To any designer writing a resume...

  1. Photoshop is one word, not two. The ‘s’ is not capitalized.

  2. QuarkXPress is one word. There is no ‘E.’ Both the ‘X’ and the ‘P’ are capitalized.

  3. Adobe is a company, not a program.

  4. In other instances, these mistakes are not a big deal. A resume is a different matter. What does it say about a person that they claim to use these programs on a regular basis yet are ignorant of what their names actually are? Are they lying or just sloppy? Can I trust either type with my important projects?

I think they are ignorant or sloppy. I never mess those up on MY resume! :smiley:

I don’t seriously.
You looking to fill a position? Need a resume? Mine doesn’t have these stupid errors . . .

Depends on whether the projects require proofreading. :slight_smile:

3 doesn’t mean much – lots of people refer to Acrobat as Adobe. Considering it’s called Adobe Acrobat, that’s not surprising and hardly an indicator of anything.

Actually, on version 6.0 for Windows, it’s just called “Adobe Reader,” although there is a picture of an acrobat.

That’s just the freeware software used to display PDF files. If you want to create/edit them, you use Adobe Acrobat, which is more up a designer’s alley I assume.

Well, I’d expect a designer, even if he doesn’t use them all, to be aware of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe GoLive. Many designers spend the majority of their working lives using a variety of Adobe products, and ought to be able to differentiate between them.

Having said that, in 15 years I think I’ve only known three designers who could spell reliably – and one of them’s me.

I agree. I use all but GoLive (I’m not a web designer, print media only here) and I always try to put Adobe before listing said programs. I even put Macromedia FreeHand on my resume. I just think it shows that you do use those programs on a regular basis. YMMV of course.

As far as the spelling goes, I see myself as pretty good and I always try to remember to run spellcheck or at least look over my work. Granted, I have one or two at most per project, but it’s mostly names, numbers, or grammatical issues that I don’t pick up from the customer (to, too, their, they’re, etc.). I’m really good about it myself, but I don’t always read everything a customer types. I’m working on that though!

There are really good designers out there. But I usually see two major types; the first is the really creative ones who think outside the box and have a lot of original artwork, then there are those like me who are more conservative with their work who can put the pieces together. Not that I’m not creative, I just prefer more simple designs and I like to get more direction from the customer.

That being said, I have to brag on myself quickly. I just completed a logo for our state IT department that they love and will be using in a lot of their printed and web material. It’s always nice to see your work being displayed. Every time I see something that I created, I get all happy about it. :smiley:

Absolutely. I galls me to no end to hear Acrobat called simply “Adobe”.

I know that, but apparently the company I’m applying to doesn’t. They want someone with good QuarkXpress skills. So when I give them my resume, should I use the correct spelling, or the one they think is correct?

You assume they mean Acrobat. Adobe publishes quite a few products for the creative industry. The average joe gets a free pass; not the designer.

Correct spelling. Always. Don’t presume the person reviewing the candidates is the same person that typed the listing.