[Otakatt]

Having typed up a resume for someone and having a friend help with editing it I've been talking with them a bit about... well... resumes. Stuff like that. As a terrible person who has never had a real job or made a real resume, I try to at least absorb some knowledge on how to go about making one.

When you haven't had a real job, putting anything you can on a resume seems important. I asked them if it'd be viable to put something on one, like the fact I helped with some art on the OCR FF5 album, and was told experience is experience, so that wouldn't be a bad idea.

However!

They also went on to tell me I'd have to be careful who to submit that to, because if more professional people saw "The Otaku" listed as the one credited, they might be pretty "Ehn" about it.

And before anyone says anything, yes, I know The Otaku is a horrible name. I've been teased about it on VGMix. I've been teased about it the other day when a friend saw that.

While I'm not going to be going for anything professional any time soon, if ever, I wonder if this is something I should nip in the bud? Is "The Otaku" going to come back to haunt me later? It also makes me nervous because I have various cat related names attached to my DeviantArt account, as well as my email address. And my YouTube... But it's more the DA account that worries me.

I'm really a personal person to the point of paranoia, so I keep my real name pretty guarded. I'm trying to get over that though, and have been known to out my first initial, middle initial, and last name for art related purposes, at least. Still, The Otaku, The Catlady... it's still there.

I figure this is a good place to ask about that, considering the various musicians here that go by pseudonyms and even attach them to their work. Successful musicians at that! Zircon comes to mind, although zircon is a tasteful name. I have to wonder what would have happened if he was head of SirVegetaStudios.

Are pseudonyms generally frowned upon? Are they okay if tasteful? Has anyone had first hand experience with terrible online names biting them in the butt? Any insight about this from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

[Calum]

I think you shouldn't worry about it.

I'm the opposite, my really quite boring first name is bereft of the air of mystery a pseudonym might give and it kinda gives you all sorts of perks, at least it does to those who have them in my mind! But I don't think I'd ever happily decide on anything other than the name i've been given so I'll use that! It's kind of more "professional" but who needs that.

I am my name out of saving myself the hassle of racking my brain for hours then regretting it later. Though i'd love to be the mystical "EnergyTiger" or something like that... but maybe not that.

[BardicKnowledge]

Originally Posted by The Otaku

Are pseudonyms generally frowned upon? Are they okay if tasteful? Has anyone had first hand experience with terrible online names biting them in the butt? Any insight about this from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

Assuming that you're going to put art-related work on a resume to apply for art related jobs eventually, you should be just fine. Most artistic fields are now used to the idea of people publishing material to the internet/blogosphere/whatever under psuedonyms.

If you're applying for a non-arts job, then I would consider the value in listing that you've done album art / deviantart projects at all, other than collaborative projects you've been a part of. Instead list things that prove you know how to work in whatever field/job you want to apply for.

Edit: This of course implies that your psuedonym isn't setting off red flags everywhere (you are just fine). If your handle was "SerialRapist", for instance, then yeah there'd be problems. :p

[suzumebachi]

ooh a topic that i can relate to.

allow me to introduce myself. my name is Ty "Suzumebachi" Guenley. my pseudonym is horrible. my real name is horrible. lose/lose. at least "The Otaku" is pronounceable.

i've tossed around the idea of changing my pseudonym before, and have used a few others in certain cases, but i've been using this handle for so long now though that trying to go back and change it everywhere would be silly. lately, in some internet circles i've been using a shorter form of my pseudonym ("suzums") and while it's probably an improvement, it's also still silly and i seem to get mistaken for an lady a lot.

what should i do guise?

[Gollgagh]

I call you suzu so iunno

[Tables]

tables just sorta sounds like tazers
tazers is the name I use everywhere else on the internet
I don't know why I didn't chose to use 'tazers' here
I don't know why I chose 'tazers' anywhere
p.s the first time I used it was before the 'don't taze me bro' thing so it wasn't even that.

I think tables and tazers are casual enough that I could use them as serious pseudonyms if I really had to.

As far as names go you could do so much worse than 'The Otaku'

[Abadoss]

I find with mine, I have to make sure to mention the correct pronounciation of it. Once they realize that it's not a poorly spelled "A Bad Ass", it's okay. The only place it shows up in my work resume is my e-mail address. Granted, it would probably end up a little more prominant in a music resume, but I've not had to use one in a while. Speaking of which, I should probably update that... hmm...

I suppose it comes down to the balance between what you want people you want to impress to know you as and what you want your peers to know you as. I suppose other than that, it's what you're willing to live with (or are forced to live with, after a certain point).

I suppose you could always do what McVaffe did and have a bazillion different psuedonyms for various different things...

[Deep Thought]

Dual meanings are nice. The obvious source for mine comes from Douglas Adams, but deeper down, I'm studying to be an engineer, and also to get a masters in philosophy/theology. So in reality, the depth to a name makes it all worthwhile

[Sole Signal]

Beyond the question of using "the Otaku," you should have different resumes tailored to who or what you are submitting the resume. I see no problems with sliding your pseudonym tastefully into a resume, but make sure it's applicable. Just having experience in your resume for the sake of experience isn't the best idea.

My management roles at work have expanded to include reviewing resumes and the hiring process, and it's sad how unprofessional and fluffy peoples' resumes often are. I've seen "very experienced with operating a fascimile and copier," and "submitting files electronically" in their skills section. Mix in scores of grammatical, formatting, and spelling errors and it's hard to bring them in for a professional position.

Just be prepared to explain why you chose to include your artistic work under "the Otaku" when the employer (inevitably) asks. Even though all my applications were for financial positions, I found that my Audix/Sole Signal business name always was a good talking point to show differentiation from the other applicants. It's good to show that you have pursuits outside of work and a fun, creative side that could add to the business.

I do wonder if it's a bad thing that one of the first links in searching for my name brings up my OCR profile. I wonder if someday I'll get to explain that one to a CPA firm.

[Nutritious]

Wait, who's Sole Signal again?