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Part two: The layout and presentation of a technical theatre résumé
Part three: Presentation and delivery of a technical theatre résumé
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In The Limelight
Occasional tips and how-tos from the shop at Limelight Productions ®
Shelley's Guide to Technical Theatre Résumés: Part One
©2006 Steve Shelley
This is the first of a three part series.
 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.
Part two: The layout and presentation of a technical theatre résumé
Part three: Presentation and delivery of a technical theatre résumé
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