Why this page exists…

I get a lot of resumes every year, and the good ones rise to the top… not because they are superb, but because there are so many bad resumes. After years of combing through hundreds of bad resumes, I am finally writing a guide so that anyone who wants to can get better.

This is not the be-all-end-all resume skills page. In fact, there may be people who disagree with some of my advice. However, if you’re having the debate about how to dot-your-i’s and cross-your-t’s, than this guide isn’t really for you. It is really for the people who do not know where to start and those who either have not gotten any advice, or who have not gotten advice from a lot of people. This equates to about half the resumes I get.

Please note, this guide is for people applying for jobs and internships in Technical Theatre. While a lot of these rules apply to other industries, I can not vouch for what people in other industries are looking for. I can not even really vouch for what people in this industry are looking for because everyone is looking for something different, however, if you do the things below, you’ll be better than a lot of people who apply. Also note, my focus is Lighting, so I will be using Lighting examples.

 

I will be adding to this with each new bad resume I get. So if the page helped you, bookmark it, and come back in a couple of months. I’m sure I will have added to it.

 

PURPOSE OF a resume

The resume is a snapshot of your professional/industry life and experience. It is (and should be) and overview of when you started, how active you have been, and what you’ve been working on most recently. Every word and phrase should be geared towards 2 goals.

  1. Representing you as a person.

  2. Representing why you are a good fit for the job you are applying.

If you are a stage manager and lighting designer, there should be evidence of that in your resume. However, your resume should look completely different if you are applying for a lighting position vs. a stage management position. (More details in “Always Customize Your Resume” below.)

PURPOSE OF a cover letter (and references)

Here are 3 challenges I face as a hiring manager:

  1. If I have never worked with you I don’t know how good (or not) you are.

  2. Some people have no self-awareness.

  3. Some people lie. (intentionally and/or unintentionally)

As someone looking to hire people, my job is to look at what you send me and determine (read: make an educated guess) if I want to hire you or not.

  • Almost every theatre lighting person has worked on an ETC ION, but unless I have worked with you before, I don’t know how WELL you know the ION. (that’s why #1 matters).

  • Some people say they have advanced ION training, but don’t know the 3 ways to get to patch. (that’s why #2 matters)

  • Some people say they “know” the ION, when all they have done is pressed “GO!”. (that’s why #3 matters… its unintentional if they don’t know any better, it’s intentional if they do)

The cover letter is where you get a chance to put context (i.e. “I programmed for several professional designers and have completed all of the ETC ION Training courses”) to the facts/snapshot of your resume (i.e. “Skills: Advanced ETC ION Training”). The cover letter, like the resume, should represent why you are a good fit for the job. If you write your cover letter correctly, you will have helped me with the 3 challenges above.

If I have any remaining questions, that is when your references come into play. Your references should not just be people who will say nice things about you, but also should be someone that I can trust understands the industry and job you are applying for. If you are applying to be a light board programmer, but none of your references know anything about lighting… that does not help me answer the 3 challenges above.

Red Flags

When I see resumes with these things I cringe, and then in most cases I delete/trash it immediately. Don’t end up in my trash.

  • Odd Sized Paper. The myth is that if you use paper that is slightly bigger, or smaller, or oddly shaped it will make your resume stand out from the rest. The reality is if I have a stack I’m trying to get into a folder or briefcase or laptop-bag and one keeps sticking out or getting lost, I’m going to give it a once over then trash it if nothing sticks out. Gamble-wisely.

  • Bold/Crazy-Colored Paper. Same as above. If there’s a reason for it, I’ll give in to your design esthetic. I can tell, however, between a designer’s bold choice and someone using a cheap-trick to stand out… and the line between those two is razor thin.

  • Weird E-Mail Addresses. Your professional e-mail should either be some clear professional variation of your name or your “brand”.

    • By clear professional variation of your name, I mean either firstname.lastname@provider.com or your first name and last name reversed. If I know your name, I should be able to at the very least recognize your e-mail in a list. If you go by initials, (CJ for instance) use that. If no one has ever referred to you by your initials, then don’t use initials. Try not to use numbers or letters/words that have nothing to do with your name. If you have a name that is hard to find a clear variation on maybe consider a “branding”.

    • By brand, I mean a clear identifier that lets us know who you are. If you want to be creative and play on your name, here is where to do it. You still need to be clear, concise, and professional, but you can have some fun. I offer my “brand” as an example. My e-mail is cj AT cjLights DOT com, but before I had a domain/website I also considered cjlights AT gmail. In both cases who I am and specifically what I do is in the name, which becomes a clear identifier.

Yellow Flags

These are things that make me mentally pause. (pro-tip: I don’t like to pause when i’m trying to learn about you)

  • No Dates with your shows. Your age for the most part is irrelevant, but I am going to try my hardest to figure out where you are in life. Why?

    • If you are a freshman in college and have a bad resume, I’ll probably give you a pass.

    • If you are a freshman in college and have 10 professional shows under your belt, I’ll be impressed.

    • If you have worked at a company or 2 for multiple years, I’ll know they kept bringing you back (or at least didn’t fire you).

    • If you worked at several companies for less than a year/season, I’ll think there is a problem…..

    If you do not include dates, I will assume you are hiding something. Don’t hide. If you have a gap in employment history, explain in the cover letter or include a reference who knows why and can vouch for you. If you only worked at the last 3 theaters for a short while but didn’t like them, again, explain in your cover letter. You get to provide the information I know about you, you get to provide the context… if you make me dig, I’m going to assume the worst.

    Covid-19 Note: If your gap in theatrical employment history is from March 2020 thru 2021/2022 (assuming we’re back to normal by 2022). No one SHOULD question that or see that as a red/yellow flag. We were in a worldwide pandemic! You may want to include any theatrical or related training you may have done in that time, but also I’m going to be super understanding if you just worked outside the industry or didn’t work at all.

  • School E-mail addresses. When I see an e-mail that looks like lastname.firstletter@university.edu, I think to myself “huh, this person hasn’t created a professional e-mail yet.” Maybe you’re not serious about being a professional yet. Maybe you are waiting to buy your own domain. I don’t know, but the possibility exists of the former. (#yellowflag)

    Also, with school e-mails at some point in your professional life, you’re going to stop checking that e-mail. I have e-mailed people I have interviewed years later. If we had a good interview and I did not hire you, that doesn’t mean you don’t exist. I have to pick 2 people out of many applicants. BECAUSE I DID NOT HIRE YOU DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT GOOD. I talk to many talented people that I can’t hire, but I save your e-mail in the event that an opportunity comes up later. Especially if you are in school, I know when you graduate and if we had a really good interview, I mark your name down. Yes, I have e-mailed people years later and asked them to apply for a job. However, if you can’t be reached because I only have your school e-mail…. then you don’t get a job. Future proof yourself!

Always do these things

  • Always read the job post fully! If you fit the job perfectly, then make sure your resume and cover letter reflect that… if its not a perfect fit then make sure you highlight the things that are. In both cases you need to get that information from the job post (and hopefully some googling of the theatre company).

  • Always follow instructions! If I have asked you to title a subject line a certain way, then do it. Copy and paste it if you can. Why? 1. I am probably using a filter that automatically marks all job postings (I am) so if you don’t use that subject line, your e-mail won’t get marked and may not get seen 2. I’m looking to hire someone who can follow basic instructions…. did you follow the basic instructions?

  • Always Send a PDF, not a Word DOC. It is 2019 as I write this. I haven’t opened Microsoft word in almost 6 years. I don’t have it installed on any of my computers. If you send your resume as a word file, then Google or some 3rd party has to convert it and sometimes they don’t get it right. If you send it as a PDF, then what you see when you send it is what I will see when I read it!

    Pro-tip: Include your Cover Letter, Resume and References in one PDF. If I’m going to print it out, why would you make me open 3 different files? If I’m saving it on my computer, why would you make me save 3 different files? Again, do not think about what is easiest for you, think about what is easiest for the person going through 100 resumes a day. I can already tell you, only about 1 in 20 people do this…. and I always notice the people who do.

HORROR STORY ALERT! A couple years ago an intern applicant sent me a word file, but had left on the option to see all the changes, so I could see every change he had made to his resume over the past 4 years. It was all red lines and corrections. I could see his mom had edited it. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with your mom helping you edit your resume…. I just don’t want to see it.

  • Always use your name as the file name you attach! When I download 30 resumes a day and I accidentally drag one to the wrong folder, do you want me to search for your name, or do you want me to search for “Lighting Resume (November)” because I promise you I have 30 more of those. Don’t think about what’s easiest for you, think about what is easiest for the person trying to hire you.

  • ALWAYS DESIGN YOUR RESUME! (particularly if you are a designer!) If you are applying for a design job, and your resume is not designed, then… what are you doing? By designed, I’m not specifically talking about graphics and color, etc. but i AM talking about balance, space, shape, use of negative space, proportion, weight… does my eye lead naturally from the most important information to the least naturally…. you know, all the things we deal with as designers of any medium. If the piece of paper (digital or not) you use to represent you does not follow basic design principals, then how am I supposed to think you’re a good designer?

    Pro-tip: If you have designed a great graphic/logo for your name/title block… use it on all your documents.

    • Your design esthetic should be visible in all of your work.

    • There should be a through-line visually from one document to the next. It is not 3 documents representing 3 different people, it is 1 package representing 1 person, and should look as such.

  • Always customize your resume! Many technicians are multi-disciplinary, but as I said before… read the job post carefully. If I have not said anything about needing a sound person, or a carpenter, for my lighting job, then you should really minimize those activities on your resume. If I am looking for an lighting/sound swing, then by all means include and feature both… in all cases, customize the resume for the job.

    Think about it like this: if Candidate A has 5 shows as sound designer and 5 shows as lighting designer, and Candidate B has 10 shows as a lighting designer only, I’m going to assume Candidate B has more experience. Remember challenge #1 from above, I don’t know you so I’m trying to make an educated guess.

    Now imagine this: Candidate A only puts 5 lighting shows on their resume and instead of just having a list of shows, they posts them CV style and details some of the work that was done. This allows a smaller body of work to have a greater impact, particularly if each show had different challenges. Now I know way more about Candidate A than Candidate B. (See Play to your Strengths below)

  • Always SPELL-CHECK / ERROR-CHECK I will admit that not everyone gets anal about this, but as a lighting technician our jobs are about details…. so seeing proof that you are not detailed oriented…


NEVER do these things

  • Never send Word DOCs. I know I said it above, I just want to reiterate.

  • Never use tables. Just no, again, no. Tables look so elementary. Of course you can use tables to actually do the work of lining things up, but do the work so each cell doesn’t have lines on 4 sides. Make it look like a design element. Horizontal lines can be nice. Vertical lines are weird but could work.

  • Never send an Acting Resume. I do not want to know your eye color, height, and or vocal range. If you are in college and you took a technical theater class and liked it, and now you want to do an internship, then make a technical theater resume and talk about what you did in class. Use the cover letter to explain why your resume is thin, and hope for the best…. but when you send your actor resume, it feels like you put zero effort into understanding and taking seriously this side of the business.


NEVER do these things (unless you have good reason)

  • Never use page borders (unless you have a good reason to): It always just feels like you picked something in Microsoft Word. It looks like filler. This isn’t an essay for English 101, you don’t have to fill the page to the margin. You should, but only if it makes sense. Again, if your design requires it and it adds something about your style and esthetic, then by all means, impress me, but that should be the only reason.

  • Never use bullet points. (unless you have a good reason to): Yes I know I’m using them here, but this isn’t a resume now is it? No, seriously, find a clearer (more designed-see above) way to communicate your information. Bullet points just look like you pressed a button in Word or Google Docs. Exceptions include listing descriptions of job duties in a CV format, and separating skills. (Think about design though, is there some way to make it look like its part of the esthetic?)

HAPPY STORY ALERT! My favorite resume so far this year used a green accent on their resume. I think the first name was regular and the last name was bold and green. It really stood out. What stood out more was in the skills section, all the bullet points were green. It was a nice tie-in from the top that just made the whole thing stand out and appear deliberate. Wether true or not, it made me feel as if they had made an intentional choice.

PLAY to your strengths

There are important resume questions that people ask. “How should I categorize my resume?” “CV-type or Show-based resume?” “Should I put education at the top or not?” and many more. My answer is the title of this section. Play to your strengths.

As I said above in the “Always Design Your Resume” section, you should design your resume to have a flow to lead from the most important information about you to the less important stuff.

  • Are you going to one of the top technical theatre schools in the country? Then maybe lead with education.

  • Have you worked with a bunch of professionals doing a bunch of different tasks? Then maybe lead with professional experience in a CV format where you can explain those tasks.

  • Worked with a famous lighting designer or famous director? Then maybe a show-list type resume with a column with who you worked with/for. (Which I don’t normally recommend).

All in all, play your hand. Don’t be obvious… that’s easy to tell, but if you have something that sets you apart from the pack, feature it.

Should I…?

  • Should I do a CV-type resume or show-list-type resume? Depends. See “Play to Your Strengths” above. If you’ve worked for 1 company doing different things, all related to the job you are applying for…. a CV will allow you to explain that better. If you worked gigs and freelance, a show-list type might work better for you to quickly show your breadth of work, and that companies keep calling you back year after year.

  • Should I stick to 1-page? If you are early in your career then do everything you can to stick to one page, until 1 page literally can not contain you any more. If you are more established, it depends on the job you are applying for. It is hard to keep a CV-type to one page.

  • Should I include special skills? Yes. I would even recommend splitting it into several quick sections:

    • For lighting/sound: Consoles (include as many as you have worked on) (for sound, an analog and a digital console at least)

    • Software Section: In lighting: Vectorworks, AutoCAD, Lightwright, etc. In Sound: ProTools, QLab, etc. In Projections: Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, etc. For all areas: Chrome, Google Suite, Microsoft Word, etc. (I want to know you can use a computer proficiently)

    • General Skills: Ability to Solder, Ability to Weld, State Drivers License, Fork-lift Certified, etc.

    • Fun Stuff / Other Discipline: Juggle, Magic, Plays Guitar, Former SM turned lighting nerd, etc. (Warning: the line between quirky/silly and non-serious-employee is razor thin and different for every person looking at your resume.) (2nd Warning: YOU DO YOU! If you practice juggling every day during breaks, do you really want to work at some place that is going to think poorly of this? Remember, this hiring process is just as much about you choosing them as them choosing you…. do not hide too much of yourself just to get hired at some place you may hate working!)

    Again, what is most important for the hiring personnel to know? If you’re applying to be a board op, the console section should be higher. If you’re applying to be a draft-person, software section might want to be higher.

    PRO-TIP: like I said above, read the job post fully and do some research on the company. In my job postings I do not mention anything about projections, but officially we are the Department of Lighting and Projections (which is on the job posting). So while the resume/cover-letter should not focus on projection skills, I do look for people who have projection/video knowledge. When I see QLab, Photoshop, and After-Affects in a person’s skills I bump them a little higher in the stack.

  • Should I include references? The industry is torn on this. I say yes. Do not make me have to e-mail you just to get them. While I am waiting on you to e-mail me back I could be talking to someone else’s references who convince me to give that other person the job. Also, if the job post asks for references…. do NOT put, “References upon request.” Another example I see all the time of people not following simple instructions.

  • Should I include my High-School work? If you have done significant work at your high school, then sure. If you are young and you are using it to pad your resume because you feel like you do not have enough college work, then sure. After mid-way through college or a couple years out of high-school, you should have enough work to get rid of that filler. As always there are exceptions, but 99% of the high schools are not doing professional quality work so I just see it as filler anyway. If your high school is in the 1%, let me know in your cover letter and definitely include it.

My last thought is, all rules are made to be broken (when appropriate and meaningful). I care about spelling, but some other hiring person might always spell that word incorrectly the same way you did and that what makes you stand out to them. It’s all a crap shoot. Lots of talent with a little bit of luck. With that said, if you pay attention to the above you will be in the upper 50% that gets looked at and not tossed immediately. That may not get you the job, because the reality is, you still have to match with what the company/theatre is looking for from your particular set of skills, but it will hopefully get your foot in the door.

If you have any questions or comments about anything I have said, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at C J at C J L I G H T S . C O M. (typed it weird to avoid the bots).