I would appreciate a little help or advice in making my resume look a little more memorable, and possibly less cluttered.

I hope this doesn't sound nitpicky, but I'll try and include all the advice I've gotten over the years, your mileage will vary.

Starting from the top....

You're lady friend isn't wrong. Industry resume's are very different from other jobs, but yours can be improved. Remove the linkedin link.

What makes you special? Nothing about the design of your resume makes me think, boy this person is different. You need to experiment with fonts, placement of text, etc. It feels cramped. You don't have to tell me everything. Which leads to the next point.

What job are you trying to get? You should have a different resume for each job based on what they are looking for. Going on tour? A version for tours with that highlighted. Want to design? That's near the top. Deck Elec or ME? I Think you see where I'm going with this. Everything else falls off the end. Keep a separate list of everything you have ever done to pull from. If you're looking for gigs one show at a time, this is a good format. ie: You want to program or design, or things that are hired by production or by an individual. If you're looking to be on the road with a company or doing multiple gigs with a production house, PRG, Upstaging, Christie, whatever, I'd break it down by company, or time served. It's a bigger deal. Everyone does a lot of shows. It doesn't impress me to know how many shows you've done. Time served with a group is more important, depending on the job you want.

I don't know where you are in your career, but if you are out of college, and looking for more professional work, drop those beginner credits. Any company worth it's salt with expect a ME, Electrician, LD, etc to be proficient in basic wiring, dimming, running a followspot, electrical theory, etc. What makes you stand out? Do not list what everyone should be able to do at this stage.

You went to college? That gets its own section. It's a big deal. Many guys didn't. When did you graduate? That's important. Expect that I'll be looking into you. I might even know your professors.

Do not list things you are partially proficient in. If I need you to do something not listed, I'll ask. Especially consoles. It's easy enough to pick up a new desk if you know one already. When you list something that you are not 100% a master at, it makes me think that you didn't have any more things to add, so you're trying to make yourself look impressive. If we all were to make a list of things we're sort of proficient in, it'd be a long list.

What makes you special? Are you a moving light tech? Can you scuba dive? Build Computers? Have experience dealing with customers? Speak other languages? List the skills that make you special too. Any idiot can run a desk eventually. Why should I hire you over someone else?

If you want to chat more about this, I'd do that.

/r/lightingdesign Thread Link - imgur.com