Slideshare of the Day: Start-up of You

This week in Professional Communication and Presentation, we’ve been discussing the visual resume project. A visual resume can be a great addition to your online portfolio. As wel learned during yesterday’s mini-discussion, it can also be an amazing way to blend the print resume with the digital form, as Victor Petit does in his QR code visual resume:

QR CODE – Content-rich Resume from Victor petit on Vimeo.

But, before one can develop an amazing and unique approach to the visual resume (one benefit to the rise in this approach is the plethora of good examples out there, but a detriment is that it’s now a bit more difficult to set oneself apart), one must know what one wants to convey to the target audience of the visual resume, whether it is a client, company, or collaborator. Students often struggle the most with this aspect of resume building due to anxiety over perceived or actual inexperience. However, young people are not alone in this–all of us must deal with the anxiety of knowing just who and what we are as professionals. I am lucky enough to have a career that is also my bliss, but that doesn’t mean that just like my students, I don’t struggle with finding my place as a professional.

This is where Top Presentation of the Day, Start-up of You by Co-founder and Chairman of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman comes in. Having just uploaded a successful 110-slide presentation, I had to check out this mega deck–I am happy I did. I haven’t made enough use of LinkedIn, and after perusing this immersive deck, I don’t know why. This summary of the book Start-up of You poses a very simple idea–that all of us need to think like entrepreneurs–not just those who function in that same role. Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha firmly believe that our success as professionals depends on recapturing and maximizing entrepreneurship–of our own careers. I have added the book to my Nook list of reads, and you should too. But in the meantime, if you haven’t already, check out the excellent deck below:

Sneak Peek: Tweak your Resume

One of my favorite parts of teaching visual design is the visual resume project. While my visual resume continues to be a source of frustration for me (I recently ditched the old one completely and started from scratch), I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned about this dynamic form of professional persona building. This afternoon, I will be holding a GoTo Training for my online students as they prepare to submit their visual resumes. In preparation, the students study among other resources, Jesse Dee’s Really Ugly Resumes, Emiland’s How I Landed a Job with Slideshare, and my deck, Visualizing Resumes.

For this session, I want to draw attention to the examples they already have on hand and take this opportunity to rework my original deck on visual resumes. So, I have developed a new set of slides for this mini-workshop that I hope to continue building on and developing. Here is a sneak peek of my new approach to teaching visual resumes, Tweak Your Resume:

 

Update: I’ve made a few changes based on some critique. On my way!

 

What are your thoughts? I am not sold on the color scheme so far, but I am enjoying the process of laying out my type in a different way!

November’s Outstanding Visual Resume

In an effort to promote the benefits of the visual resume as a worthy project for professionals in any field to take on (remember, this doesn’t and shouldn’t replace an actual resume), I am going to showcase a super student visual resume example each month. This month’s selection comes from Nick Weymouth, a student in this month’s Professional Communication and Presentation course. Nick does an impeccable job of designing this deck, and he conveys his story and unique point of view as a professional.

As I work to refine this project in the course, which began as a self-reflection project on the student’s month-long journey into public speaking, I look to find ways to adapt the approach to different professions. I am cooking up a survey to help me answer some core questions about the practical usability and adaptability of the project. So far, a few questions to consider are:

What has the response to your visual resume been so far? Do you feel the project represents you? What is the best means of delivering a visual resume? How much is too much in a visual resume? Is a movie stronger than a deck of slides?

I leave you with Visualizing Resumes 2.0, a work in progress deck I use in a visual resume workshop for teachers.

Do you have a visual resume? If not, what would your visual resume include?

Visualizing Resumes 2.0

In between writing irate blog posts about the nature of inspiration vs. imitation in visual design, grading, attending workshops, attending final project, and attempting a few hours of exercise and life, I’ve found the time to update my deck on Visual Resumes. I am very proud of this new draft, having added stronger typefaces, cleaner overall unity, and integration of quoted material. This deck also features examples from two former superstudents, Crysta Timmerman and Spencer House. Give them a bit of love and check out their awesome takes on the visual resume approach.

 

Love the Visual Resume–Seriously!

Today’s deck comes from my favorite superteacher, Alex Rister. The visual resume began as a fun side project for me and then became a mission–help my students create a more dynamic picture of their qualities as professionals online. In teaching the visual resume, I draw inspiration from the success of others, namely David Crandall and Alex Rister. Both of these individuals have successful visual resumes.

1. She uses story to convey her unique perspective

Alex tells audiences the story of how she found her calling as communications guru and public speaking teacher. Instead of just starting with “I was born…” she begins with a bigger idea–innovation, and then illustrates how she is part of this new age of innovation.

2. She designs unified visuals

Alex uses color, type, shape, and alignment to create something that is uniquely hers. Alex’s use of pink against the vintage images is classy yet whimsical. Her choice of Komika Axis speaks to her personality–this is Alex’s signature typeface.

3. Her visual resume does more than what any traditional resume can do

Alex uses this medium to highlight not only her extensive leadership and teaching experience and professional work as an educator, but also as a means of sharing her ideas on communication, work, and the world at large.

Check out Alex Rister’s visual resume, as well as her other amazing deck (which is a required reading in our Professional Communication and Presentation course), Seven Deadly Sins of Visual Design.