Is This the Coolest Student Journalist Resume Ever?

We think it is, but we don't know anything about design. This is Convergence Senior Chris Spurlock's resume, and it's the best resume for a student journalist we've ever seen. But like we said, we're not design-minded people, so we want to get the input of people who do know a thing or two about design. That's where you come in!

UPDATE: Chris Spurlock talks about how his life has changed since his resume went viral.

Read more...

 

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Comments

[Steven Finch]

05:20 AM on 03/22/2011

This is very cool. Its great to see he has just been hired by the Huffington Post

[ZKMC]

04:59 AM on 03/22/2011

This looks amazing, but I'm really disappointed that I'm unable to click on the folder tabs, circles, identifiers and color blocks to find out more information about each thing he has outlined.

[ribaker]

12:35 PM on 03/02/2011

Yes - this is a great resume! Remember, the purpose of the resume is to get you the interview. It needs to grab the employer's interest within the first 10-15 seconds they view it. Spurlock's resume does the trick.

However... I'm a career counselor at a top tier college in the US. And while I maintain that this is a great resume, I would not advise our students to go this direction. That's because not everyone has the talent to pull this off effectively. And while Spurlock created this great, creative and funky resume, the question still remains as to whether or not he can interview well, and will be the best candidate overall.

[Melissa Gilbert]

12:20 PM on 02/28/2011

This type of resume doesn't really say anything about the person himself... other than he has a lot of time on his hands and can use a computer program.... I think in this day and age that's a no brainer... try a 1 minute pitch of who you really are. And just because something go viral on the internet does not mean it's a good thing.

[HaltCruelty]

11:42 PM on 02/26/2011

I would drop the confusing bubble graph in the lower left corner. It may work as a first page of a resume to grab attention of a hiring manager. Hopefully, this is the front page of a resume that has more typical text content behind it. The text is necessary to provide details for situations in which applications are scored or for systems that electronically scan/search resumes.

[Opera Hen]

09:18 PM on 02/26/2011

This works great unless the person interviewing you is color-blind. My dad wouldn't be able to make heads of tales of this.

[OliveColored]

05:19 PM on 02/27/2011

I'm not color blind and there is no way I could tell which similar hue of blue is which.

Not to mention the fact that resumes are universally printed in B&W.

[justlw]

04:28 PM on 02/26/2011

As a quick-feed summary of Chris' professional background, this could be useful.

But if I were interviewing Chris, I would find this eye-catching at first, but unwieldy as a practical guide to what I should discuss with him. In fact, the first thing I would do is ask him, "Great, but do you have a text version of this?"

This would actually be the make-or-break moment in the interview: I'd give him a major up-check if he immediately whipped out a standard-format résumé, and a major down-check if he gave me a blank -- or even worse, a contemptuous -- stare.

Because this is a key point: *different people process information in different ways*. And if you don't accommodate for this, or at the very least recognize this, you cannot be an effective communicator.

...and as many have said, in a lot of organizations I'd never see this, because the job application process routes through the HR department, which is practically by definition filled with people who process information linearly. The screeners there are looking to see if your résumé matches the requirements in the job description. This layout turns that task into an Easter egg hunt, and they are likely to not be appreciative of the additional work this entails.

[John McDermott]

08:57 AM on 02/26/2011

All it's missing is a "you are here" arrow.

[phTEST]

08:43 AM on 02/26/2011

I made a timeline resume in 2002 and thought it was too gimmicky. People are so easily impressed with visuals. mschrantz here is right. To be skilled in information display is to be trained in information science and a great deal of literature, research and methods from the fields of information visualization and data visualization. In fact, if you don't know the difference between the two, then you aren't qualified to do either.

[mschrantz]

01:16 AM on 02/26/2011

This has been done — many times over. Michael Anderson's resume is nearly identical to the top half of this one and has been circulating the Internet for some time. For those that think this is they way to get an infographics position, you are sorely mistaken. This has nothing to do with infographics. There is no data in this resume — not one quantifiable element. But, like Michael Anderson's before this, throw enough color and shapes on a page and someone is bound to think it's OK.

[Aaron Pozdol]

02:53 AM on 02/26/2011

I think his job history is quantifiably demonstrated, if not particularly clear. And gosh gee whiz my goodness it sure is purty!

[justlw]

03:42 PM on 02/26/2011

"not one quantifiab­le element"

That's not entirely true; we know the length of time he held each position.

And, we also know that the position of "campus tour guide" has a higher quantity of Y-axis-y stuff than, say, the position of "summer welcome leader."

And that he spends more time tweeting than he does writing code -- and has more skill at the former than the latter.

So if I'm looking for a Kenneth with an awesome Facebook page, I've found my candidate!

[noway lv]

12:15 AM on 02/26/2011

Definitely not color blind friendly . . .

[Arrive2 net]

10:47 PM on 02/25/2011

I think this resume would be good for the creative-type job Spurlock is probably looking for, provided the hiring manager is looking at it and not HR. HR will likely be looking for the info needed to compare Mr. Spurlock's qualification with the minimum requirements, and for comparison with the resumes of other candidates. If the format of the resume doesn't help HR do that, or if it takes a lot of extra work, that would make Mr. Spurlock a good candidate for elimination...saving HR a lot of time on trying to put the x's back in the boxes. A resume like that might help get Spurlock a great job (especially with the help of the Huffington Post) but perhaps not a quick job. Considering how many regular, conventional resumes don't get interviews or jobs anyway, it seems unlikely that creating a resume like that would do much harm. The secret to the kind of job Spurlock probably wants may be standing out...which that resume sure does.

Bernard Schuster
Arrive2.net
Twitter.com/arrive2_net

[lifeisbrand]

09:48 PM on 02/25/2011

This has been done (some might say better?):
http://bit.ly/d0KOh2
http://bit.ly/aDR6jg
http://bit.ly/Sa30K
http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2010/1/8/16-infographic-resumes-a-visual-trend.html

[gennarogama]

09:13 PM on 02/25/2011

WELL, to those commenting about age, I am nearly 50 and I love it. The courage to think and act outside the box are the main characteristics innovative companies look for in their hires... the guy is taking a risk and conveying a precise and complete message in 1/2 page! YOU ARE HIRED!

[Simone Cannon]

09:01 PM on 02/25/2011

Yep, definitely the most original resume ever...wow! He should be hired for sheer creativity.