“thank you for applying but…”

[Jason T. Radice]

Agreed. The ‘Objective’ heading and text seems a bit redundant for a professional level resume. We all know what the objective is…to get a job.

[Candace Mastel]

Hi Pablo,

I haven’t posted on this forum for awhile but I thought I’d respond to your post because resumes are kind of an area of interest for me. I’ve always struggled with how personal to get on a resume…there’s a fine line, depending on what you know about the firm/organization and what the vibe is if you’ve been in contact with them. Networking and getting to know people is always a smart idea but I would advise keeping your personal pics out of the resume and electronic portfolio.

 

As far as the content of your resume and cover letter, I just had some input for you. Take it with a grain of salt. Please don’t be offended. I look at alot of these as a project manager reviewing proposals from firms, in which they place detailed resumes and backgrounds for their designers.

 

In your resume: 1)You use the word “I” alot. Avoid this at all costs. 2)Use more flattering, but honest, descriptions of your work experience. 3)Your experience is gapped from April 2011 to current…what did you do then? Employers are going to want to know. If you were unemployed, be prepared to show that you were diligently pursuing other career opportunities in the realm of classes, certifications, etc. if you feel that might help.

 

In your cover letter: 1)Again, avoid starting sentences with “I.” 2)Play around with breaking up your intro and your main body into two or three smaller paragraphs to balance your text on the page better.

 

And lastly, your portfolio images: 1)Your computer graphics are strong. Hand drawn not as much. Maybe focus on balancing your computer images with some “as-built” photos showing implemented designs. Before and afters are telling. It also speaks to how well you can manage the installation of one of your own projects. 2)I remember from school long ago that if you can’t print exquisitely, use alternative printing methods. I would suggest you either hammer home excellent hand printing or substitute it on your portfolio with computer generated text/font that accentuated your images.

 

Good luck and keep on riding dude!

[mauiBob]

Honestly Pablo, at first glance of your portfolio, I thought you were straight out of school with no experience until I read your resume. No surprise to me you haven’t received any feedback. I’m offering tough, constructive criticism pep talk. No sense for rosy, pat-on-the-back, take it easy on you kind of approach. Not my style. Everyone here has already offered great advice. No need to repeat. I would NEVER put a self photo unless you were applying to be spokesperson or company model boy. The entire package was weak. Talk about light weight graphics and writing!! Some people in here are being too cheesy kind. I’ve seen better resumes from a high school student. This is a wake up call. Add some serious informational punch, man. You have experience, right? Where is it. Sit down, get off the mountain biking for a week and take this job hunt seriously, because I can’t see it from what you produced. Aloha.

“Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” Wall Street (1987)

[Anonymous]

First I have to give you props for posting your work, just to have a bunch of pro LAs poke holes in it. I’m gonna give it to you straight with no chaser only because you give me the impression that you really want to “up your game”:

 

1. Get your hairy mug off your resume.
2. Remove any references to sci-fi, coffee, bicycles, etc. Times are tough, a principal could careless about your interest, they’re interested in weather or not you can produce enough work to justify your salary. I would probably throw your resume in the trash after I read that crap.
3. If you insist on doing presentation drawings by hand, study the style of a professional Landscape Architect that knows how to draw and do your best to copy it. Do lots of repetitions until you can develop your own style. You’ve managed to pull off a graphic style that’s tight and labored over, and cartoony at the same time. They just don’t look like you’re having much fun. Give Mike Lin a call.
4. Forget about hand lettering.   

 

That said, in 2005 I would hire a guy like you; I see lots of potential. I can see you’ve got something cookin’ with that Kimura project. I think you just stopped the design prematurely. The problem is in 2012 there are unemployed guys/girls out there with the whole package that are competing with you for the same positions. They’re great designers, with mad CAD skills, who know how to write, speak three languages fluently, tell funny jokes and they’re good looking on top of all that. There are unemployed superstars out there that are waiting for their big break just like the rest of us. I’m an old dinosaur and I started polishing up my own rough edges immediately once the economy tanked, because I know who I’m competing with. So go hard Pablo.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry Tosh, I’m with you on 99.999% of what you post, but I have to disagree with you on this one. It wasn’t your extracurricular activities that landed you that job; it was your intelligence and LA skills bro. I’ll bet if you showed that interviewer a portfolio full of clunky drawings, your interview would have been extremely brief.

[Anonymous]

mauiB you have a serious love/hate thing with Landscape Architecture. I mean here you are offering straight-up raw advice to a budding professional, and then you’ll turn around and discourage folks from going into the profession. What happened man? Now I feel kind of bad for being so harsh with you in the past. When I think of it, probably all you ever really wanted was a friend in landscape architecture. 🙁

[J. Robert (Bob) Wainner]

I have to AGREE with both MauiBob & Craig’s comments here.

I also thought that you were a recent LA grad.  What is it with the CAL POLY program? I’ve now seen a couple of LA grads who’s Portfolios are just not “quality” work.  And Pablo, you’re a 2007 graduate…..employers will expect to see a fairly strong body of work….with very good graphics and autocad samples….sketches and even photos of completed work.

You NEED to take what MauiBob wrote SERIOUSLY. 

As I suggested to another LA grad here on LAND8…….I recommend you go to http://www.asla.org and look at the Portfolios posted by other LA grads….there are MANY outstanding ones on there.  Compare YOUR work with their work – you will see the differences.  They are your competition.  Most of what I saw were considerably more impressive than yours and many are recent grads searching for “entry level” positions.  It just appears to me, that you’re still at…..”entry level”.

Sorry to be tough here……sugar coating my comments won’t help you.

I wish you the BEST of Luck!

Bob

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