It’s tough to put together a resume when you’re just beginning. If you find yourself in this situation, follow these two pieces of advice:
- Start a file labeled “Resume.” Drop into it anything and everything that will one day appear on your resume: honors, awards, teaching, public collections, exhibitions, articles by you, articles about you, etc. When you have enough stuff, it will be easy to compile it all into a single document.
- Write a bio. A bio is basically a resume in paragraph form and you can use it this way until your resume fills out. You can highlight those things above, but if you don’t have them yet, start with something about the current direction of your work (taken from your artist statement) and then maybe outline your education or training. It may just be a paragraph at first, but it will soon grow and you’ll have to start cutting things to make it fit on a single page.
(I help all kinds of artists with their resumes, bios, and statements. See my consulting for more information.)
Image: Katherine Greene, Window Within Window. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches.
