You and Your Resume The CV and the Portfolio

Preamble What is your job or career goals? What is the purpose of your cover letter and resume? Who is the audience for your resume? What does the audience want and need to know? Is your portfolio up to date and error free?

Purpose of Resume and CV Show your skills and experiences To get a job that is a good fit for you and your goals Highlights your accomplishments and successes Show “who you are” to employers

Know who is going to read your CV Hiring manager/Art Director/Project Manager Headhunter, Placement Agency, other third party HR person What does the audience want and need to know? Your Skills Your Qualifications Are you and the job a fit?

What to do and send (cover letter optional?) Always send in a resume Use clear, concise language. Customize the resume and/or cover letter to the job ad. Highlight what resume does not, such as interpersonal skills, management ability, working under pressure, deadlines, etc Refer to your resume in cover letter Mention job title you are applying for Mention the job ad (online, newspaper, etc)

Create an inventory on yourself Education Work experience Course project experience – client projects, etc Intangible skills – (teamwork, management, etc) Programming and software experience Accomplishments Membership in professional organizations Awards and honors

Catalogue and Organize Customize our “inventory” to the audience. Emphasize skills and background. Do not include information irrelevant to job requirements. Hobbies GPA Course titles Mom’s Meatloaf Recipe

Consider a Functional Resume Summary of Qualifications Skills and Experience design communication programming management

Consider a Functional Resume Accomplishments Work History Education

Sending URL’s or other Portfolio items Explain the purpose of the project and any constraints or guidelines. Outline your process in completing the project. Explain what you learned. Prioritize/organize your projects Which projects will the employer want to see? Which projects best display your skills?

Your portfolio at the interview Prepare what you will say for each portfolio item What was the project? What did you do on the project? What was your timeline or other constraints? Who did you work with (team size, team role)? Outcomes of the project

Things to Bring Extra copies of your resume URLs of websites you designed Copies of cdroms Plan ahead if you are going to use a “leave behind”

Some question to prepare for Your role on projects Are you capable of working in teams or alone? How would you describe your work habits, ethics? How do you handle work load? What are your strong suits? What would you consider a bad habit? Create a prototype

Presenting your portfolio Show a project and then pass it around while you talk about it (printed screen captures) Maintain eye contact. Be prepared to answer questions about the projects. Make sure URL’s are working before you go to the interview. Be prepared if your cdrom does something unexpected. Don’t take your last copy of anything with you. Create a prototypeDesign for the functional requirements, business requirements, and user requirements

Final Points Match the skills you have to the skills required for the job. Use your course projects to demonstrate real world experience and skills. Be prepared, and you’ll be more confident and relaxed. Create a prototypeDesign for the functional requirements, business requirements, and user requirements