Friday, July 20, 2007

One Page Please - For Deano

So call this a public service. Apparently it wasn't a big "duh" to tell a group of college instructors to advise their students to do one page resumes.

Um, if you are a college drama student go do this right now: ask your advisor how long a standard entertainment resume should be. If they say ANYTHING except

"one side of one page"

run, do not walk, to the registrar's office and drop out immediately. This is so basic there is just no other appropriate response.

I guess my first information here dates back to undergrad. I went to USITT in Milwaukee and attended a "Job Seekers Toolkit" session during which I was clued in to the whole "one page secret." Really if there is anyone left in this business that doesn't know this by now - I mean that session wouldn't have been the progenitor of the information, it would have been long before that, but the session was 18 years ago. Anyone left in this business that is unaware that a resume should be one side of one page probably isn't really in this business.

If that's the advice you are getting, you need a second opinion.

Here's a life preserver:
  • One (1) side of one (1) page
  • White or off white paper is standard
  • No more than two (2) fonts
  • Name, current phone, current email - nobody is going to mail you anything
  • No more than 10 years back for experience - don't list ANYTHING you don't want looked at as if it is the primary credit
  • If you are currently in college you can list your high school, if you have graduated college only list your high school if the person you are applying to is from that area
  • Three references with current contact info - resumes that say "references available by request" go in the round file - ASK YOUR REFERENCES BEFORE YOU LIST THEM!!!
  • Make sure the type is large enough to copy or fax
And, oh yeah, ONE SIDE OF ONE PAGE. It's a resume, not a CV. A CV is something else entirely.

And if you are an advisor who is unaware of this widely accepted industry standard, you really ought to get out more.

3 comments:

Katy said...

uh, duh. Though it is tempting to go to more than one page. Another thing to add:
Dear Jobseeker,

Always send your resume in an output format (i.e. PDF) unless specifically requested otherwise. Everyone has a different set of software and printer settings, and generally, your resume will get cocked up in the transfer. With a PDF, your chances of having it get eaten are slim if you are sending it to a person with basic modern computer skills.

Love, an assistant who received resumes and felt like a bitch asking people to resend in a useful format (ON ONE PAGE) before she passed it on to the appropriate boss. I don't pass on a resume that reflects poorly on me for having received it "from a friend of a friend"

Anonymous said...

Many people, however, use CV's. If fact, if you've in college and looking for a job as an intern or going into grad school, a CV is what you want. OTOH, if you're looking for full time work, work on your resume skills.

David said...

So, I would add to my list. ONLY send a CV when someone has specifically asked for a CV. Otherwise send a resume that is ONE SIDE OF ONE PAGE. If you send them a resume and they wanted a CV but didn't ask, they'll ask. If they wanted a resume and you sent a CV, they will roundfile you.