After being critical of the bold, four-color resume of a senior I met during a visit to the University of Kansas, I recently received a toned down resume from him–but it still looked like an Oscar-nominated movie ad in the New York Post. The resume was cluttered with too many type faces and sizes, and featured a 2″ x 3″ photo.
My advice: Stick with traditional resumes. Don’t be misguided into thinking that sizzle replaces the “steak” of education and experience. The folks at Microsoft offer excellent free resume templates for basic resumes, job-specific resumes and situation-resumes.
If your creative flair requires more than a one-page standard resume, then develop a quality online portfolio. But do not substitute the online portfolio for a resume, which some job seekers have attempted to do. Include the link in your cover letter and resume. Regular Culpwrit reader Jamie Kim has designed a low-key, yet clever and elegant online portfolio. Provide a link to your online portfolio in Comments below.
Chris Spooner of Spoon Graphics provides an excellent review of 10 sites, including my favorite–Carbonmade, which help guide you through the process of building an online portfolio.
Ron,
Thank you for citing my online portfolio as an example. It’s always great to receive positive feedback.
For students who may not necessarily have the time or skill to put together a professional Web site from scratch, two good sources are:
koda.us
http://www.visualcv.com
Cheers!
Jamie
Jamie, I really liked your online portfolio. It was very clever and clean. I really liked your photos, like the fortune cookie.
I’m working on my own website as well at http://www.rmhines.com It’s still a work in progress, but it’s always great to see the work of other students! Thanks for the inspiration.
Hey,
Thanks for the tips, I found some good info from these guys http://www.idlogik.com/resume/.
They offer some tools as well for formatting etc
Where in the resume should the link to you online portfolio be placed?
Mike: Online portfolio link should appear at the end of your resume where most people put the useless line “References Available Upon Request.”
Jamie,
I really enjoyed touring your online portfolio. It was extremely professional, yet exciting and fun at the same time.
Ron,
My portfolio link is http://www.wix.com/gabrielebladdick/gabriele-bladdick. I have never been a graphically “blessed” person, however, wix was very easy to use. This online portfolio is extremely new. I published it on Wednesday, and I am looking to change it and add it as I do more research on the online portfolio world.
Great post, once again!
Gabby
Jamie,
I am really impressed with your online portfolio. It is very clever, yet concise and clear.
I have tried a few different things but I am kind of stuck on what more to add. I am new to the PR industry; however I find myself enjoying it and would love to get some input from you, Ron or Ryan, Mike, William, & Gabby. Thank you all for introducing me to these new site as Yahoo Small Business lacks in the creatively.
Ron,
I read your blogs a lot but this is the first time posting. Your blog site has really helped guide me in getting familiar with the PR industry and finding my niche. I just wanted to say thank you for creating such a warm environment of inspiration and honest advice.
Best,
Ruthanne
Don’t forget WordPress. It’s easy to create separate pages on your blog for your resume and portfolio items and it looks clean. Even if you don’t have a blog it’s a good, free option. I use it for mine and it’s great.
Jamie, your site is fabulous! It’s a truly great example to use…but even more so, your credentials are truly impressive. Way to go!