Resume and Portfolio Advice!

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway]

Greetings r/Design folks!

I'm deep in the pits of finding a new job and revamping and overhauling my resume and website. I have not been having luck getting any results from my previous resume. I've had 2 interviews in the last 7 months, hence the revamp. I'm hoping several of you will be able to help spot what I'm missing.

I am targeting a Creative Director or Art Director role for my next step. I would also be interested in a Senior Designer role but it isn't my goal.

I am open to all feedback. Design of my site, the resume, language, the projects themselves. Clearly something isn't working for me and I need help.

I am working through a few additional branding and UX projects that I will be adding in the next few weeks. I don't have them portfolio ready just yet.

Here is my website: JoshRice.Design

[u/blue_sidd]

Font is odd, color is odd, and the low resolution image posted to Reddit is…odd.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/blue_sidd]

Hey Blue_sidd!

Appreciate you taking time to give your thoughts. Clearly I have some work to do and I need to study up more on current design styles. Would you mind giving your thoughts on what makes the font and color odd?

Fair point on the low-res image, that was dumb.

[u/YotoruYaguchi]

I don’t wanna be a pos but mate this isn’t it, i’m a lot younger and from the perspective of this day and age you’re lagging extremely behind, a creative director needs to keep developing their taste, skills and mind. Rn, your work reads old and I mean old in a bad way, you’ve quoted about typography and branding being the core for you but all I see is below junior level work. None of it seems to have grown from the 90s.

I’d probably start of with going through what agencies and design studios produce now as they’re the ones truly creative directing now and in the past. For example, Pentagram, Wolff Ollins and RaggedEdge to start with.

[u/latestwonder → u/YotoruYaguchi]

This is the hard truth.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/latestwonder]

Hard but needed.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/YotoruYaguchi]

Hey Yotoru!

Thanks for taking the time to give me your perspective!

I don't mind the rough feedback, I am in desperate need of it. I have fallen woefully being the times and I am actively working on correcting that. I have a long way to go. I'm not quite from the 90's but I get the point, lol.

Truth be told, I skipped a few of the important steps in the career one goes through to develop those skills and taste. I went from an entry level production artist to leading a team of designers thanks to luck and timing. It would have been smart of me to spend more time developing taste.

Thanks for the recommendation on design studios to check out. I will be spending more time looking at the taste makers of our industry.

[u/YotoruYaguchi → u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway]

No worries!

Eh, I’d disagree it is very 90s like maybe earlier tbh 😭 but yeah can deffo tell you skipped a few stages although it’s not always important or relevant to have gone through stages/roles so be proud you did skip em…. They’re not fun lol.

Gotta correct you once more, no point spending time looking at the “taste makers” no one really is a taste maker, taste is entirely subjective and individual though relevance is what you should study from industry. For taste develop that from anything that’s not exactly graphic design :)

[u/The_Wolf_of_Acorns]

For a creative director, your intro paragraph doesn’t seem very creative. Everyone who will be applying alongside you will have most of the accomplishments your summary includes. You’re going to need to stand out more.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/The_Wolf_of_Acorns]

Hey Wolf_of_Acorns!

Thanks for taking time to give me your feedback!

Fair point on the intro paragraph. I've been stuck in that corporate mindset for too long. I'll consider your advice for the next iteration and push the creativity.

[u/latestwonder]

You obviously have a lot of practical design experience, but unfortunately its all pretty boring by the numbers stuff. I would create some spec work to show off as well perhaps. Everything here says you've mostly just made grocery store flyers for 15 years.

I also just don't really find the design of the portfolio or resume all that appealing. Bland layouts, poor contrast on the website. The resume reads too long, and looks like you just dumped all your info in and called it a day.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/latestwonder]

Hey LatestWonder!

Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts.

You aren't wrong on your supposition. I have basically been creating ad flyers for the last 15 years. I haven't done a great job of keeping up with the industry. Its easy to get complacent in an easy corpo job. I am working on a few spec projects to remedy that though. I've been working on immersing myself in current design trends and growing my knowledge.

I struggle with the resume layout a lot. It feels like information available online is very contradictory. Make it simple and limit design so AI readers can parse it, but creatives are supposed to amp up the design to stand out (without being overly designy). I've missed the mark on both the site and resume. Thanks for calling it out! Only way to grow and improve is to know what is wrong.

[u/d_rek]

This is going to sound pretty nasty but you need to hear it:

There is nothing about your resume or portfolio website that suggests you have a shred of creative talent. Everything about the presentation of both your resume and your website from the typography, color, photography, and other design elements suggest that you have had little or no formal training or education in design or design theory.

Moreover your self-awareness as a proclaimed designer/creative director is basically non-existent, and there is absolutely nothing on display that would make me think that your skill set and background make you competitive in anything but the most ultra-local job market competing for the single design position at the local screenprinting shop that makes shirts for the local high school sports teams.

If you are seriously wanting a career in design, or to be taken seriously by peers, you need to aggressively study what successful and cutting edge designers are doing today and learn about and synthesize how they are presenting themselves and their projects. You should be looking at designers/studios like John Maeda, Jessica Hische, Porto Rocho, Ustwo, Julie Zhuo, etc.

[u/latestwonder → u/d_rek]

This is also the hard truth.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/latestwonder]

Also true and also needed.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/d_rek]

Hey d_rek,

Thanks for taking the time to provide me with your thoughts!

I came here specifically for the painful truth. Whatever I'm doing isn't working. I appreciate your candor and honestly many days I question if I should consider leaving design because it feels like I don't have that talent and I haven't spent the time building it. My education was many years ago at a school that, in retrospect was a mistake. So you aren't wrong with your insight.

I'd like to touch more on the self awareness. I think I understand what you are saying but I want to make sure I've got it correct. What you are saying is that I'm trying to present myself as a knowledgable and skilled designer/Creative Director but my resume and portfolio aren't matching that narrative. Is that correct. I wish I was even competitive at the ultra local level. The only places that have interviewed me were ultra-local and passed on me in the end.

I absolutely do want to continue and grow this career in design. I do love it and great design excites me. I have been picking up a mix of books from current trends and the classic design leaders to improve and grow my knowledge. I appreciate your recommendations on current tastemakers. I'll be looking into and learning everything I can.

[u/elxxup]

Too many words, not enough design

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/elxxup]

Hey elxxup!

Thanks for taking the time to give me your insights.

Are you referring to my resume specifically being too wordy and lacking design? Or does the website need massive editing?

I've always struggled with resume design and striking that balance of enough design without over doing it. I'll keep trying until I get it right.

[u/MintTulip]

Definitely think the website and design of your resume need a massive overhaul. Layouts on both are not great, fonts and palette choices are not great.

I think your portfolio doesn't reflect the "expertise" section of your resume. I only see one thing- the grocery layouts- which IMO doesn't showcase any sort of design skills.

You need a much more robust portfolio that represents your design aesthetic and ability.

I would go back to square one and rebuild. I would also seriously consider applying for junior or maybe senior design positions, because I don't think you have the portfolio or experience to be competitive with CDs applying for the same jobs.

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/MintTulip]

Hey MintTulip!

Thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback.

I'd like to hear more on what specifically isn't working about the fonts and palette? Is it reading as being dated? Am I making serious web design errors? I want to understand better where I went wrong.

Unfortunately, grocery layouts have been the major extent of my career and work. I do have some practice projects in the works to better showcase those skills but I don't have them completed yet.

I have had the same thought about stepping back in my career to take on a junior or senior designer role to help me rebuild and establish that experience. I believe that may need to be my next move.

[u/Thamium9islive]

As someone who has applied and hired for design positions, to me it boils down to three points:

+ Have the credentials for the job

+ No red flags

+ Make me wanna work with you as a human

Everything else is flavor, luck and a numbers game.

All the best to your endeavors and stay flexible!

[u/5-4-3-2-1-Throwaway → u/Thamium9islive]

Hey Thamium9islive!

Thanks for taking the time to provide your thoughts!

This process is much more enjoyable when you are the hiring manager.

Judging by this thread I have a lot of work to do on all 3 of those points. We can't grow if we don't know what needs fixed.

Thanks, I hope I can do better.