Please Critique my Resume

[cmpowell125]

I've recently graduated, and am looking to get into Photography. Either as an assistant or trainee.

I've not had many responses so I thought I'd redo my Resume, I'd appreaciated some honest feedback about design and/or content.

First impressions, etc.

Thanks.

Chris

I've attached a JPG, but please view pdf for full readable version.

www.cpowell.co.uk/files/resume.pdf (http://www.cpowell.co.uk/files/resume.pdf)


http://www.cpowell.co.uk/files/resume.jpg (http://www.cpowell.co.uk/files/resume.pdf)

[MHP]

hey chris, theres a few mistakes in there....

(tall ship)I was also been.... was should be HAVE

seeing THE clients reaction you have hte.

do your spelling mistakes, read the whole thing out loud, get someone to check it for you too.

Job history- aren't they suppose to go latest to oldest, you have oldest to newest.
might be different over there.

Thats what i saw at a quick glance.

BTW- I got my first photographic job because i walked in there and said, this is what i want to do, I'll learn fast, and do anything you want me to do, I wanted it and they could see that, i was the least experienced to apply and got hired because of my drive and attitude. so dont worry if you get a few setbacks on the way, it'll happen if you want it bad enough!

[cmpowell125]

Thanks MHP.

Yeah I found those mistakes, just uploaded a more up to date copy. Its surprising how many times you can read it and not spot the mistakes.

Cheers.

[nation]

I didn't read it but first thoughts were the lack of white spaces. That's probably what stopped me from reading it. Consider cutting down the paragraph lengths and using 1 or 2 line bullet points to really hammer home each point with strong "can do" HR buzzwords. Also remember that the US resume convention doesn't really apply to the UK so don't feel you need to cram everything into 1 page. Use the space you need to sell yourself effectively but bear in mind that to be effective the document still has to be succinctly worded.

Also take a look at some of the resume help website to get an idea of various layouts and the wording.

[cmpowell125]

Thanks nation.

I know that i need to cut it down a bit, especially the interest, just finding it very difficult to get what I want across in less, if you know what i mean.

My original CV was 2 pages, but again too much information.

I'm gonna take another look at the interest section, see what I can do. You confirmed my suspicions.

Thanks

[gmen]

I used to read a lot of these things when I was actively involved in recruitment...

Firstly, well done for getting it all on one page... makes life a lot easier for the potential employer. I'd always advise one or two pages as a maximum.

More white space is definitely required as nation mentions. It does feel like you've crammed a bit too much in. Read and re-read each sentence and chop out 'wasted' words.

If this is specifically targeted at getting you a job in photography, I'm not 100% sure that it works. You've tried to link your IT background with your interest in photography but, for me, the CV still seems to target an IT job or similar. Even your job history has nothing relevant to a photographic career... you say that you've assisted wedding photographers, surely those jobs should feature rather than bar work, etc.

On the left hand side, you list your skills. The only skill that might be directly relevant to a photographic role is your experience in the use of Adobe Photoshop. Yep, some of the other skills may help in the long run and they show you to be very well qualified, but they are probably not going to be what a photographer will be looking for when he/she advertises for shooters. Initially, I would think they'd be far more interested in what equipment/techniques you have used and your photographic end product rather than your computer networking skills for example.

As for references, you might also want to cite one of the photographers you've worked with as a referee.

Style. Personally I like the style of the CV... if I was recruiting for an IT, customer service or even retail position, I'd certainly be giving you a second look. However, for a photographic job? I'm not so sure it works... somehow I want to see one or two of your photos :lol: either on the page or attached to it. A kind of folio 'teaser'...

In a nutshell, I feel you need to focus the CV a bit more to specifically target the type of photographic job that you are looking for.

OK... I hope some of that is helpful... it was a kinda brainstormy thing... so feel free to ignore my wafflings if you don't think they're relevant.

---- Gavin

[mpilar]

Umm, your updated pdf still has you working for Equity Ski Travel for about 1800 years...employers like people who stay with the same firm for a long time, but that one might look suspicious. ;)

I actually like the layout alot though, very nicely layed out although I would change the order in your job history.
-Mike

[Michael]

I like the layout too. The blue bar down the left is nice and I like where ou have placed the Referees.

Mike