Need some help!

[Fearless]

Hey Guys,

Here's the deal. I have to leave the freelancing lifestyle
for a bit to make some consistent money cause I'm soon to
be married. Why is it that women ruin all of our
fun?

Anyway, I wrote up the dreaded resume and I'm ready to go
job shopping. What I need from you guys is to take a look
at what I have and let me know what you think. It's done in
website format and it looks nice (I think) so it won't be a
total bore to look at. I will of course also be writing it
up in standard text to email or fax.

So if you could do me this huge favor it would be much
appreciated. Here's the link: Fear's Resume If I'm missing
anything that should be included or you have little tips
that have worked on your resume please let me know.(I
didn't include education because I have no formal design
ed. just high school)

Thanks a million,

-Fearless

[tjko]

looks good to me, but i really would incude your eductaion details. also might want to include something about yourself -personnal intresets, hobbies. this can be handy in an interview, as you can talk about it more freely than other subjects

in our field it seems to mostly go on the strength of our work (as it should be), but employers will want to know something about you, certianly in britain this is true

[Fearless]

Hey tjko,

Thanks for the input. Now I have to think about putting
education in. =/ Maybe I'll just put the school and not the
years, I'd rather not give away my age before the interview.
(I'm 18)

I know there is more than one of you who can help me out.
Don't make me take out the ugly stick and start beating
people. More replies!

-Fearless

[swampy]

The dirst question I would ask as aprospective employer is

"Why have you done the resume in flash? there is no reason to have done so. It's all text, text renders better in HTML. You calim to be able to hand code HTML. All the evidence in front of me points to the opposite"

Do it in HTML. Flash is a tool to be used when it is needed, It is easier to sit and type into flash than to build a page in notepad but I think in this case thats what you need to do.

[Fearless]

Swampy,

My question to you would be why not? After all, I am a
Flash designer. lol It's just text, for all they know it
could be a graphic. (outside of them right clicking on it)
The filesize is miniscule. (13k) I see no reason why I
shouldn't. You saying text renders better in HTML is only
half true. Faster, yes. But does it look nicer? No. In
Flash you can use any font you like, while in HTML you can
only really use basic system fonts so it reads the same.

As far as hand coded HTML goes, you'll notice it's last on
the list. I feel no need to prove to my employer that I can
code by hand in my resume. At this point there is very
little point to hand coding anyway. The only reason it's
useful is to troubleshoot code from applications. I used to
do all my coding through notepad, but then I came across a
nice little program called Dreamweaver and never went back.

Do you actually use flash? It is in no way simpler than
typing into html. Coding html is the easiest thing you can
do. The code is so simple it's barely considered a language.
I can guarantee you that any company I go to will not be
hiring me to code in HTML, if they wanted that they would
go out and buy a $20 program and do it themselves. They'll
be hiring me to use Flash and work general design, which is
what I showed them through the online resume.

Can I get a couple more comments?

Thanks!
-Fearless

[Aria]

looks good to me

I like it cos its to the point and the contact details are the first thing you see !

I agree though, incl some details about yourself like your age, which school you went to and some hobbies or interests of yours.

good luck
A

[rickot1]

Originally posted by Fearless
Swampy,


As far as hand coded HTML goes, you'll notice it's last on
the list. I feel no need to prove to my employer that I can
code by hand in my resume. At this point there is very
little point to hand coding anyway. The only reason it's
useful is to troubleshoot code from applications. I used to
do all my coding through notepad, but then I came across a
nice little program called Dreamweaver and never went back.

People who code by hand are often picked over people who can not. Flash is wonderful and you work is Slick but you're not going to find many interactive firms that are going to hire you to do nothing but Flash work. HTML work is still in high demand and the bulk of the web work out there.

If you're going to leave your resume as flash, snaz it up a little. Make it more dynamic and more interactive. Make it as slick as the rest of your web site.

[shagg]

Fearless: If you plan on printing that up as your resume you may want tot reconsider.
That is not proper format for a resume. Do a search on it, a good resume makes a strong impression. A cover letter also would be a good idea.

I took a course last semester about this kinda crap. It really will make you look professional.

[swampy]

Originally posted by Fearless
Swampy,

My question to you would be why ... etc etc

So basically the thread should read "need some help unless you say something bad about my resume then don't bother".

I am giving my point of view as a prospective employer, I interview people for jobs on a regular basis in my job as Multimedia Editor (which I have been doing for 10 years now) and that is what I would have asked. The Flash in your main site is excellent so it may be an idea to show off a little HTML in the resume part. My point still stands.
Emloyers want to see the ability to multi skill and if someone claims to be an expert in something they want evidence ther and then - you need to WIN an interview.

In answer to your question, yes I do use flash and insofar as you can see the results on the page as you type it is better than notepad (I hand code as well), then again so is dreamveaver.

If you don't want constructive criticism don't ask for it, ask for praise instead, I am merely trying to give you the benefit of my experience.

[Fearless]

Swampy,

You're right that's what I should've called it. Sorry
about that. I did come off a little harsh. Since I'm so
young I get alot of "because I'm older I'm better at it
than you" from people. I tend to get a bit defensive.

I am definitely greatful for your input. The first prospect
I have is a local ISP, MyHost, and they seem to
be ok in the HTML department so I wanted to kind of "wow"
them with Flash. I do have HTML in my resume - the
BondDiscovery site. Should I still consider doing the
resume in HTML?

-Fearless

[swampy]

There seems to be a backlash toward flash at the moment. This backlash is caused by needless use of the programme. Remember it has a 97 % accessability rate (Macromedias figures) that remaining 3% is still a lot of people and HTML/Javascript will be needed for a while to come.

If you take a look at sites like http://www.createonline.co.uk a lot of the designers on there are positively ANTI flash (as well as being pompous tw*ts). Some people click straight through when they see a flash movie loading.

see:

http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,22330,00.html

http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5082032,00.html

The general rule is to use it where it's needed, content is king.

I think that the jobs market is split in two - flash developers and graphic designers who have flash skills, you need to think about which sector you want to work for. (and think hard - coding all day is no fun!)

All I'm saying is keep your options open. The flash on your main site is outstanding and your design skills are unquestionable. For the sake of proving what you say about HTML I'd do the resume in HTML.

Don't get me wrong though I love flash, I'm just concerned that those entering the industry at the moment shouldn't concentrate on flash without having other skills. Think of your long term career prospects.

At the moment I'm teaching myself Director, simply because I can see bandwidth opening right up in the next 5 years or so.

With regard to your age, I don't know how old you are and I coudn't care less and that's the beauty of the internet, you could be 9, 99 black, white, handicapped - no prejudices.

Good luck with the job hunting.

steve

[Fearless]

Hey Swampy,

Ok I see what you're saying. Outside of being flash or
html, is the resume ready to be sent to a potential
employer? If you got this resume would you be impressed?

Thanks,
Fearless

[swampy]

Yeah it's cool as a taster and in conjunction with your main site and portfolio it would definitely grab my attention. short sweet, bullet points.


Having said that if I was interested I'd still want to see a full resume with education etc on it. You say you've no formal design education , this doesn't matter as you're natural talent shows. I'd still want to see other qualifications such as english language, math and a broad range of sucbjects which would indicate a well rounded individual.

You need to put all the corny stuff in too like :

are you a team player ? - interest in sports etc is a good way of illustrating this. If you aren't into that sort of thing surely you've kicked a football around with some friends one saturday afternoon - hey presto a football team just don't claim to be a mountaineer cos the odds are that the one armed man interviewing you lost his arm climbing everest and will want to get up to date with what mountaineers are up to nowadays.

Have you had a summer job ? this shows that you are able and willing to do sh*tty mundane chores that may arise - believe me 90 % of what you will do in your new job will be boring as hell. Shop works a good one to put down and hard to check up on, this shows your ability to deal with the general public, clients, difficult customers in person, over the phone AND in writing

Have you any other "outside" interests - even "socialising when work and study commitments allow" will do.

In short - yes it's good as a taster but you need to put some meat on the bones and do one in tradtional format (word usually).

[canuckster]

Definitely include your age and something about education. Yes, it might work against you (he's too young) but it could also be a plus (wow, he did all this neat stuff and he's only 18?).

Consider re-ordering the skills you've listed; I'd like to see all the advanced ones first, then intermediate, then entry. And I don't like 'entry' level. Why bother to mention it if you're only entry level? What about something like

While I have cultivated a wide range of skills over the past five years, my primary focus has been Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, HTML and Dreamweaver, as well as Vecta 3D and Swift 3D. I also have a working familiarity with Freehand, SoundForge, and Miva Merchant, and have recently taken up UltraDev.

One thing I like about this approach is that it's written in a paragraph, complete-sentence style. After all, the rest of your resume is just point after point. I think this helps round out the presentation. Furthermore, I would add a short paragraph at either the beginning or end of the resume that describes (in an inspirational, make-them-want-to-hire-you way) your aims/approach/goals. Perhaps something like

Experience has taught me that what I enjoy the most is creating--taking the nuts and bolts of an idea and putting it all together into something new that is greater than the sum of its parts. Each project is a new opportunity to invent, a new chance to learn. For me, multimedia is the forum where all things are possible, all dreams within reach, and where I hope to make my mark.

Like I said, these are only suggestions. But I hope they help in some way.