Visual CV vs Regular CV?

Johnnynapalmsc

Hey guys,

So today I am sending out a bunch of applications to companies, and I was wondering if anyone has any inside info or just general knowledge how they look at visual CVs? Instead of making a regular one, I made one in PDF format as you can see in the picture attached, and I was wondering if I am better off making a standard CV with the same info? I want to make sure my CV catches the companies eye, but at the same time I don't want HR to toss it out, because it was hard to read or something along those lines. Some help would be appreciated.

Francois_K

I would probably just apply the K.I.S.S. Principle ( Keep it simple, stupid ) and go with a standard normal one. You could look up professional artists on their websites and see how they do their CV and compare it with yours , or copy the same flow or whichever.

The one thing that should catch the recruiters eye is the Art that you make, not the CV. 

JamesMeader

I agree with above, keep the artwork on the portfolio because usually that's going to be the first thing they'll be wanting to see I guess. Just looks messy having it under the info. 

Eric Chadwick

Yuck, just yuck. Sorry for being frank here. If you're a graphic designer it makes sense to showcase your solid design skills. Everyone else should just stay well away. We have some good advice about resumes here
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry#Resumes

Johnnynapalmsc

Thanks for the feedback guys, helped me to make my mind up about the resume style And it's good to be frank here, my chances on getting a job depend on feedback!

ZacD

You could put a thumbnail or logo, but keep everything else simple.

Kwramm

keep in mind that your resume will likely be printed out at various stages. We usually print resume in advance for everyone who attend the interview. Often we make notes too on the resume.
Things which are bad: we print your resume and get a grey-black mess from our laser printer. We can't find space to write notes (e.g. dark background), We get angry because we waste our toner.

We don't hire anyone because of the looks of the resume, but you get bonus points for a clean, professional and simple to follow layout. It makes our job easier, and we appreciate that.

Johnnynapalmsc

Ah that's awesome, really appreciate some inside info!

seth.

^^ all of the above. simple, linear, and well laid out on a plain background wins every time, I use the same theory for artwork shots. I'm not a fan of over-designed page templates to display art on in your folio. Keep it simple, keep it clean.

Also, if you are wanting to keep your identity under wraps while you get your cv up and running it might be be wise to remove your full name from your avatar.

ambershee

I'm a little late to this party, but since I've had to read a lot of CVs in recent months, here's my two cents:

Never, ever do a 'visual resume'. They go straight in the bin, if they even make it as far as a desk. When I'm looking through 20-30+ CVs, I need to do it quite quickly, which means I need to be able to get the information I want out of it by quickly reading it - too much visual clutter does nothing to help, and also since I'll be printing them in black and white, CVs like that one above really do not make a good impression. Bigger companies than mine will use automated software to pick out key phrases in your CV; they will fail if your CV is overly visual.

Save the art for the portfolio.

VelvetElvis

100% Clever, 0% hired. https://deardesignstudent.com/100-clever-0-hired-77b8ad81ff7#.kzfvfti10