"Please upload your resume as a PDF, then re-enter all of your resume details into this cumbersome form."
anyhoo, i build my cover letter and resume in Google Slides instead of InDesign (my usual program of choice) and really love how it turned out!
has anyone else used Google Slides for multi-page PDFs?? is this something ya'll would wanna learn how to do?? 👀
as you know i'm in the midst of the #writersstrike, meaning my tv work is on hold. so in planning ahead i applied for a part-time teaching gig. i'm excited!
so in the spirit of teaching let's walk through how i built this multi-page PDF in google slides!
First, what is Google Slides? Well it’s Google’s version of PowerPoint but WAY BETTER
the main reason I prefer Google Slides over PowerPoint is it's cloud based & easily collaborative. So you can work on it from anywhere, and have multiple authors updating elements of the presentation/deck without saving multiple drafts. GIFs & video are also way easier to add.
ok. on to the good stuff. when you open Google Slides, by default your presentation is going to be landscape/widescreen (16:9) So I started by doing a custom page set up of 8.5 x 11 so my slides/pages are portrait
Google slides comes with a bunch of pre-set templates that can be used to lay out text and images. I skip them in favor of building my own layouts.
how do you build a layout? Things to keep in mind: type hierarchy & grid. You draw attn to important info with size & font style. Less is more, stick to one clean font, nothing script. Don't get too fancy. All ya need is a few images and some text. White space is your friend!
I looked up a few different resumes as inspo and then planned my layouts accordingly.
FYI circling back to say there IS a cloud based version of PowerPoint i just like the Google slides version more, use whatever works for you!
some fun deets! I did a film strip of pix for my cover letter bc i thought it was a fun way to "preview" my resume/portfolio. i'm all for SHOW not tell. you don't need to go as photo heavy (or at all) but if you have an image that's related to your application, why not??
i also linked my social stats with these cute little social icons i found on Pinterest.
pro-tip: search "keyword" + png or white background for icons/graphics to add to your docs.
once you're done laying out & updating the deets of your resume, just download your slides as a PDF and you're good to go!
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