Shelley's Guide to Technical Theatre Résumés (© Steve Shelley)

General Guidelines | Layout/Presentation of a Technical Theatre Résumé | Presentation and Delivery

General Résumé Notes and Rules

The summer's almost over! For many, this time of year is the time to think about class loads and winter break. For students in technical theatre, however, the end of summer is a reflexive time to think about writing or updating résumés for next year's winter and summer jobs.

Actually, updating your résumé should be a constant year round habit. Student or professional, you never know when the résumé request will be made at the drop of a hat. Regardless, the fall is the perfect time to blow the dust off the résumé and have it ready for any inquiries in the fall.

Most technical theatre résumés use a presentational format classified as a Chronological Résumé. They list different position categories sorted by the most recent first. Another class of résumé is a Functional Position Résumé. It provides a short description about different jobs or situations, rather than positions on individual shows. Though that second form is not typically employed in younger résumés, so that won't be discussed here. Also, due to the fact that almost all of the résumés I see are related to scenic and lighting, I've no doubt unintentionally excluded skills applicable to other technical departments. No slight is intended.

Over the years, conventions have developed specific to technical theatre résumés. The following are notes, rules, observations, and recommendations regarding the purpose or construction of a résumé. Though they're not absolutes, in my experience as both applicant and employer, they're guidelines worth consideration.

Notes:

• The point of a résumé is to get you work. As such, it's the primary document to show potential employers your experience, your knowledge, and what sets you apart from the other twenty applicants.
  
• Not only is the résumé representative of your work, it's also the clue for the employer to find someone else that has worked with you. Supervisory names are as important as the jobs or shows.
  
• The résumé is the primary document that represents you. It may be the introductory document sent ahead before a physical interview, the primary referral document during the interview, or the reference document once the interview has concluded.
  
• Given that employers typically screen résumés in a time span between 2.5 and 20 seconds, your résumé needs to show your strengths, goals, and contacts at a glance. The objective of your résumé layout must be simple, clean, and clear so it can be easily read.

Rules:

• Cover letter: If a résumé is being mailed, faxed, or emailed to someone you don't know, its common courtesy to also provide a cover letter. For that matter, it's common practice that some kind of note accompanies any résumé, regardless of the familiarity between the sender and recipient.
  
• One page or two? While an argument can be made that more than one page allows the writer to provide more description, professional recruiters respond that important information can be buried and it encourages "fluff". When they see two pages, they won't read it. Listen to the pros. Consolidate, cut, or take whatever means to abide by this rule. If you need more than one page to sell yourself, it may instead show you don't know how to sell yourself. From a practical standpoint, when the two-page résumé is faxed and one page is lost, so is the job. If you absolutely have to have two pages, then my opinion is to have it on front and back. Eliminate the staple, and make certain the paper is thick enough that text can't bleed through.
  
• One résumé per specialty; If you're a designer and a technician, then make two résumés, one for design, one for tech. The design résumé can mention the tech in the "related skills" category. And vice versa, the tech résumé can mention the design. But several lines of shows and jobs from one discipline should not appear in the second discipline's résumé. Combo résumés come off as "I just graduated, need a job, will do anything".
  
• Proofread carefully. Spell-check all names, organizations, locations, and products. When I discover misspellings on a résumé, it makes me reconsider the applicant's skills, rather than reading the résumé. If that person can't edit or double check, do I really want him or her working for me?
  
• If you're not a writer, have someone else edit your résumé for grammar.
  
• Double-check accuracy for all contact info; emails, addresses, and phone numbers. When I examine several résumés, I look for information about the candidate. What I don't need is to waste my time gathering the information. When I try to call a reference number and discover I've been provided a wrong number, that person's résumé heads for the trash.
  
• Don't lie on your résumé. Don't take credit for a job you didn't do. If you're the assistant or the associate, state that fact. If there was a listed designer who slept through rehearsals, and you lit the show, it's still not kosher to list yourself as the lighting designer. This is a very small business, and people either know who has done what, or know other people that were involved with that production. You will be found out.
  
• Don't duplicate your résumé on highly colored or patterned paper. It looks bad after being faxed. Patterned backgrounds can also mean something completely different than what the applicant may have in mind. I once received a résumé printed onto textured paper that had the appearance of crumpled up paper. Though the applicant might have used it to imply resiliency, I took one glance, interpreted it as lack of self-esteem, and re-crumpled it into the circular file.

Layout and Presentation of a Technical Theatre Résumé

Vertical sort order

The English eye reads top to bottom, and left to right. So the most important information is listed at the top and to the left hand side of the page. A typical vertical sort order of categories in order of priority typically reads: Header, jobs, computer skills, related skills, education, and references (if included). Here are thoughts regarding each of these categories:

Header

• Your name is at the top of the page (not your contact information.)
  
• Your name should be the most important (largest or bold) text on the page. That way, when several résumés are spread out adjacent to each other, yours is readily identifiable.
  
• Your title (your best strength, or what this resume is selling you as) should be adjacent or under your name.
  
• Always check that your contact information is accurate. In these cautious days, it's now recommended to restrict "contact information" solely to your email address and a contact phone number. As an interviewer, I won't snail mail you anything until I interview you. It's one less opportunity to leave your address on a document that anyone can see.
  
• Items to EXclude in a header: your height, weight, age, date or place of birth, marital status, sex, ethnicity/race, health, or social security number.

Jobs

• Group the jobs on your résumé in positions, starting with your strength, or what you're selling yourself as. For example, if your résumé title is Scenic Designer, then the first position list includes the shows that you designed the scenery. The second category is then those shows that you acted as the Associate or the Assistant Scenic Designer. The third would be Scenic Artist, and so on.
  
• In each group, list your jobs in reverse chronological order (most recent first.)
  
• Typically, each job is listed as a single horizontal row. Since the English eye reads left to right, the most important information is on the left. Most often it's the show's name, some of which (hopefully) the reader will recognize. A typical horizontal sort order, in order of importance, is as follows:
  
  • Show name
  • Your immediate supervisor
  • Producing organization or venue name
  • Venue location; city and state
  • Year the show was produced (month not required)

Job List Layout

These rows of information should be tabulated, creating columns that make it easier to read. Typically each column has a heading (for identification) and is aligned to the left. Establishing these visual columns allow for easy vertical comparison between rows.

Job Supervisors

Although every category for each of these jobs is important, the "supervisor" column eventually attracts the most attention. In this little business, it's not just what you know but whom you know. Every job that you've done, you've worked with other people. And, like it or not, those people will have some bearing on your future employment.

For example, when I scan a résumé, I initially check position titles, shows, and venues. If I'm interested, though, I scan the résumé a second time looking for some name I recognize who might provide an opinion about you and your work. If you don't list your references, or if I don't know them, listing each job's supervisor is your opportunity to provide me with another name that might be used as a common contact.

It's important that these names are your immediate supervisor, who worked with and oversaw your performance over the course of the production. If you were the designer, list the name of the director or producer. If you were a crew head, list the name of the designer or the production manager. If you were a technician, then list the crew head. Using this formula, if you were the electrician but rarely interacted with the lighting designer, then don't list the lighting designer.

Finally, if you didn't get along with your supervisor, then consider an alternate name. And if it was a really bad experience, consider not listing that job at all.

Computer Skills

Lately, it seems, young résumé writers have decided that their computer skills are no longer worth mentioning. Not only are these skills an indication of knowledge and experience, their inclusion is often critical to be considered for many positions. Brief examples of computer skills and applications to include:

• Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
  
• CAD and database applications: AutoCAD, VectorWorks, LightWright
  
• Visualization programs: WYSIWYG, ESP Vision, etc.
  
• Digital editing programs: Final Cut Pro, iMovie.
  
• Offline editors: ETC, High End, Strand, or A.C.T.
  
• Theatrical-adopted applications; Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Publisher, Quark, Outlook, Calendar Creator, etc.
  
• Console experience: ETC, Strand, High End, Mazzyx, GrandMA.

Some folks add distinctions such as "familiar with", "experienced", or "expert" when listing applications or computer skills. Be careful--the "expert" label should not be used lightly, and what you may think "expert" the interviewer who beta-tested the code may think otherwise.

Likewise, don't claim skills you don't really have. If you're forced to admit that you're not as VectorWorks-saavy in the interview as you claimed to be on the résumé, your stock will slip a notch, and your character will also become suspect.

Related Skills

• Additional skills that might single you out and make you more employable in your area of expertise: Ability to read music, musical training and/or instruments, dance training, languages, CDL license, model making, mask making, first aid, house management, specialty certifications (CDL, CPR, scuba, welding, etc.)
  
• Even if they're great strengths for you, don't mention skills you don't want to possibly "get stuck" doing. Why describe how great your prop-making skills are if you don't want to make props?
  
• Don't include irrelevant hobbies or other filler. Some advocate that hobbies can be interview conversation starters, or that they make you seem well-rounded, but I have found that rarely to be the case. Consider the hobby's relevance before you include it.

Education

Like the position groups, education is listed in reverse chronological order. Again, the information is provided in the order of importance to the reader:

• Name of degree in name of major
  
• Name of university
  
• City/state of university
  
• Graduation year

If you have room you may include a line underneath with peripheral information, such as minor and GPA. If you haven't graduated yet, list your anticipated graduation year.

References

• Many advocate that list references should not be listed on your résumé. References belong in a later stage of the job search. There may be different references for different job applications. In that scenario, keep references on a separate sheet and provide them only when they are specifically requested.
  
• When references are provided, choose wisely. You don't need someone who thinks you're popular. You need people who have overseen your work and can honestly critique it. Ideally they have seen your work in a difficult situation, one in which you successfully met the challenge.
  
• Likewise, when choosing references, it's common courtesy to request permission from the person whose name you wish to use. Who knows, they may choose to decline for that title or job application. If nothing else, at least notify the person whose name you plan to use, so that they're not completely caught off guard when they're put on the spot to provide a reference for you.
  
• When references are provided, only the name, title, phone number, and email needs to be listed. Save the vertical space. If documents need to be mailed, an introductory phone call will be made first anyway.
  
• Spell-check the reference's name. Double-check contact information (phone, fax, email) for each reference. Otherwise the potential employer will grow weary trying to speak to a reference after being forwarded to the third number.
  
• When the reference-equipped résumé is sent out to specific job applications, alert your references that they may be contacted by these potential employers. Provide a list of all potential employers, contact names, positions, and dates so that your ref's are prepared to act in your behalf, instead of backpedaling while they attempt to act in your stead. Provide them with the preparation tools to help you look good.
  
• Realize that the phrase "References available upon request" is presumed. It's a given that you'd provide references upon request. If you couldn't, then you have no business looking for a job. The line often serves the purpose of signaling: "This is the end of my résumé," If you're trying to conserve space, though, leave it off.

Presentation and Delivery of A Résumé

Email Rules

• Don't include your résumé in the body of an email. All formatting is lost, and you look like a newbie.
  
• When attaching your résumé to an email, convert it to a PDF file. That way it can't easily be changed without your knowledge. As important, the "look" of the special font, which may only exist on your hard drive, will be included.
  
• Title your résumé document with your name, not just "resume. PDF". On the average, I receive five emailed résumés a week. When they're all titled "resume. PDF", I then have to open them, read each name, and re-title them.
  
• When you begin your professional career, get an email address that is professional, like your name. Not FluffyBunny@cutsiepooh.org .

Cover Letter

• Address the letter to the person that's doing the hiring. If you don't know who that is, do the research. Much better than "To Whom It May Concern." Check their title (Mr., Ms., Mrs., etc.) and the spelling of their name.
  
• Write in your own words; don't copy and paste from a form. Potential employers are looking for knowledge, enthusiasm, focus, and commitment.
  
• Check the spelling for the hiring organization. Research the organization so that you can make a statement that shows you're not just responding to an ad.
  
• The cover letter should be one page. Three or four brief paragraphs;
  
  • First Paragraph: Answer the reader's question, "Why am I reading this?" Note any connection between you and the reader "Patrick suggested that I contact you regarding." Note the job you're applying for.
    
  • Second and Third Paragraphs: Describe yourself, noting your strengths and skills and how they would apply to the position you're seeking. Highlight a relevant job or an experience that tested your abilities (and how you met the challenge.)
    
  • Rather than "I will wait for your call", indicate that you'll be calling/emailing to check on the status of your application, or to arrange a meeting (if that's appropriate.)

Shelley Observations

Sometimes it seems like résumé writing and updating never ends. Update one, create a new one, and so on. Résumé-writing in itself is a skill that is developed and refined over an entire career.

Remember too that the résumé is not only a tool representing you; it can often be used as a conversation starter. When it's appropriate, talk to potential employers and ask them to critique your résumé. You'll no doubt discover other methods and opinions about résumés that may be more suited to you. In addition to that, you'll also spend more relaxed time with potential employers.

At the beginning of your career, you'll never have enough text to fill the page. There will always be the temptation to include everything possible in order to visually fill the space on the page. Don't give in to this inclination. Just present yourself and your work in a clear, concise layout. The fact that your résumé isn't filled with unnecessary bulk may help you stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Finally, though it's frustrating to constantly rewrite your résumé while you look for jobs, keep in mind that no one is irreplaceable. We all have to rewrite our résumés and keep them current, because eventually, we all need them again.

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About The Author

Steven L. Shelley has designed lights, production managed, and toured for over 40 years. He is the designer of the plastic Field Templates™ and the VectorWorks® toolkit SoftSymbols™, available at www.fieldtemplate.com. He is author of A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting. He can be reached by email at shelley@fieldtemplate.com.

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