01. Resumes, Draft 1

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND / WHY WE’RE DOING THIS

Having an updated résumé is essential as both a professional artist and a job seeker. However, résumés do not just happen — they must have zero spelling errors and be effectively organized to communicate your skills and abilities within a very limited space. Galleries, companies and application reviewers will scrutinize your résumé with extreme prejudice.

Résumés need to go through a number of revisions before they are sent to employers or galleries. This assignment will put our content through a number of edits before it is complete at the end of the semester.

OBJECTIVES

By the time we’re done with this project, we will be able to do the following:

  1. Compile and organize information for a résumé.
  2. Get feedback from peers and reviewers
  3. Understand what makes a résumé successful.
  4. Write a basic résumé.

STEPS

\\\\ READING

  1. First, read the following item: Chapter 02 in the Artist’s Guide

\\\\ COMPILE CONTENT

Our first step after reading Chapter 02 of the Artist’s Guide will be compiling content for our résumés.

 

First, we’ll do this group exercise:

– Identify as precisely as possible the skills everyone has developed in their classes (both for major and outside major), and we’ll make a big shared list.
– Examples: research, writing, critical thinking, using databases efficiently, the difficulties of synthesis (the unappreciated skill of paraphrase), interpretation, understanding historical context, writing for particular audiences, explaining complex theoretical perspectives, discuss difficult subjects like racism and sexism, knowing how to give — and receive — constructive criticism, developing an aesthetic sense, learning to disagree with others (without shouting or insisting that one person’s interpretation is right/wrong), learning to win debates (find the weaknesses in other people’s arguments and defending our own positions)
– Then, we’ll erase the ones that are not transferrable to a professional setting.

THEN, In a single Word document, collect the following information:

ARTISTS

  1. Academic information (high school and college[s])
  2. Paying jobs
  3. Volunteering
  4. Solo / 2-person exhibitions
  5. Selected group exhibitions
  6. Non-school academics (online courses, workshops, etc.)
  7. Publications
  8. Organizations/clubs (avoid listing greek life unless it is specifically a service org – reason 1, reason 2)
  9. Awards/honors
  10. Skills
  11. Hobbies
  12. Other stuff

DESIGNERS

  1. Paid design jobs
  2. Pro-bono design jobs
  3. Relevant course projects (depending on the project, may fall under pro-bono)
  4. Non-design jobs
  5. Academic information (high school and college[s])
  6. Non-school academics (online courses, workshops, etc.)
  7. Publications
  8. Organizations/clubs
  9. Awards/honors
  10. Skills
  11. Hobbies
  12. Other stuff
  • For colleges, include date of graduation (or expected graduation), location and honors (if earned). For high school, include name of school , location and honors (if earned). Leave your GPA off.
  • For jobs and volunteering, list them in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top of the list). Include the dates you worked there (ex. May 2012–Present), title of your position and a sentence that outlines your duties.
  • For exhibitions, include the title, dates and location. For juried exhibitions, include the name and title of the juror(s).
  • For organizations, include your position and dates active.
  • For awards, include the name of the award, who the governing body was and the year received.
  • For skills, include two categories, workable and proficient. Workable skills are skills that you are can do, but are not necessarily the best at. Proficient skills are skills that you have mastered. Also make sure to include software or technologies, and the versions you know (ex. Photoshop 8–CS5.5).
  • Other stuff is simply any other element(s) that might be relevant to your job search, but you do not know where it should go.

\\\\ BUILD A FIRST DRAFT

A résumé’s sole purpose is to efficiently and effectively organize your skills, abilities and accomplishments into a highly readable and understandable list. Résumés should be easy for the viewer to read, and the most important information should be easy to recognize. Some organizations will even scan résumés, looking for keywords that are in their job descriptions. Your number one priority is HONESTY, followed closely behind by ORGANIZATION and CLARITY.

NOTE: Not every résumé is suited for every occasion. The guideline below is just one possible option; depending on the application (such as exhibition vs. job vs. volunteer opportunity).

Once you have collected all of the above information, begin organizing it into a résumé layout:

    1. Name and Contact: Your name should go at the very top, and be larger than the rest of the content. Nearby you should include your contact information. All résumés should have your email address and URL. Printed or emailed copies can also include your phone number and mailing address. NEVER include these two elements on an online résumé.
    2. Education: Reverse chronological order, starting with WVWC at the top and working backwards. Include your estimated graduation date, degree and majors / minors. You should include any other colleges or universities, even if you did not finish your education there. Include honors, but not your GPA. Below your college information, list your high school, again with honors but no GPA. NOTE: Once you have gained 5+ years of experience, you should drop your high school from your résumé. On professional artist résumés, it is often customary to put your education at the bottom of your résumé once you have garnered enough exhibitions, publications, talks, etc. Only if you have graduated from a prestigious program (such as VCU, Yale, CalArts, etc.) would your school go at the top of your information.
    3. Most Relevant Information: The next sections are dependent on where your résumé is going. If you are submitting to art-related opportunities, then start with solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, publications, etc. If you are submitting to a potential employer, then you would begin with your previous jobs, again in reverse chronological order.
    4. Secondary Information: Follow the above section with your skills and abilities, memberships, volunteer work, awards and honors, etc. This is where you enhance your experience above, and show the people reviewing your résumé that you are committed and that you have skills, abilities and interests that both make you desirable and set you apart from your competition.

Some things to remember:

  • The purpose of a résumé is to be a quick, efficient method of finding information. Your layout should be clean and easy to read.
  • Because résumés are supposed to be read quickly, use hierarchy and design elements such as lines and bullets to help lead the viewer around the space. The most important items (such as titles or companies) should stand out while less-important information (descriptions) should not detract from the rest of the content.
  • Your first instinct may be ‘I’m an artist — I should use fancy typefaces and lots of colors.’ FIGHT THIS INSTINCT. The purpose of a résumé is to convey information. Let your work demonstrate your visual creativity, not your résumé.

GRADING

To get credit for this assignment, you will need to submit the following:

  • a PDF with your compiled list of content submitted on Blackboard — 5 points
  • a PDF of the first draft of your résumé submitted on Blackboard — 5 points
  • Also, print out 4 copies of your résumé and bring them to class. — 4 points

///////// AUTOMATIC FAILURE

  • PDFs not received on Blackboard
  • PDFs do not work
  • Content missing from résumé
  • Student is late to class because of printing
CREDIT: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-07/20/13/enhanced/webdr11/enhanced-15633-1437412709-14.jpg

CREDIT: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-07/20/13/enhanced/webdr11/enhanced-15633-1437412709-14.jpg