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Hi, I've been trying to find work for almost 3 months now. I've submitted over 100 applications and counting and have yet to get even a single phone call. I've attached a version of my resume with all personal info removed. Is it me, or the job market? Does this thing need some heavy revision?
Thanks for any advice and please be harsh if you feel the need.
PS: Pay no attention to the occasional spacing error, I edited the thing in a hurry to take out the identifying info and I can assure you that I haven't been sending out my resume with missing or improper spaces :P
The professional summary is too long, it's a summary, not a cover letter.
You've job hopped. Seven jobs in nine years.
And the redundency in this makes my eyes hurt:
*Designed and created all marketing materials, including email campaigns, magazine advertisements, web advertisements, in-store signage, and full color annual product catalog.
*Worked in conjunction with vendors to implement online and print campaigns to showcase new products.
*Managed company e-commerce site design and product content.
*Managed in-house product photography and edited images for e-commerce.
*Headed up content management portion of internal systems migration for new e-commerce site in 2007, including the organization, resizing, and renaming of images as well as developing a categorization system for over 5,000 products.
*Produced promotional videos for various company services, products, and events.
*Designed and implemented weekly targeted e-mail campaigns to a base of over 25,000 customers.
*Project lead and layout/graphical designer of 2009 Bob’s Music print catalog. This 100-page catalog featured over 1,500 products and was shipped to 30,000 customers, resulting in a significant increase in sales. Project was completed in less than 7 weeks from concept to completion. Catalog PDF (13.6 MB): www.fakewebsite.com.catalog.pdf
You have no college education, not even some classes or a certificate. That's probably the biggest problem considering the type of work you're trying for.
Networking with other creatives in your area will help alot! It may seem counter-intuitive, as you are competing with them, but you'll find someone knows about an opening and suggests you. I've done it many times for others and they have returned the favor.
Keep in mind that tastes are subjective (you probably already know this) and your portfolio is key. I've had interviews where the employer was very insulting towards my work and others where the interviewer offered to purchase prints from me. An unfortunate reality with design work is that people "shop" you in an impersonal way. You might consider freelancing while looking for permanent work - just to fatten up your portfolio, put change in your pocket, and keep your skills fresh.
I would delete the year of the high school graduation and then delete the 2 tele-marketing jobs.
There is too much corporate-speak in the intro, esp the last sentence. Make that whole section shorter and with normal words. You can probably just use one sentence, too. It seems like you should be targerting smaller companies, like the music store, and they don't want to hear all that corporate gobbley-****.
I like your list of specific accomplishments, but I would try to make it less wordy.
Thanks! I'll take all of this into consideration. I've been trying to network with others in the area but this is sort of a rural region and I'm having trouble finding others in my line of work. I jumped around a lot, basically taking any job I could find until I managed to land the gig with the music company. They were actually a multi-million dollar e-commerce business. I got downsized out along with 14 other people when the economy took a turn and no one was buying $5000 instruments anymore. I was mostly a designer with that company, I wore many hats and ended up doing SQL, web coding, a lot of that stuff. I should probably just leave that stuff off since I'm not really looking for programming work and I'm not really all that qualified for it anyway...
You made only one reference to your work resulting in increased sales. This is key. Employers want you to make money for them. What you can do is not as important as the end result - making money. Lead off with, and highlight, anything you did that resulted in increased sales. Give $ figures or percentages.
And good luck to you. These are tough times for everyone.
If this is what you send out, then a few more pointers,
A cover letter, an objective, and reorganizing your resume.
Its way too wordy and jumbled. I've rearranged a few other people's online for them and they have been pleased with the outcome. If you would like, email it to me and I'll see if I can professional it up from a 3rd person point of view. PM me for my email if you want me to give it a try. If not, good luck anyway.
I would consider a functional resume, as opposed to a chronological one for you. You waste too much space on jobs that have little to do with what you are actually trying to accomplish now, so you might consider this other format. When I put my first functional resume together, I used this website.
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