Help me turn my crazy life into a good resume

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s time to start the job search once again. I’m going out of the country for a couple weeks, but when I get back I need to get serious about finding a decent job in San Francisco. Short of a decent job, an indecent job will do. While I would like to work in my field, I’m open to anything that will cover my rent and a couple bucks a day for food- my dream is to write a book one day and have the “about the author” page list all the strange jobs I’ve held, so I’m not too picky.

The big issue that my job record is (as you’d expect) long, strange, and sporadic. I’m not quite sure how to craft a resume out of it that will have any chance of me landing a “real job”. I can post some of my old versions if you all like, but they really arn’t that great and don’t reflect what I’ve done in the past year or so.

So here is my life, on paper.

I went to school at UC Santa Cruz and studied film. I did really well, and graduated in 2003 with honors in the major and honors through the college, but I did not get grades or a GPA. I did both writing-intensive critical film stuff and film production stuff including all aspects of film production (lighting, producing, editing, casting, everything) and directing short films in various genres (fiction, documentry, etc.) My writing was always evaluated “excellent” (although you’d never know it from my poor spelling on the 'dope) and in production I am especially experienced with editing, which I hate but am badass at. I won a $1,500 art scholarship for graduating seniors (a concept I still haven’t figured out, but it helped during my post-grad unemployment) and served on a special committee of students to interview and reccommend new teacher candidates.

After college I worked for about a month as an independently contracted editor/researcher for a crazy guy that was trying to write a crazy book. My duties were strange and varied and included researching a piece of property in South Carolina (including hiring a soil analyst and working out old deeds with the county), planning a gala party in Florida, trying to hire lawyers for his crazy fake lawsuit, transferring ownership of a car, refinancing a house in Connecticut, consolidating and researching medical records…and of course researching and editing his book. He was abusive and totally nuts and I couldn’t take it for long, but he really liked my work and would probably vouch well for me.

Then I did a short documentary video for a guy that teaches drumming classes. It turned out pretty well, I think, but I never heard from him again. Other than that, I was pretty much unemployed for six months.

Then I worked at Big Chain Video store as a clerk for about six months. My duties were customer service, sorting and shelving videos, cashiering, sales, cleaning the store…that sort of thing. I was especially good at dealing with upset angry customers. I was offered training as a manager, but turned it down because they do not treat their managers well and I had other jobs. My bosses loved me (although the store manager is no longer there) and I was a great worker, but I never did anything special.

Concurrently to working at Big Chain Video Store, I decided to try the lucrative world of waitressing, and got a few nights trainging a really fancy Italian restraunt. I didn’t get hired on there, but worked for about three months as a hostess at Big Chain Coffee Shop. They loved me there and said I was the best hostess they had ever had and would never dream of promoting me to waitress. The only problem is that my register was short by a lot of money my last day, which never has happened before. My co-workers are known to steal and the managers didn’t blame me, but it still feels like a black mark.

Concurrently to working at Big Chain Video Store and Big Chain Coffee Shop, I got a job at Big Chain Budget Motel as a desk clerk. My job was to check people in and out, manage the cleaning staff, do money stuff, and take care of any and all things happening in the motel. I’d be left alone in charge of 24 rooms. It’s not a lot of work, but a lot of responsibility. My bosses love me.

Then I took off and traveled in India for three months. It was a very crazy low-budget experience, but I studied up a lot on India and it wasn’t all partying in Goa or anything.

Now I work just at the hotel. I did one week-long stint as a 24-hour live in manager in charge of everything including the nightly audit and did great. They are looking at giving me another 10 day stint. I also did a 4 day run at another hotel during peak season.

Now I’m headed to Guatemala for two weeks to travel and work with my mother at an orphanage. I feel like there has got to be some way of working in helping the poor Guatemalan orphans.

Besides that, I worked at Big Chain Video Store for three months during college, and as a carpenter for three months in college. I also had a disastrous short stint a auto parts store that I’d rather everyone forget. In high school I worked for a small political newspaper as an “editor’s assistant” doing research and data entry. I also worked on an animated short video that was in a small time youth film festival.

So, anyone got any bright ideas of how to make me look like a great employee, not a flaky weirdo?

2

You might want to try writing a functional resume rather than a chronological one. Functional resumes are often looked down upon (because sometimes it appears the applicant is trying to hide something) but they can be used successfully. I would put a brief listing of your chronological employment and then a functional section where you describe your skills and knowledge.

Some kind of work is better than many long gaps. I would call the 6-month period where you didn’t work much something like “independent research on the history and customs of modern India in preparation for an intensive on-location cultural project.” Then be prepared to describe your studies and what you learned while on the trip.

Of course, you must be prepared to verbally explain your varied and colorful experience, if you get any interviews. It will all be for naught if you can’t do that (although I am sure you can if you put your mind to it).

3

I’m sorry to be blunt, but the OP seems to be a biography for your own vanity. Do you want people to write your resume for you while you’re out of the country? Should we have it on your desk when you get back?

a) what previous resumes you have are more relevant.
b) find the job you’re after, and highlight the relevant experiences you’ve had in your resume.

If you post a resume and specific questions, I and others will give you serious feedback.

4

I guess I’ve been trying to make sense of how to put this all together, and taking a good honest look at what I’ve been up to. I’ll post a copy of my old resume when I can get to the computer that it’s on. Here are some specific questions:

How much should I play up school, since I’ve been graduated for a while but it is still the best thing I have? Are my few scholarly achievments worth mentioning, or should I just list my degree and the honors? Should I put this at the top of my resume like a new graduate, or am I too old for that? Do I need to explain my lack of GPA, or just not bring it up unless I’m directly asked?

What stuff should I just avoid bringing up all together? I already don’t bring up the autoshop thing and list the video and research/editor stuff as contracted work. But I’ve never figured out what to do with the waitress work and little stuff like managing the other hotel. If I listed everything I’ve done for pay, my resume would be a lumbering mess. But it seems like there is some strength in the sheer variety of stuff I’ve done. Is the newspaper stuff in high school I did too old to list?

How do I explain all the unemployed times (I don’t think anyone in California will be that shocked by unemployment in this period) and the period of time that I worked three jobs? Is it possible to make my travels work for me?

Any good ideas of what to do with the motel stuff? I kind of stradle the line between “minimum wage desk clerk” and “24-hour relief manager”, which seems like “real” job to me.

Is even possible to make the leap from all these minimum wage jobs to a real job (full time, some benefits, some room for advancement) of some sort?

I like the idea of focusing mainly on my skills. A pure chronological resume seems out of the question, but I never thought of entirely seperating my skills from the jobs that involved them. I’m told that it’s good to list your achievments, but I don’t really have anything meaningful to list for most of my jobs. It seems like a list of BS achievments would be worse than none at all. I’m a great story teller, and I usually do great in interviews, so my main worry is just getting people intrigued enough to try me.

5

I would recommend you start by finding a job you want to apply for, then build the resume around that.

For example, if you find something film related, you’ll want a very different one than if you find one hospitality related. Whatever the job, focus on what’s relevent for it.

6

It sounds like you’re going to have to very nearly make multiple resumes, tailored to each specific job you’re going to apply to. For example, if you’re applying to something in a field like social work or human resources or something where you principally work with people, you want to emphasize the jobs where those types of skills were important (committee choosing new teachers, working with the orphans, working as a researcher). If you’re applying for a writing job or something along the lines of drama/film, you want to emphasize your work in school and the documentary work and editing/writing work. A functional resume is probably the way to go.

FYI, I was always told by English teachers and the career center counselors that as a college graduate, you can’t list things you did in high school on your resume anymore.

7

Absolutely. and the sooner you can make that jump, the better.

Personally, if I were you I’d think about what I want to be doing in 10 years, and figure how to get from here to there. If you want to be in film, figure out how. Maybe that means moving to a more relevant city. Maybe it means taking on activities outside of work, joining various clubs or attending various events where you’ll make the appropriate contacts. Whatever it is, figure out how to make it happen, then take concrete steps in that direction.

8

As the others have said, your CV will need to be written around the job you want. In any case, your uni study is likely to be only a paragraph under Education - covering off the institution, course studied, majors and any awards. It’s should be factual in nature.

The travel you are doing is really under Other Interests - I don’t think anyone is going to fall for the India trip being an educational journey unless you can identify institutions you studied at, or specific outcomes - film/book/other results. Same for the Guatemala.

And I don’t think 2 weeks really demonstrates “Helping the poor Guatemalan orphans”. I my opinion this makes you sound flippant, which is not a good thing.

9

Did I read your post correctly and you graduated in 2003? If so, two years isn’t all that long ago if you’re applying in an industry where getting a job is difficult. In those cases, we tend to understand that you may be out of work for a while in your chosen field. If not, you may have some explaining to do. However, I wouldn’t do it in the resume. Your resume should highlight why you’d be good in the job (the skills you have). It shouldn’t ever appear even the slightest bit defensive or apologetic.

I think a functional resume may be the best bet for you. I haven’t seen any in a while, but they are out there and are a legitimate format. Get a good book on resumes and look at how they’re put together. You probably will need several versions if you’re applying for jobs requiring different skills. In fact, I’ve always used a chronological resume and I’ve still had several different versions because I want to highlight different accomplishments depending on the needs of the employer.

I would mention (in a brief bulleted format–don’t take up too much space) some of the honors you received in college since it was only 2 years ago. Again, don’t take up too much space–three bullets would be great (but don’t make something up just to get a 3rd bullet. Opal will have to accept you having two!) Plus, don’t mention things like “people told me my writing was good.” You need to mention solid accomplishments and awards that can be verified (though no one will likely ever do so).

Think about your acheivements. I’m sure you have some. They don’t have to be awards you’ve won. They can be projects you’ve managed successfully, sales/service goals you’ve exceeded, successful new processes you’ve driven, etc. They shouldn’t be BS, but they don’t have to be “won employee of the year” or anything. The best way is to think about what you’d say if you were going into your annual performance review. What parts of your performance would you want to highlight to your boss? Again, get a good resume book and look at some of the examples they use.

You shouldn’t try to make your India experience anything it’s not. I wouldn’t put it on the resume unless you have an “other interests” section. Personally, I hate those sections (why waste valuable resume space on something that doesn’t apply to the job I’m offering). But others may like it because it indicates a more rounded person.

The time to bring up India is in an interview (if you’re asked or something relevant to your trip comes up in the conversation). I guess I’d try to position it as something that you wanted to take the opportunity to do before you buckled down and got into the work world. I’d mention the studying you did beforehand, etc. in the context of how it taught you to plan and work towards goals, but I wouldn’t try to position it as a type of independent study program or anything.

10

I totally agree here. I would never put a section on a professional resume for hobbies or interests unless they were very relevant to the specific job you were applying for. In an interview, when they ask you to tell them something interesting about yourself, that would be a perfect time to bring up your world travels. Employers usually love stories like that and they’ll remember you for it, perhaps more than they’ll remember the applicant who has never been anywhere or done anything. But it doesn’t belong in a resume.

11

I’ve got kind of a kitchen-sink-and-all draft including every section that every book and website talks about. Everyone tells me contridicting things, so I can never tell what is right. I’m looking for something kind of generic that I can modify to fit the situation, as well as one to post on Craig’s list- usually I do a film one and a non-film one. Here’s what I’ve got for film. What should I take out? What do I keep? What did I fuck up entirely. And thanks for all the help so far. It’s really made a difference. I’ve been really nervous about this and I really appriciate you taking the time to help me here.

Oh yeah, where should I (if I) put computer skills? I’m extremely good at a few specialized programs, and computer saavy in general. If I do list computer skills, do I have to put that I know stuff like Words and Windows?

Can I really get away without putting dates? Is it a good idea? Is there a way I can do this without bullets, and I don’t want to risk formatting mistakes anywhere? Is “Trebuchet” too nonstandard of a font?

Even Sven
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 66666
(555) 555-1212
evensven@gimmework.com

Objective
Seeking a video production position with an independent production team looking for dedication and innovation.

Summery
Creative and enthusiastic recent film school graduate with experience in non-linear editing, film and theatrical lighting, camera operation, storyboarding, budgeting and directing short video productions. Especially skilled in running smooth, timely and well organized shoots with limited resources. Extremely reliable and always willing to go the extra mile to make every production something special. Seeking a fast-moving and challenging position with a team committed to excellence.

Selected Accomplishments
[ul]
[li]Received college honors and honors in the major in film and video production from University of California, Santa Cruz. Awarded the Florence French Scholarship for the Arts upon graduation.[/li][li]Produced, wrote, directed and edited several short digital video productions on limited budgets and short production schedules such as “Liquid Soap”, a narrative digital video with a wide variety of locations, professional actors, and elaborate costumes and “El Russo’s Grave”, an experimental historical documentary utilizing significant original research. [/li][li]Publicized “Life Gourd”, a stop-motion animated short screened at the Tower of Youth Film Festival.[/li][li]Recruited, hired and managed crews of up to ten people and two dozen actors.[/ul][/li]
Education
Bachelor of Arts; Film and Digital Media Production
College Honors and Major Honors
Florence French Scholarship for the Arts

Professional History
Front Desk Manager; Big Motel, Other Big Inn; Santa Cruz, CA 2004-2005[ul]
[li]Managed all motel staff and oversaw operations for consecutive twenty-four hour shifts of up to five days.[/li][li]Priced and sold rooms in person and over the telephone, consistently exceeding sales expectations.[/li][li]Developed and produced in-house local service guide distributed to several area motels. [/li][li]Increased customer satisfaction by drafting prompt written responses to complaints.[/li][li]Responded and resolved to all emergencies as sole managerial staff on duty. [/li][li]Trained in all aspects of motel management including accounting, sales, maintenance, marketing, corporate relations, and safety.[/ul][/li]Customer Service Representative and Active Seller; Big Video; Santa Cruz, CA 2002-2004[ul]
[li]Conducted up to five hundred cash transactions per a shift quickly and accurately.[/li][li]Exceeded sales expectations, helping our location to lead the district in promotional sales.[/li][li]Resolved customer complaints and diffused potentially violent situations.[/li][li]Reorganized merchandise areas and storage areas, leading to an increase in sales and efficiency.[/li][li]Represented my store in weekly district sales teleconferences and communicated district goals and programs to the management and staff.[/ul][/li]Editor and Researcher; Bob Nutjob, Author; Santa Cruz, CA 2003[ul]
[li]Synthesized the information found in several hundred pages of medical records to create a clear and precise record of events.[/li][li]Researched a piece of property in Connecticut by contacting local authorities, hiring and making travel arrangement’s for a soil analyst and drafting several informational maps.[/li][li]Edited several manuscripts for accuracy and content, often rearranging content and working intensively on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis.[/li][li]Arranged travel and events for the author. [/ul][/li]Carpenter; University of California, Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz, CA 1999[ul]
[li]Built theatrical sets and props for University Theatrical Productions.[/li]Worked with lighting designers and directors to set up lighting, sets, and seating in a variety of spaces.
[li]Designed and painted set pieces.[/li][li]Cleaned and maintained full carpenters’ shop and three theaters.[/ul][/li]Editor’s Assistant; Little Weekly Newspaper; Sacramento, CA 1997- 1999[ul]
[li]Worked with the Secretary of State’s public disclosure office to research political contributions in California.[/li][li]Recovered missing documents by thoroughly searching public records.[/li]Doubled data entry efficiency leading to a doubling of my salary.[/ul]

12

I gave your resume a quick read. I’ts a pretty good start and not nearly as awful as I thought it would be from your OP! However, you may want to experiment with a functional format. You’re non film stuff doesn’t make you look bad. However, it’s not immediately relevant to the position and the film stuff gets buried at the bottom.

Do get some examples of functional resumes and review them. A functional resume is more than just not including dates. It’s a format that categorizes things by skills rather than by job. I honestly don’t know if a functional resume would work better for you since I’m clueless about your field. Do you know anyone who does know your industry and can look over various formats for you?

Following are my immediate thoughts. (Bear in mind I have a raging headache tonight and I really didn’t look at it all that closely–so I’ve probably missed many things.)

Your accomplishments don’t look like BS to me. I would guess some of them aren’t all that relevant to your field (then again, I don’t know your field), so you may want to streamline them. However, don’t eliminate them entirely or feel insecure about them. They do help portray you as someone who has experience exceeding goals, working with difficult people, and handling a hectic environment. Again, a functional resume may help because you can remove some of the less significant stuff (like “Recovered missing documents by thoroughly searching public records.”–that one’s kind of meh to me) without leaving one position looking kind of empty.

Is “Active Seller” a job title? If not, even if you were active in selling, I wouldn’t list it as a position.

Don’t include things like “doubled my salary.” That was a great benefit for you but your resume should focus on the benefits to your employer.

Education should go at the end for everyone but current students.

Get a good proofreader. I know this was just an example, but you’ve got some stuff in there (like using the word “production” twice in one very short sentence) that jumps out at me.

Finallly, you’re going to get conflicting advice. People look for/like different things, and what may be the norm in your industry just isn’t done in another. For example, I don’t like including objectives in a resume. I think that’s what the cover letter is for. However, there are many, many people who will give you solid reasons for including the objective section. (So I don’t mind when people include it. I just never do in my own resume.)

13

I think it’s fair to say that you have a solid education but no experience (relevant to film anyway). Which is less than perfect, but not the end of the world. Since this is the case, I would strip all of the experience down to half their current content. What you keep, emphasize responsibility and accomplishment. (which you’ve already done a good job of).

Each of your accomplishments (Liquid Soap, El Russo’s Grave, Life Gourd, and the hiring stint) sound very good. I suspect that they are each school projects, but whether they are or not, if possible, I would fluff several (or all) of them up to look like an entire independent project you worked on, i.e. a job, even if it was a non-paying job where you were the boss. Any other relevant experiences you can think of would be good.

I’m in a completely different space from you, but for example if someone presented me a resume where they had a strong computer education, no experience, but they’d worked on several strong open-source projects or independent projects, I would view that candidate much stronger than one with only education. I’m sure it’s the same here. Anything you can do to emphasize real-world experience is key.

Over all, I’m impressed with the resume. You did the most important things, namely emphasized accomplishment, communicated clearly and were organized.

14

BTW… Others may disagree, but I don’t like these “functional resumes”. It’s rare I get one, but when I do, my first reaction is always “what the hell is this?” When I see one that’s interesting, the first thing I do is phone screen and find out what the missing information is, namely dates and what they were doing in the “holes” between relevant experience.

For me, at least, a functional resume screams out “I’m hiding something!”, and that’s a bad beginning to things.

I’m only speaking for myself of course.