love with your logo because it automatically makes me think of people who wear way too much cologne and then practically sit on me in the subway, or at least that you would have some kind of strong chemical odor, but I can see how it shows your personality as humorous. I'm abnormally sensitive to smell though so maybe it's just me.
I've fixed the justification problems and cleared out the colons. This makes it much easier to read. I've removed the now infamous so fresh logo and replaced it with my contact info. I agree with "redchairs" that a name in the upper right corner makes it easier to find in a file drawer. (hopefully its not that "funny file") I've also used a grey tone for the title headings. This looks a little funny on screen, but prints out nicely. When everything is the same black tone nothing jumps off the page. I've decided to keep the travel section, because I feel that traveling can be an integral part in an architect's education.
I'm still open for comments. However, I feel I've milked this thread for all its worth. Thanks for all your help.
Looks much better. This one - I would definitely make the time to thoroughly review it. Hate to be picky, but for some reason, in the second column, the indentation is not exactly lining up right - at least how I view it...do you have two spaces between the hyphen and the beginning of the description of responsibilities? Maybe it's me - I'm sleepy..................and no, it would not go in the funny file - see you when you come to L.A.!
- lose the periods, they stop the flow
- change grey titles to a color of your choosing (maybe green as in go or a throwback to your air freshener)
- decrease the font size of your name (worse than caps... shouting)
- lose the dashes and go with true bullets (round = eye resting places)
- use a different font (is this M$ Arial? may i recommend a sans serif like Century Gothic for titles & a serif like Garammond for details)
- if you are going with two-column, why? (my answer would be to use one column for education and the other for experience)
example:
C O L U M N 1
-------------------- Education
- Master 1
- Master 2
- Bachelor
Assistantships
- Architecture Computer Lab
- Graduate Research
- President, Knights of Architecture
- Member, American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)
- Member, TSDHS
- Member, GBPHS
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
C O L U M N 2
-------------------- Experience
UDG
- comment 1
- comment 2...
MAC
- comment 1
- comment 2...
(shorten the above up a bit)
Travel
(i dont mind the travel being included. it adds to your life experience.)
- location 1
- location 2...
Software
- AutoDESK AutoCAD (versions)
- Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Pagemaker
- Discreet 3D Studio VIZ
- Macromedia Flash MX
- Microsoft Office
- QuadriSpace, beta-tester (this may provoke interview discussion)
(i'd end with the software titles. it is a much stronger resume ending than eagle scout or travel locations. basically, it is what you will be hired to command in an office as an intern.)
va, nice review. color idea good, i never like black text so maybe grey that down a bit....
.
your name ' brain frels' a bit to big for my liking. no need to SHOUT it out, always send samples with cv.... so i hope the samples carry on some of the graphic decisions here.
period comment good. but like much more def's approach to cad than yours. it says, 'i know these tools ,,,,,but i am not about these tools', the graphic change states your intent.
From the perspective of 13 years past graduation, here's my three cents.
Brand what? Lose the logo. It can do more harm than good ...and as I once heard way back, less is more...
The double column, an interesting touch. Now that can be original without a logo.
Looking back, the only "logo" or image type I had on my first resume that landed me several interviews, was a background image of a model built in 4th year... and that was right in the recession and gulf war era in '91... Never included grades, point avg., etc... I lived in Rome, Italy and Canada, traveled all over, but I never mentioned that either. Well, I did once state I speak 3 languages, but that was n context to an overseas assignment...
... And I never informed anyone of my work experiences outside of ONE summer internship, nor did they know I was also in a band touring once I took a year off from architecture. (Do they call them closet singers?... or closet rock star?)
I would probably still consider you as a potential hire too... (And that's for your humbleness, as your personality seems to come through in your original request for feedback). Good Luck!
Well.... Wow thanks virtual-architect, John E X, and TED. I've gone over v-a's new version and your right, it does read better. I had previously thought about a color but never went with it. I think there is a possibility here. I'll need to toy with the shade a bit though. Your version flows much better and is easier on the eyes. I like the idea of putting the Quadrispace experience in with Software. Redchairs had previously suggested contact info in the upper right. This would make it easier to find in a file. I like that idea, but I also like ending the page with this information as well.
I'll be interviewing from December-May with the hopes of finding a job with a US based firm that would send me to work for several years overseas. I'll be sure to let you guys now how it turns out. Thanks for all the feedback. This thread has been extremely valuable for me.
I will defend my contact info being at the bottom. If they like you, they will have an immediate way to contact you. The flow of the eye thing I was talking about... their eye does not have to return to the top of the page -- it rests with, "Hey, here's how to contact me now". I've actually had two guys conference call me to tell me how great my resume layout was, though I was under qualified for the job.
We talked for about 5 minutes and they wished me luck... funny.
Are you going to tour SCI-Arc this summer? I want to attend the summer studio reviews Aug. 16th thru 20th. I live in LA. Email me if you wanna meet up. I'll be attending M.Arch 2 this Fall @ SCI-Arc.
I have another resume question. I have run a small partnership for the last 5 years, coming directly out of March, but now it's dead. I am wondering if I should tell my potentials that I ran the place, or if I should describe myself as a very important employee. One interveiwer asked me if I would be able to make the transition from being the man to working for the man. He was rather concerned, and needless to say, I didnt get the job. To me, it would seem both good and bad that I have gained this experience. I can do anything, face any situation, solve any problem, but my technique is unconventional.
Thoughts?
Definately round off the GPAs as suggested. I've never asked anyone their GPA in an interview, and never been asked mine either - but I doubt it can hurt you to list them.
i've never been asked my GPA by an interviewer, and i've never asked for hisher GPA, but i guess asking for interviewer's GPA could be a humorous-test part of a interviewee's reply :-)
Well, I looked at the GSD resumes, and I've had a load of fun, but I must admit that I felt like I was doing something I shouldn't do. Is this legal? In any case, thanks for letting us a peek, ovalle....
The site is for employers to see prospective graduate resumes. The GSD studio works career services lists the username and password for them to access it. So I think it is okay for people to view them.
If you're a recent graduate, and applying for intern/junior architect positions, is more than one page of text a very bad thing - when there will be three pages of images illustrating my work and abilities also? I'm having difficulty squeezing everything on, and even now it is at size 9 font.
Would you really care if there was another page, if it meant that everything could be a little clearer and larger?
First: the biggest problem you have is with your font size. Go up to at least 10 pt text. Remember, your resume is going to get xeroxed, and the copies need to be readable by middle-aged eyes and by people who are in a hurry.
One risk with multiple pages is that the pages will get separated. It's unusual for someone at your level to have enough to fill multiple pages. Perhaps if you've worked for one or more firms for quite awhile and are using the space to list sizes/construction costs of large projects on which you had a significant role - such as someone with several years experience would - then it makes sense.
If you're using the space to list multiple unrelated jobs, work-study, many awards, many TA positions, exhibitions, student publications, etc. then you should think about editing out some of this. You can do this chronologically - by leaving out everything before a certain date. Or you can do it by relevance - which is probably the better system - by editing out the items that have the least to do with architecture.
If you're using it for a huge list of computer applications, consider a format that would allow you to list these in columns, and perhaps consider using your smaller font size here.
You’re going to get a lot of different opinions on this. However I think the majority will tell you that you need to keep your text resume to one page. You’re applying for an internship position! You need to cut irrelevant and unnecessary info. I wouldn't use text any smaller than 10pt either. You should put pictures of work on separate sheets from your resume.
Resume Advice, professional or not?
Whew! Lots of constructive criticism, so, having spent the last 30 minutes reading all of this, I'll stick in my two cents...what the heck...I review probably 20 resumes a week, and I've seen it all...........and I have some fun ones tucked away in a "special" file which I pull out when I'm feeling down and blue and in need of a good laugh....
Well now that you have refined and re-refined your resume, I agree, lose the logo. If possible, insert more space between your name/address at the top, and the Education section (push it down).
Move "Travel" section to end of resume, if you must keep it, and delete "References available blah blah blah...."
Left column is force-justified; right column is not. Choose one and be consistent.
It would be easier on the eyes if you omitted the colons after the years under "Honors and Affiliiations," and inserted another space or two.
Those brackets are kind of harsh to me.
One consideration: when sitting with a stack of resumes either on my desk or when I go in my file to pull one that I'm searching for, I find that if the applicant's name is on the upper right-hand side of the page, it typically is easier to find.....
Take what you want......
...and good luck!
Hey defenestrator,
I'm basically in agreement with Clancy, Mum, etc. on the content of your resume. I haven't read through all the crits so sorry if this is redundant, but perhaps instead of "foreign travel" you could substitute "Languages spoken" in the skills section. That suggests you have not only lived or traveled abroad, but that you would be able to communicate decently with people if you were sent somewhere on a job.
From a graphic design perspective, I agree with others that the 2 column structure could work and will be eye-catching. However, there are typographic issues and the information architecture is generally wonky. However, it has in its favor that it is readable.
Are you sure you want people to read "***SO FRESH.. SO CLEAN..*** Brian Frels.... intern architect.... (with an mba).. (and a lot of work experience).." In that order? It is up to you, depending on your self-knowledge, how you prioritize things in relation to each other, especially in that sticky spot when deciding to emphasize your work experience or your education at the start of your career. But it really should go something like
!!!!!NAME!!!!! - !CONTACT INFO! - EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION - Skills & Programs - honors&affiliations - (references). I've always hated the "objective" section of the resume and refuse to put one on mine, so I'm glad to see that you seem to share the sentiment! Right now all of your sections are relatively equal in size. If you squint at it, nothing "jumps out" of the layout except for the green logo. You could do this by choosing more drastic differences between the font sizes and line weights of your type, or by turning all of the headlines into all caps while leaving the main copy in upper & lowercase.
I am not in love with your logo because it automatically makes me think of people who wear way too much cologne and then practically sit on me in the subway, or at least that you would have some kind of strong chemical odor, but I can see how it shows your personality as humorous. I'm abnormally sensitive to smell though so maybe it's just me.
OK, so what's the final version of that resume now?
Well, I'm not sure this is the final version...
I've fixed the justification problems and cleared out the colons. This makes it much easier to read. I've removed the now infamous so fresh logo and replaced it with my contact info. I agree with "redchairs" that a name in the upper right corner makes it easier to find in a file drawer. (hopefully its not that "funny file") I've also used a grey tone for the title headings. This looks a little funny on screen, but prints out nicely. When everything is the same black tone nothing jumps off the page. I've decided to keep the travel section, because I feel that traveling can be an integral part in an architect's education.
I'm still open for comments. However, I feel I've milked this thread for all its worth. Thanks for all your help.
Looks much better. This one - I would definitely make the time to thoroughly review it. Hate to be picky, but for some reason, in the second column, the indentation is not exactly lining up right - at least how I view it...do you have two spaces between the hyphen and the beginning of the description of responsibilities? Maybe it's me - I'm sleepy..................and no, it would not go in the funny file - see you when you come to L.A.!
Hey Def...
I just happened to come across this thread today.
I call this my Brian Frels "no frills" approach:
- lose the periods, they stop the flow
- change grey titles to a color of your choosing (maybe green as in go or a throwback to your air freshener)
- decrease the font size of your name (worse than caps... shouting)
- lose the dashes and go with true bullets (round = eye resting places)
- use a different font (is this M$ Arial? may i recommend a sans serif like Century Gothic for titles & a serif like Garammond for details)
- if you are going with two-column, why? (my answer would be to use one column for education and the other for experience)
example:
C O L U M N 1
--------------------
Education
- Master 1
- Master 2
- Bachelor
Assistantships
- Architecture Computer Lab
- Graduate Research
Honors & Affiliations
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
(bullet the rest or include dates)
- President, Knights of Architecture
- Member, American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)
- Member, TSDHS
- Member, GBPHS
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
C O L U M N 2
--------------------
Experience
UDG
- comment 1
- comment 2...
MAC
- comment 1
- comment 2...
(shorten the above up a bit)
Travel
(i dont mind the travel being included. it adds to your life experience.)
- location 1
- location 2...
Software
- AutoDESK AutoCAD (versions)
- Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Pagemaker
- Discreet 3D Studio VIZ
- Macromedia Flash MX
- Microsoft Office
- QuadriSpace, beta-tester (this may provoke interview discussion)
(i'd end with the software titles. it is a much stronger resume ending than eagle scout or travel locations. basically, it is what you will be hired to command in an office as an intern.)
va, nice review. color idea good, i never like black text so maybe grey that down a bit....
.
your name ' brain frels' a bit to big for my liking. no need to SHOUT it out, always send samples with cv.... so i hope the samples carry on some of the graphic decisions here.
period comment good. but like much more def's approach to cad than yours. it says, 'i know these tools ,,,,,but i am not about these tools', the graphic change states your intent.
OK... I went a little overboard to make my points. But maybe that's the teacher in me, or quite possibly the reason I love a design challenge.
PDF Document : to see the fonts correctly
2004Resume-defenstrator.pdf
WORD Document : to play with the layout
2004Resume-defenstrator.doc
JPG Original : to see where we started
2004Resume-defenstrator-original.jpg
From the perspective of 13 years past graduation, here's my three cents.
Brand what? Lose the logo. It can do more harm than good ...and as I once heard way back, less is more...
The double column, an interesting touch. Now that can be original without a logo.
Looking back, the only "logo" or image type I had on my first resume that landed me several interviews, was a background image of a model built in 4th year... and that was right in the recession and gulf war era in '91... Never included grades, point avg., etc... I lived in Rome, Italy and Canada, traveled all over, but I never mentioned that either. Well, I did once state I speak 3 languages, but that was n context to an overseas assignment...
... And I never informed anyone of my work experiences outside of ONE summer internship, nor did they know I was also in a band touring once I took a year off from architecture. (Do they call them closet singers?... or closet rock star?)
I would probably still consider you as a potential hire too... (And that's for your humbleness, as your personality seems to come through in your original request for feedback). Good Luck!
Well.... Wow thanks virtual-architect, John E X, and TED. I've gone over v-a's new version and your right, it does read better. I had previously thought about a color but never went with it. I think there is a possibility here. I'll need to toy with the shade a bit though. Your version flows much better and is easier on the eyes. I like the idea of putting the Quadrispace experience in with Software. Redchairs had previously suggested contact info in the upper right. This would make it easier to find in a file. I like that idea, but I also like ending the page with this information as well.
I'll be interviewing from December-May with the hopes of finding a job with a US based firm that would send me to work for several years overseas. I'll be sure to let you guys now how it turns out. Thanks for all the feedback. This thread has been extremely valuable for me.
Your welcome def...
I will defend my contact info being at the bottom. If they like you, they will have an immediate way to contact you. The flow of the eye thing I was talking about... their eye does not have to return to the top of the page -- it rests with, "Hey, here's how to contact me now". I've actually had two guys conference call me to tell me how great my resume layout was, though I was under qualified for the job.
We talked for about 5 minutes and they wished me luck... funny.
Are you going to tour SCI-Arc this summer? I want to attend the summer studio reviews Aug. 16th thru 20th. I live in LA. Email me if you wanna meet up. I'll be attending M.Arch 2 this Fall @ SCI-Arc.
here are some student examples of resumes from GSD
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/professional/career_services/online_resume/grad/index.html
Username: online
password: resume
How did you like staying in Busan, Korea, Defenstrator?
ovalle: nice! thank you.
I have another resume question. I have run a small partnership for the last 5 years, coming directly out of March, but now it's dead. I am wondering if I should tell my potentials that I ran the place, or if I should describe myself as a very important employee. One interveiwer asked me if I would be able to make the transition from being the man to working for the man. He was rather concerned, and needless to say, I didnt get the job. To me, it would seem both good and bad that I have gained this experience. I can do anything, face any situation, solve any problem, but my technique is unconventional.
Thoughts?
i've never been asked my GPA by an interviewer, and i've never asked for hisher GPA, but i guess asking for interviewer's GPA could be a humorous-test part of a interviewee's reply :-)
ovalle, are you at the GSD?
no Jasp, I am not.
Well, I looked at the GSD resumes, and I've had a load of fun, but I must admit that I felt like I was doing something I shouldn't do. Is this legal? In any case, thanks for letting us a peek, ovalle....
The site is for employers to see prospective graduate resumes. The GSD studio works career services lists the username and password for them to access it. So I think it is okay for people to view them.
jasp here is the link:
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/professional/career_services/online_resume.html
If you're a recent graduate, and applying for intern/junior architect positions, is more than one page of text a very bad thing - when there will be three pages of images illustrating my work and abilities also? I'm having difficulty squeezing everything on, and even now it is at size 9 font.
Would you really care if there was another page, if it meant that everything could be a little clearer and larger?
Thanks!
-- Alan
First: the biggest problem you have is with your font size. Go up to at least 10 pt text. Remember, your resume is going to get xeroxed, and the copies need to be readable by middle-aged eyes and by people who are in a hurry.
One risk with multiple pages is that the pages will get separated. It's unusual for someone at your level to have enough to fill multiple pages. Perhaps if you've worked for one or more firms for quite awhile and are using the space to list sizes/construction costs of large projects on which you had a significant role - such as someone with several years experience would - then it makes sense.
If you're using the space to list multiple unrelated jobs, work-study, many awards, many TA positions, exhibitions, student publications, etc. then you should think about editing out some of this. You can do this chronologically - by leaving out everything before a certain date. Or you can do it by relevance - which is probably the better system - by editing out the items that have the least to do with architecture.
If you're using it for a huge list of computer applications, consider a format that would allow you to list these in columns, and perhaps consider using your smaller font size here.
You’re going to get a lot of different opinions on this. However I think the majority will tell you that you need to keep your text resume to one page. You’re applying for an internship position! You need to cut irrelevant and unnecessary info. I wouldn't use text any smaller than 10pt either. You should put pictures of work on separate sheets from your resume.
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