Today is the 2nd part of a 3 part series.  I’ll be discussing the most important documents and skills needed in beginning the search for a job.

The Resume

Before moving to Seattle, I had decided it would be best to land a job before I got here (that didn’t happen). Part of that quest, and any job search, includes putting your resume together. Thesimpledollar has some really great suggestions as to what to do. However, I felt that unlike him, I fell short in the creativity department.

There are some areas he didn’t cover. For example, what should you do if one of your former employers is now out of business? That happened to me for 2 businesses on my list. I put the one I liked better, and am fortunate enough that I know the employer personally so I can call them at home. However, for most people the conventional wisdom seems to be:

• Keep this on your resume as this counts for experience.
• Keep in touch so they can be used as a personal contact or
• or get a letter of recommendation before the job ends.
• Depending on how recently this happened, you may want to explain this in the almighty cover letter.

I’ve looked over some friends who happen to be graphic designers resumes. They’re impressive. Visually distinguishing yours is the key. They use all types of fancy colors, fonts, and paper. I’d recommend that if you’re not going into the graphic design field, to use colors sparingly. A conservative resume is best, but not boring. For example, on mine I used bold blue headlines for important categories. This stands out to the eye, but isn’t garish. If you’re feeling adventurous, perhaps a graphic with your initials.

The main point is to keep your resume visually appealing and clean. This grabs the most attention. After you flush out your main points in your resume that you won’t send anyone, you can tear it down until you have something concise and interesting for a future employer.

Tomorrow I’ll be discussing interviews.