By Rafal Czapski

Part of my job, and one I’m really passionate about, is finding the right people to join our design team. This involves decoding resumes and navigating portfolios with the hope of finding a unicorn, or at least someone who knows what they are doing.

It’s more than just checking a box. Finding the right person is time intensive — and how you present yourself should be just as intensive, if not more so.

The Resume

It’s worth spending some time here because your resume is so critical. A meaningful first impression, a golden ticket, love at first sight. This is your one chance to really make a connection. It is a tall order, but you can do it. For some inspiration, let’s take a journey back in time and look at the history of the resume. According to Wikipedia, the word resume means “summary.” Surprisingly, it has ties to what many have argued to be the granddaddy of Art and Design, Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, THAT da Vinci. Wiki notes that Leo was sending these out to potential employers from about 1481–1482. I wonder if he had to deliver a couple dozen of them before landing that interview with the Sistine Chapel hiring manager?

Sweat the Small Stuff

For the love of (insert whomever you worship here), do not send a Word doc. Most hiring professionals I know will automatically see this as a candidate who put in little effort and surly send them to the back of the pile. The ones that make the short list are pdfs that print and render nicely on any screen. Recent trends have candidates link work samples, sites, and other artifacts in their pdfs. Keep in mind that your resume will most likely be printed as well so if you are doing magic tricks with it, make sure it also stands on its own. I have also seen a reduction in personal statements in the resume. Those sit more appropriately on the portfolio site and provide an added benefit of saving more space on the page to show your skills.

Other things to be mindful of:

Padding and line spacing

Spelling and Grammar

Gaps in work (if you do have gaps, be ready to explain them)

Use of industry keywords (some HR systems flag these words as a sorting method)

Include link to your portfolio

Thoughts on Titles

Are you a “detail oriented, multidisciplinary, disruptive, team player who strategizes synergy across the enterprise while collaboratively working with key stakeholders to provide solutions”? Not interested, red flag, pass. No one speaks this way in the real world. I’d rather your say, “I worked with Visual designers on idea x and came up with y because the importance of the CTA needed to be stronger.” Or, tell me about how in the process of creating a wearable, you actually went to a machine shop and worked with someone to build a working prototype. No access to a machine shop, no problem. Include the paper prototype you used in the conversation with stakeholders to better sell your vision. Be genuine in who you are and selective about what you show. Be true to your role and what your responsibility was on a project. Behind great work are teams of talented individuals. Which individual were you?

The Portfolio

Your work is a reflection of, your work. The successful portfolios are the ones that tell a good story. They are able to present a problem and articulate how that problem was analyzed and executed on. It’s so much more than the end product. With that said, it’s harder to demonstrate an idea than a final result. But, it may be helpful to think about the process just like any good story. Who were the main characters and what was their role in your design? Was there a particularly difficult product owner? Was there a really strict legal requirement that you had to consider? These are the things we all deal with at some point throughout our careers, it is important to know how you, as a candidate, think about them.

Artifacts

Artifacts are key for story telling — they’re supporting pieces that show you really understood the problem. Use photos from brainstorming sessions or whiteboard meetings. Did you run a design sprint? How about that napkin you drew on at 2am? Show that too. Think back to when you were in grade school…still thinking? OK, remember in math class when your teacher asked you to show your work? That’s what I want to see. Good, bad, right, wrong — show me the thought process. This is a great opportunity for us to dive deeper into your work.

Platform

If you want to show off your coding chops, great, but make sure the end result is something you’re proud of. For those coding newbies (myself included), there are a lot of great tools that come with templates you can use. Behance, Wordpress, Coroflot all have fantastic options for showing off the goods. Put in the work — it won’t go unnoticed. .

A Final Note

Your personal brand is a collection of many things. Choose wisely and, perhaps the most important thing — show passion. There will be an opportunity waiting for you on the other end when you do.