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Would you hire me? [Resume Help]
nakirush
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys,
You've all been a great help in the past, so I was hoping you could give me a hand once more. I'm looking to change up my career a bit and move into concept art for video games/film. I know a stunning resume can work wonders, but I'm not so sure on what a 'stunning resume' is.
You can either view my resume as a PDF here, or hit the Spoiler for a plain text version:
So, what's good? What's bad? Is the Qualifications Summary too long? Is there some major component I'm missing?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
You've all been a great help in the past, so I was hoping you could give me a hand once more. I'm looking to change up my career a bit and move into concept art for video games/film. I know a stunning resume can work wonders, but I'm not so sure on what a 'stunning resume' is.
You can either view my resume as a PDF here, or hit the Spoiler for a plain text version:
James Haskin
Objective
To get a position as a Concept Artist and to gain further experience in this field.
Qualifications Summary
Self-motivated, hard-working individual, who applies individual initiative to get the job done. Excellent common sense, judgment, and decision-making abilities. Organized, goal oriented.
Able to coordinate several tasks simultaneously. Enjoy working as a team member as well as independently. Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills. Consistent record of forging strong relationships. Experienced working in fast-paced environments demanding strong organizational, technical, and interpersonal skills. Remains calm in stressful situations. Commended for reliability and trustworthiness. In-depth knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.
Experience Summary
• Handled various projects requiring extensive creative abilities and artistic talents
• Able to develop new and innovative designs and styles
• Rendered character turn arounds and environmental concept scenes
• Volounteered as a concept artist on various independant games and mods
Software Experience
• Adobe Photoshop 7 - CS4
• Corel Painter X
• Adobe InDesign CS4
• Hero Engine
Professional Experience
Commercial Artist, May 2006 to Present
HAVE Services - Traverse City, MI
• Designed and constructed props and sets for business events
• Created concept art for story development and pre-visualization
• Developed graphic elements for video and print media. Accounts include: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Farm Bureau Insurance, and Remax.
Remote Contractor, March 2007 to June 2009
Simutronics - Saint Charles, MO
• Independantly designed and constructed world and instanced zones
• Worked with the world-building team to create vast, detailed landscapes
• Collaborated with the writing team to meet story-specific elements and details
• Play tested game and interface mechanics
Education
Studied with several prominent industry professionals and fine artists:
• Charles Hu. Studied human anatomy, composition, and light and shading.
• John Mahoney. Trained in creative figurative art such as gesture drawing and style experimentation.
• John Brown. Learned principles of the design process, character sculpture, and anatomy.
Objective
To get a position as a Concept Artist and to gain further experience in this field.
Qualifications Summary
Self-motivated, hard-working individual, who applies individual initiative to get the job done. Excellent common sense, judgment, and decision-making abilities. Organized, goal oriented.
Able to coordinate several tasks simultaneously. Enjoy working as a team member as well as independently. Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills. Consistent record of forging strong relationships. Experienced working in fast-paced environments demanding strong organizational, technical, and interpersonal skills. Remains calm in stressful situations. Commended for reliability and trustworthiness. In-depth knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.
Experience Summary
• Handled various projects requiring extensive creative abilities and artistic talents
• Able to develop new and innovative designs and styles
• Rendered character turn arounds and environmental concept scenes
• Volounteered as a concept artist on various independant games and mods
Software Experience
• Adobe Photoshop 7 - CS4
• Corel Painter X
• Adobe InDesign CS4
• Hero Engine
Professional Experience
Commercial Artist, May 2006 to Present
HAVE Services - Traverse City, MI
• Designed and constructed props and sets for business events
• Created concept art for story development and pre-visualization
• Developed graphic elements for video and print media. Accounts include: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Farm Bureau Insurance, and Remax.
Remote Contractor, March 2007 to June 2009
Simutronics - Saint Charles, MO
• Independantly designed and constructed world and instanced zones
• Worked with the world-building team to create vast, detailed landscapes
• Collaborated with the writing team to meet story-specific elements and details
• Play tested game and interface mechanics
Education
Studied with several prominent industry professionals and fine artists:
• Charles Hu. Studied human anatomy, composition, and light and shading.
• John Mahoney. Trained in creative figurative art such as gesture drawing and style experimentation.
• John Brown. Learned principles of the design process, character sculpture, and anatomy.
So, what's good? What's bad? Is the Qualifications Summary too long? Is there some major component I'm missing?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
nakirush on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Also, since this is the interwebz, you may want to redact your address/phone number....
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
This is the first change I would make.
As for the portfolio. I understand that it is a vital component to the process and i'm working on selecting pieces for it now. You can view some of my work (most of it older) on my website www.artraged.com. I have to go through and update the gallery before I start putting myself out there, though.
I am primarily looking for feedback on the resume portion at this point as I want every piece of my application package to shine; from the cover letter, to the resume, to the portfolio.
I'd add some concept work you've done, maybe in the header, the footer or in the background. This way, your resume is not just another 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper in a pile of 8.5 x 11s.
I wasn't sure if something like that would be acceptable after I read somewhere not to put anything but text on your resume - course they probably weren't talking about art resumes. I definitely see your point and am going to try a few things.
I once wrote my entire cover letter as a six-page comic book (I was applying at Cryptic Studios).
Also, expand education and other projects you have worked on.
I like drawing, cartoons, cookies, and shiny pointy objects.
Yeah, they definitely weren't talking about Art resumes. Hiring managers are lazy. The easier you make it for them to evaluate you favorably, the more likely you are to set yourself apart from the dozens of other resumes they're looking at.
This is awesome.
In a creative field, you're allowed to do what ever you want. If you wanna think outside the box I'd suggest comming up with a format that looks cool, but is still easy to file. My graphic design resume, for example is a 6 x 6 booklet that has my resume info along with ads that I've done (some of which I had to re-work to fit the 6 x 6 format). I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from it. I encourage you to push the boundaries.
Another suggestion.... make your own envelopes. Ad a cool concept art you've worked on and personalize it by adding the name of the person who is supposed to receive it. They'll never forget you.
URGENT! Your info is still in the pdf + your name is in this thread. Not a problem as I see it but thing about what you write in this thread.
My summaries would use words like "Excellent" a little less but I think it may well be a "old world" vs. "new world" cultural difference 8-)
I miss four things from your resume:
1. Hard facts like age, married/single.., kids?
2. Personal stuff. Hobbies and so. Something which as a potential employer would give an idea if you would fit in.
3. Work experience = how much experience would you say the different jobs count for if converted to full time? Weeks, months..?
4. This last one is a maybe. The tools you list. Can you grade your expertise on those?
Do not include this information on your resume. This information, specifically your age, is protected and any potential employer is legally forbidden from asking you about this. None of this information is pertinent to your ability to perform a specific job.
As a first sentence, you should prettify that a bit more. I immediately think poor grammar.
Solution. type "get" in MS Word. Highlight word. Press shift-f7.
PSN - sumowot
PSN - sumowot
Preferably, do it Barney style (How I Met Your Mother) with an awesome video resume of you skydiving and bungee jumping and being awesome
PSN - sumowot
It may be that an employer is forbidden to ask but that is not the same as it not being important. If it's not comme il faut to give such info then don't but otherwise I would tell.
This. At best you are taking up space and wasting everyone's time with facts that make no difference at all to your employability. At worst you're giving someone an excuse to throw your resume out due to you being a dumbass and making the situation complicated under employment law.
PSN - sumowot
It's not important. You being 24 has nothing to do with your ability to do graphics work (an example). Why would you give an interviewer any additional information for them to base their decision on when it has nothing to do with your ability of doing the job you're interviewing for? That's bad business, man. Take this from someone who has been involved from an interviewer standpoint for the past 12 years of his career.
However, once they disclose that information, we ARE allowed to use it to make hiring decisions (we are only prohibited from using this information for hiring purposes). For example, one time a candidate disclosed that she was getting married soon. So then we wonder: Do we take her, when we don't know whether her career or her husband's will be the lead career (so she could end up moving and quitting), or do we take the single candidate? Think of it that way.
Don't tell them anything they don't need to know or don't ask about.
Besides...
1. They're gonna be able to guess your generation in a phone call anyway.
2. There really is no incentive to take one generation over another these days. Older workers cost more and younger workers (anyone born during Reagan) are airheaded.
These are dumb statements and aren't true. Don't put this information your your resume.
To that end, tell them less about your design abilities and more about your business abilities. They will be able to see from your portfolio if you are competent with XYZ software and that you've created concept artwork and vast worlds. What they won't be able to see from your portfolio is how well you work with a team or come up with novel solutions to unexpected problems or saved your last employer time and/or money by implementing a more efficient working method. You should give teaser examples of this sort of thing in your CV to act as conversation pieces in your interview.
It's a proven fact and extremely important point of contention in the health care argument that older employees are more expensive to employers because young people are generally healthier.
Ok, good point. You're typically going to have to pay them more as well, I suppose. Another good reason to leave this information off of your resume.
I agree. Resumes are intended to describe your experience and qualifications, things that distinguish you rather then fill in the blank rote facts. About the only "fill in the blank" type data that should be on a resume is your contact information and your degree. Everything else (work history, experience) should try to sell you as being more then just an arbitrary gear in the machine.
But yeah from a creative perspective, your portfolio is going to do most of the talking.
Honestly, you should think twice about finding a new name for yourself before you consider putting yourself out there... If you type up "Artraged" on google, you are going to find my work... It's okay though, I can always use some more fans.
Also, add me on myspace.com/artraged.
This is a fantastic first post.
Ha! I searched my name up on google and pages and pages later I found this forum.
Also, add me on myspace.com/artraged.