Many resumes land in my inbox on a regular basis. A typical job post can yield over 50 applicants in a span of a week. With so many to go through, even the most minor error in the presentation of your resume can get you disqualified. Here’s 5 things you should avoid when submitting your resume, especially to a design firm:
1. Dark backgrounds, White Text
Although sent digitally, resumes will usually end up being printed to discuss in the interview. If your resume is on a dark background, you’ll tick off your potential employers by having them use an obscene amount of ink or toner. Besides the unnecessary environmental impact, white text on a dark background is also harder to read. Also avoid using a full bleed on your resume, unless you plan on delivering it in person. The typical office printer won’t be able to print all the way to edges, so your resume will get cropped or resized to fit.
2. Hard to read text
A good designer should be able to communicate effective. Poor font choices may get you disqualified immediately. Also consider line spacing, kerning, and font sizes. Bullets and white space are your friends. A good resume layout should be easy to skim and have a hierarchy of information.
3. No contact info
Contact info should always be at the top of your resume. There’s no negotiating or excuse for this. If we can’t get in touch with you, then you can’t get the job.
4. Too many pages
A standard resume is one page. If you’ve got a lot of relevant work history, 2 pages may be ok, and even that’s pushing it. But certainly anything over that will land you in the trash.
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Ultimately, a resume is a single sheet to sell your design skills to your potential employer. It’s often the first impression, so make it awesome, or at least don’t make it horrible.