In today’s competitive job market — where hiring managers can spend as little as seven seconds looking at a resume — jobseekers may be tempted to add a little creative flair to their applications to help them stand out from the pack.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this has led to a new phenomenon — resumes are beginning to resemble social media profiles, with emojis, headshots and even bitmojis making an appearance.
“A ‘creative CV’ doesn’t necessarily have an outlandish format and a rainbow of color — it just means presenting the information you really want to get across so it stands out from the norm,” a report was published online.
According to Jo Cresswell, community expert at Glassdoor, appropriate limits of creativity are dependent on the industry you’re hoping to join.
“Creative industries or creative roles lend themselves more naturally to visual, dynamic and even interactive CVs,” she said. “Rather than applicants listing on their CV that they are proficient in design software, for example, they can actively demonstrate that capability through the format of their application.”
According to information we got online, most people use creative resumes to try to stand out, they think if they use color or a different format it will make them stand out.
Well that is correct, you will stand out, but will the person reading it see that as a positive or will they see it as a gimmick? The whole point of a resume is to explain your background — but are you being so creative that you’re making it harder for a would-be employer to find what they need?”
The whole point of a resume is to explain your background — but are you being so creative that you’re making it harder for a would-be employer to find what they need?”
Always ask someone else to look at your resume and see if they can find the key information.
