Resume Review

[PSUtheatre15]

Hello CB,

Well I have a interview for a college soon and they asked for my resume and I have one but I don't think it in the right format or looks proper in anyway. Is there someone's I could look at or would guys like to just have me upload it and you go at it and rip me a new one haha

I will not be offensed in advance by anyone if they think my resume is crap and say it publicly

Thanks,

Joey

 

[josh88]

I'm sure none of us would mind looking at it. I've learned over the years there is no "right" format, unless of course it's wrong and ugly. What I mean is unless you have really glaring mistakes do it how you'd like and the way you think looks good. I've had so many contradicting opinions that you'll always make somebody happy or piss somebody off, there's no real way around it. Too many people have too many differing opinions on it.

 

[PSUtheatre15]

View attachment Resume Aug 27th .doc


Here is my Resume let me know what I can do to make it look better or if it's just fine the way it is right now

 

[MNicolai]

The format is kind of weird. Lots of bullet points, inconsistent capitalization (i.e. "Microsoft office" and "grade point average") -- the layout makes it difficult to focus on any one or two things. Think when someone looks at this, what is you want them to take away from it if they only take one thing away from your resume. There's a very good chance employers will not go through your whole resume. They'll glance at it quickly, remember whatever the first one or two things it was that they saw, and then make a decision. Make certain whatever those one or two things are, that they're what you what potential employers to be seeing. I know when I was hired at my current job, my employer barely glanced over my resume before making a decision -- and I was somebody she knew in advance. I'd hate to think how little someone's resume would get looked at who she previously had known nothing about.

Right now when I look at your resume, the first thing I see is an awkward list of character traits -- awkward because they're provided without context or examples.

Under Computer Skills/Equipment, "Lighting and sound board" is awkward. Only one sound console? Only one lighting console? Were you the expert programmer or were you the guy who happened to be in the room when someone needed lights turned on? Which lighting console? Which sound console?

Under Work Experience, what is meant by Assistant Rigger for Sapsis? Were you on their payroll or were they doing a job at your school and you helped out? Another question I have looking at your Work Experience is have you held a single job for more than a month?

If you're interviewing for a college, they'll be a lot more forgiving than for an employer, but by the time you graduate expect to have your department heads hounding you about these kinds of issues. My best advice is to go through Microsoft Word's library of templates, find a resume template you like, and run with it. It'll probably take a while for you to set it up the way you like, but then you can just keep building on it and revising it as time goes on. Most importantly, it won't look like you just whipped it together in 15 minutes like this resume looks like. Fastest way to turn off a potential employer is to make it seem you couldn't be bothered enough to spend more time on it.

 

[rochem]

Hey Joey,

I happen to be a big fan of resume critiquing, so I'll step in and give you a whole list if you don't mind. Please don't take offense at anything I write here, and you're more than welcome to ignore anything I say, as so much of resumes (theatre resumes in particular) is so much about personal preference).

• First off, and I realize this is different since you're posting it on a forum, but when you actually go to send out your resume, you should always send it in a PDF format or something that can't be edited by the person receiving it. Furthermore, Production Managers have literally thousands of resumes in their files titled "My Resume" or "Current Resume" - you should always include your name in the file name, such as "JosephRobert_Resume.pdf".
• In your resume header, you need to say what you do. If you had just submitted a resume to me, I would have no idea if you were looking to fill the Master Electrician position or the Box Office Manager position. Usually you'll just add another line under your name that says Lighting Designer or Theatrical Electrician or whatever. For someone who's early in their career and doing multiple things, there's nothing wrong with writing Stage Technician either - just something that says what you want to do. Also, when you start sending a resume out for specific jobs, it's nice to change your title to what you're applying for. If you're applying for a ME job, the title should probably say "Master Electrician", not just "Electrician".
• Unfortunately for us, theatre resumes are quite different from most other resumes out there. No one in theatre is interested to see your life goals or a list of words about who you are, they just want to see your shows, your unique skills, and (for now at least) where you went to college. So I'd recommend leading off, after your name and such, with your production credits. After that, put your longer-term positions, such as the rigging with Sapsis. Then can come your education, then your skills list, and finally your references.
• Columns are your friend. For every show, you want to display at least your position on the show, the show name, where it took place, and when it happened - and as you move further in your career, you'll definitely want to include your supervisor or director as well. Whether you need to do that yet is debatable. Also, the order is important. Your position on the show (Sound Designer, Electrician) should be the first thing on the line, then usually followed by the show name, which is followed by the theatre where it took place, which is followed by your supervisor's name, and the date is last. Speaking of the date, I only put the year of a show instead of the month/season (Fall 2011), which I think is fine - although you can keep it if you want. As I said, that order is very much personal preference, but having your position title first on the line is pretty standard.
• Once you do move to columns, you'll quickly discover that your employment positions don't fit nicely within columns, and that'll annoy you a lot. I've spent the last two years trying different ways to make my employment positions work with a description of the job, and I've only recently found something I'm moderately happy with. Just play around a lot with it until it looks clean and shows what you need it to show, and go from there.
• What degree are you pursuing? Is it a BFA: Technical Theatre? Saying you're a Technical Theatre major doesn't help much. Also, instead of saying you're a freshman, say "expected graduation, Spring 2016" or whatever the case may be. I personally put my educational information below all my production credits, but I also know many people who like to see undergrad resumes with education at the top.
• Some of the stuff in your Skills section feels a little incomplete. People will be very skeptical when you say you have experience in "Lighting and Sound Board" and rightly so. What boards have you worked on? What boards would you consider yourself an expert on? Remember, anything listed in your skills section needs to be something that someone could hire you to do full-time. And while internet research is a useful skill, it probably doesn't belong on a theatrical technician's resume. The Backstage Equipment skill is also a little vague - I might say instead that you have experience with Counterweight Fly Systems, Hemp Fly Systems, Loading Bridge Operations, and so on.
• You should have references on your resume. I know references aren't often on there in other professions, but Production Managers want to be able to scan your resume, decide they like you, and pick up the phone right away. There are tons of PMs and department heads I know who send any resume without references straight to the round file. You should have three, ideally no more than one or two from your educational institution. Make sure they have titles as well, and emails and phone numbers.
• Good job keeping the resume to one page. Two page or front and back resumes often get sent straight to the round file, and they're annoying to keep together once you start copying and faxing them.

Whew, that's a long list. I hope that gives you something to get started with. I've also attached a copy of my resume. This is an old general resume that I don't use much anymore, and it's far from perfect, but it should at least give you some ideas. Hope this helps, and feel free to resubmit once you've made some changes.

 

[Grog12]

Rochem basically wrote my post for me...the only thing I have to add is that the "Character and Competency" section is a complete waste of space. It tells us nothing about who you are or what you've done and comes across as a little self congratulatory. Everything in that section is up to you to show off in your attitude when you interview whether it be by phone or in person.

 

[PSUtheatre15]

Thank you guys and please keeping coming with more advise. I'll redo my resume and repost it to see what you guys think. As far as the just putting sound and lighting board. The problem is most of them were old and the names of each were scratched off but I'll just put the most current ones that I have worked on. Thanks in advanced again.

 

[bdkdesigns]

Great reply Michael,

I agree with everything he mentioned but just wanted to expand upon something. That was the "putting your supervisers name down". Why do that? I cannot mention how many jobs I've gotten because even though I list references at the bottom, they will start reading it and go "Oh you know _________?!" I've had it both ways, positive and not so positive experiences with familiar people and that served as an ice breaker in the interview. The resume is a way to connect with your interviewer.

As for mine, I tend to break it down into categories and cater it to whatever I'm applying for. A bold caption will say Theatre Lighting Design for instance and then list off show titles, location, year, and superviser. For a design position, I'd put the director, for an assistant design or ME, I'd put the LD's name down and so on.

My website has my resume. In fact, as I am applying for new jobs now, this thread has made me realize that I need to update my website one. One thing I need to change is removing my address for two reasons: A) As a website, I don't want my address up anymore because there are too many creepers out there and B) I've moved so it is not up to date.

Also, in terms of references, I'd never send out a resume with references. Likewise, I'm not just going to post all of their info online for the same security reasons listed above. However, you can tell that there is a place for references to go. Likewise, ASK FOR PERMISSION before using someone as a reference. I cannot tell you how many times I've had a phone call out of the blue from someone saying that I've been listed as a reference. It allows the person to prepare so that they don't get caught off gaurd but also allows you to know that the person will talk positively about you. The worst one was when someone listed me as a reference and I didn't know who the person was. After talking through with the interviewer, I came to find out that they have only worked one call with me and clearly left a positive impression on me seeing as how I couldn't remember them. All I was able to say was: nothing really went wrong at the event but I simply cannot remember this person. Not a good first impression for the interviewer.

My old one is at: this site

 

[MNicolai]

Thank you guys and please keeping coming with more advise. I'll redo my resume and repost it to see what you guys think. As far as the just putting sound and lighting board. The problem is most of them were old and the names of each were scratched off but I'll just put the most current ones that I have worked on. Thanks in advanced again.

Personal preference but I don't know I'd put it on there or if I did, I'd make it clear that it's basic experience. You'll get less criticism from an interviewer at a college than if you were applying for a job, but you want to avoid putting anything on your resume that if asked about, you wouldn't have a rock-solid response to.

Speaking of interview questions -- never underestimate the types of questions you may receive, especially from someone sitting in on the interview who knows exactly what your discipline is. My brother was interviewing candidates for an IT Help Desk position recently. He asked candidates to close their eyes, and then act is if they were explaining to him over the phone how to tie his shoe laces as if he had never done it before. One candidate took 5 minutes of talking before he even had started talking about shoes. Another showed contempt toward the question and toward the prospect of people calling the help desk with such little computer experience. That question more than any other asked in all of the interviews was most telling about their abilities to communicate effectively with clients. Anyone who had "Effective communicator" on their resumes looked silly after flopping at that exercise.

That said, my brother and the interviewers from HR got some good laughs out of ever candidates's failed attempt to handle the situation. Also -- none of the candidates got the job.

 

[josh88]

I think all the points I would have made have been said, Though I'll add an old resume of mine as well, just as another comparison. I wouldn't mind actually seeing a thread of resumes just because this comes up now and then and a bunch of examples to point to might be nice. Not to mention I actually like seeing what other people have done.

I will also add that if you're a designer or something later on a digital portfolio in a pdf with visuals of your work can also be great to send along for some jobs/college, depending on what you're applying for.

 

[PSUtheatre15]

Well A brief description of what I am applying for is a spot to go up to the main campus of Penn State. Right now I am at Penn State Berks in Reading, PA but I plan on transferring. I been a stage manager for shows here and was just wondering what is the best way to say that digitally as in a portfolio still they are going everything online now. Thanks

 

[PSUtheatre15]

Okay guys,

I been hard at work with this putting as much as I can on one piece of paper and I took everyone's advice into it all and after it all. I really have to thank you guys my first version was total crap personally and this version has come a long way. So I'm asking you now to look over this one and tell me what you think.


Thanks,
Joey

Also i changed all my contact info so I don't get any junk mail or weird phone calls

 

[MNicolai]

Much better, but don't forget the ever-important statement of your intent. Just under your contact info, the highest part of your resume should include a brief 2-4 sentence statement declaring what you're looking for in a career and what you want to do in that line of work. This will give whoever is interviewing you for school or for a job an immediate context of what you could mean to their academic program or business.

Without the statement of intent, your resume is a novel without an underlying theme or point. When you look at your resume, it will make sense to you because you know what you want, but when someone else looks at it, they don't know what to expect and you may miss out on interviews because people couldn't understand by looking at your experience what it was your were hoping for by applying.

 

[Grog12]

Much better, but don't forget the ever-important statement of your intent. Just under your contact info, the highest part of your resume should include a brief 2-4 sentence statement declaring what you're looking for in a career and what you want to do in that line of work. This will give whoever is interviewing you for school or for a job an immediate context of what you could mean to their academic program or business.

Without the statement of intent, your resume is a novel without an underlying theme or point. When you look at your resume, it will make sense to you because you know what you want, but when someone else looks at it, they don't know what to expect and you may miss out on interviews because people couldn't understand by looking at your experience what it was your were hoping for by applying.

For a theatre resume statements of intent are worthless. Generally they go to the bottom of my pile when I'm doing new hires. The intent is always the same...to get the gig. He's put on that he's a Stage Technician...so obviously he wants to work as a stage technician...why waste space with a couple of throwaway lines no one will read?

Also I know you're putting this on line and you don't want to put out other peoples contact info, but don't send off a resume with "reference's by request on it" the thinking on the other end of the line is A)You don't have them B)You think you're to good for a reference.

 

[MNicolai]

For a theatre resume statements of intent are worthless. Generally they go to the bottom of my pile when I'm doing new hires. The intent is always the same...to get the gig. He's put on that he's a Stage Technician...so obviously he wants to work as a stage technician...why waste space with a couple of throwaway lines no one will read?

If you're applying for a one-off, sure. If you're applying for a job you want to hold for a few years in a specific discipline, it matters. It also matters if you're applying to a school. First question they'll want to get out of the way in the interview just after they make sure they've got your name correct is "What do you want to do?"

If, at that moment, your best answer starts with "Uhhh...", "Well...", or "............", you've sent up a red flag that you don't have a good grasp on what you want to do. If you're applying at a community college, that answer is fine. If you're applying anywhere at all exclusive, the deer-in-the-headlights response will not get you far.

Not every job is a one-off. There are many jobs out there where the employer will have a vested interest in knowing the employee has at least an idea that they're applying for a job that will suit them well and that they're someone who won't jump ship as soon as they realize it doesn't suit them well.

 

[Grog12]

Most jobs that aren't one offs are going to ask for a cover letter...which is a long form and much better written statement of intent.

Same goes for colleges, though those are generally essays.

 

[MNicolai]

Most jobs that aren't one offs are going to ask for a cover letter...which is a long form and much better written statement of intent.

Same goes for colleges, though those are generally essays.

Cover letters don't always end up in the hands of the interviewers. Sometimes they got lost in the fold, other times a candidate will only send one cover letter with four copies of a resume and nobody will take the time to make copies of the letter, or only one copy of both gets sent in and the person who copies them decides to only copy the resumes.

I generally presume that the cover letter makes certain my resume lands in front of the right people, but that my resume needs to hold its own once it's there.

 

[ruinexplorer]

In a way, you are providing references, since you list your supervisers, which I never do. I think listing of references is a personal opinion, depending on the position. Kind of like your statement of interest. If the position is for something that may end up as an advancement opportunity in that venue, then adding that quick snippet of your goals may be helpful (for an entry level position, not a leadership position).
For a leadership role, the venue will probably do more than one round of interviews. You should show up to that interview with references in hand, along with copies of your resume and cover letter.

Theater is a different beast from the rest of the world. However, depending on the venue and who's running it, you need to tailor your resume accordingly. If you are applying for a smaller company, the hiring practices will be a bit more relaxed. If you are applying to corporate run theater (Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, West End style productions, large universities as well), then your resume will need to be more of a blend of theater and corporate styles since you will need to get past a standard HR filter before your resume makes it into the right hands. That can be quite challenging.

 

[rochem]

Ruin pretty much nailed it. One of the problems is that there's no standard for resumes, and in fact, so many people have so many different ideas of what a perfect resume should be that there's no way to please everyone. One great example is for references - the person who hired me for this summer has said flat-out that he sends any resume without references straight to the trash - he has enough people to choose from that it's simply not worth taking the time to email them back to get a list of references, which will then probably get lost because it's not on the same page as the resume. On the other hand, a PE who I've done work for absolutely hates seeing references on the resume - his reasoning is that a prospective employee should be able to provide references upon request that would be the most appropriate for every specific job, and by putting "generic" references on the resume, you're not providing the employer with the best references for what he's looking for. And unfortunately, the only way to find this out is either to talk to that person, talk to someone who's worked for them, or to get turned down because of one of these mistakes.