Innovative Resume Ideas
A resume is a necessary tool for job-seekers; having a great one can mean the difference between getting an interview and getting passed over. As you develop your resume, consider how you can capture the attention of employers and give them the information they need to evaluate your suitability for the open position...perhaps by doing something innovative and unexpected.
Other People Are Reading
-
Remove Objective
-
In most cases, a resume objective is unnecessary because employers know what your goal is--to get the job. To make sure reviewers understand your most important qualifications right off the bat, replace the objective with a professional summary. Using three to five short, bulleted lines, summarize your education, years of experience, and special expertise or history that make you well suited for the job. Because employers spend a very small amount of time on each resume, this can ensure reviewers see your key differentiators.
Creative Layout
-
If you're applying for a job at a creative company or a position that requires you to use design skills, use a creative layout so the resume will act as a work sample. Tread carefully when using color and imagery in your resume; the information about you and your experience should always take center stage. Use a layout that's logical for the resume format: you might design it as a brochure, for example, or make it look like a sketch pad with different areas highlighted with hand-drawn stars or graphic lines.
-
Offset Items
-
Hiring managers and employers see many resumes when they're filling a job, and many of them look the same. If you're applying to a job in a traditional industry, set your resume apart by introducing a single offset element to make the page stand out without departing too far from the standard format. You might design a letterhead that has an angled element, for example, or use a faint watermark in the background. By breaking the traditional linear format of a resume, even in a small way, you can draw the employer's eye.
Interactivity
-
To give employers a wider sense of your capabilities and engage them in your resume, make it interactive. Create a PDF version of your resume that has embedded links for employers to see more about each position. Link each job title to a visual portfolio piece that shows the work you did, a website you coded, or a photograph of a major project. Let employers know about the interactive feature in your cover letter or in a casual note. This is particularly effective when applying to smaller firms, where the resumes go directly to a boss rather than through a vetting process.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
