Comments on: The 7 deadly sins of résumé design

By: toast

toast — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:23:38 +0000

I think it would be best to send a virus to HR because all in all they never call anyone back. Most of HR have no clue about anything tech, nor do they have any creative brain at all. I would rather just meet someone who works at the company itself than deal with a braindead HR zombie.

By: pat g

pat g — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:51:58 +0000

As a recent “job seeker” I found this very useful. though of course we call them CVs in the Uk, the tips are all good. Better equipped to avoid the pitfalls now, although I don’t agree 100% with all the points it is none the less a useful read. Thanks again. Pat

By: Cinny

Cinny — Mon, 31 May 2010 22:01:46 +0000

I think everyone should come out of the dark ages. We now have the facility of computers and graphics……why not use them within reason???????/

Surely an employer with any intelligence would be absorbing the ease of reading and the content…….not crossing a prospect off because of the font used. Lets move into the 21st century people.

By: d5xtgr

d5xtgr — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:07:47 +0000

If you know how, typesetting your documents in TeX can really improve the font appearance through proper use of ligatures and a line-break algorithm that evaluates the appearance of the entire paragraph rather than that of the individual line. It can produce PostScript or PDF files for electronic usage. Failing that, it may be possible to use the Computer Modern fonts for which the program is configured in other programs like Word, and I expect these would still be a cut above Microsoft’s pet fonts.

By: MGBYG

MGBYG — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:57:24 +0000

As an engineer and industrial designer who needs to walk a fine line between ‘logical’ and ‘artzy-fartzy’, I have found a san-serif font works far better than all the suggestions above. I have been using Tahoma for years and have gotten a call-back on every position I have applied for the last dozen years…I am 5 for 5.

Tahoma kerns nice and tight and 10pt leave plenty of white space.

By: Geisha

Geisha — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:01:40 +0000

Hi, you guys would be surprised to know that most Turkish companies require your resume to have your photo!! (It mostly (read:always) works in my favour :P )

yeah, so my resume looks pretty messed up when I try to fit in my photo. It looks like a very detailed I-card!

I think a photo within the resume screams prejudice.

Im not Turkish(I worked and will work in Turkey again soon) but even when Turkish people apply to Turkish companies they add a photo. By the way, I know for a fact that some American companies ask for photos within a resume too (reference : my Turkish friends who’ve applied to American companies).

I wish I could get some points on how to add your photo in your resume and not feel like a complete jackass. :P

By: AllyMandor

AllyMandor — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:31:23 +0000

I don’t believe filenames have been mentioned here. When sending a resume electronically, the filename resume.doc is the kiss of death. Be sure to change the filename to reflect your own name. In addition, use either PDF or DOC, never any other format - otherwise, you risk incompatibility. Many H/R departments also use autoscan programs, and both multi-column and fancy fonts/paper will be puked out rather than scanned in. When sending electronically, the plainer, the better! Finally, whether or not sent electronically, be brief. These days, virtually no one is worth a two-pager. The point is to get IN the door for an interview… you can elaborate later, during the interview.

By: Joel Richard

Joel Richard — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:47:20 +0000

Wow. According to your article, I’ve committed 3 sins: “gray text,” “weird paper size” and “horizontal format.” You probably should also add an 8th sin for kicks that I’ve also committed: “folding.” Now, taken that I’ve broken lots of your rules in resume design — why is it that I’ve been working for my company for 3 years and 10 months thanks to my “poorly designed resume”? There has to be something wrong.

A graphic designer’s resume should reflect his or her craft. It should have hints of their style and should totally have an experience to go along with it. Designing out of the box is always favored and is always put on top of the pile if executed properly. You should never confine yourself to designing freely. Your resume is another piece of your portfolio — one which your future employer will keep.

By: Jad

Jad — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:49:23 +0000

This is so good to know and follow… I totally agree with kathy, but when you haven’t met the contact person the question would be: what should you present a graphically enhanced CV (Branding), a formal black & white CV or a flash animated CV?

Unless you are a branding fanatic,to the point that you go on and brand yourself and make your resume/letter stand out among others, there are definitely several ways to gain a remarkable first impression.

It also dependent on the culture of the company you’re entering and the position you’re applying for… and how old are you and your experience…

your CV is your spirit and vision, at the end.. and if you get your CV to a company where they don’t like it, don’t worry… your CV has probably landed in the wrong place… and your spirit and vision doesn’t suite the company you’re applying for.

I truly think design is essential, in order to stand out… but design alone doesn’t make the CV standout… it’s the content and experience and the way you brand yourself.

By: Briongloid

Briongloid — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:09:15 +0000

I’m personally a huge fan of Palatino Linotype. (or its cousin Book Antiqua)

It’s a nice serif font that’s easy to read and scan down through, it’s nicely formed and spaced and it’s ubiquitous but not always commonly used. And even if you don’t have it you can download it free.

Somebody up there also made the point of trying to mimic the style and branding of the company you are submitting to. If possible you should always do that.

One idea is to send the cv/resume in a nice folder the same colour as the company’s branding, to use similar coloured paper or to use the same fonts.

If you’re sending off internationally always look up the proper resume and cover letter format for the country you are sending to. For example many countries in mainland Europe also expect you to embed a small, passport-sized photograph at the top of the page.

Be sure to use the correct spelling also. True it’s best not to entrust your spelling and grammar to a machine, but, if you’re applying from one English-speaking country to another, be sure that you spellcheck it in the appropriate language - e.g. British English v US English.

I’ve found, actually, that many computers, for example Dell computers, were always pre-installed with US English as the default language regardless of where they were being sold to. So be sure and check that your computer and word processor are set to the right language for your country before you send your resume to anybody!