These days with the globalization through digital world and internet, there are so many ideas and creativity. Education and basic qualifications are also easily availed by masses.
All this means that when there is a job posting, it gets about thousands of applicants, of which at least majority are equally qualified and average hence rejected, the rest will have a little bit more qualifications, something unique to offer that will impress the hiring managers.
If you want to be in the minority group that climbs faster than the average, you need to do something more. Offer a something bit unconventional. Unfortunately or fortunately, the new 'average' has become the very basic, to be above average, you need something really good to offer.
So what can you do? Well, one amazing and widely appreciated concept is of visual resumes. Creating a visual resumes can land you the dream job you want. Depending on the job title you are applying for, you can decide how creative you can get and how creative your visual resume can be.
But what is a visual resume? What does it include? How to make a perfect one? Read this article to learn all you need to about visual resumes! You may take a look at our resume examples as well.
What is a Visual Resume?
As you may have guessed, visual resume has visuals! Now this visuals can be a lot of things such as graphics, infographics, illustrations, designs and more. It means contrary to the traditional text resume, most visual resumes have more color and a flair to them.
With social media sites, creativity has blossomed and also easily accessed by those who are looking for it. So you need to surf the social media and find your inspiration from the ocean of ideas and creativity.
You can present your details of education, experience and highlight skills in a unique and creative way. It makes for an interesting visual resume.
📌 Various types of visual resumes:
- Designer/Decorative Border
- Non-traditional visual resume template (format)
- Minimalist
- Portfolio inclusive
- Infographic resume
There can be more variations depending on creativity and imagination. You can decide which will be suitable for you.
Your resume is your first chance of making an impression and if you fail, you might not get another chance. When a hiring manager sees a visual resume, they are immediately compelled to check it out because it is 'different' than what they see usually.
For example, an infographic resume will draw your attention quickly rather than a information presented in simple text paragraph or even bullet points.
Check out the visual resume template to get an idea of what it would be like to be the hiring manager who comes across a visual resume.
Difference Between a Text Resume & a Visual Resume
The difference between the text resume and visual resume is quite simple. Text resumes have simple columns or perhaps blocks. The details are presented in simple texts- paragraphs, bullet points and tables.
Visual resumes as mentioned before have wide scope of creativity and much more than simple tables, paragraphs and bullet points of texts. It can have images, graphics, infographics, pie charts and such.
What's more, text resumes have very simple fonts with no effects such as italic, bold, underline and various colors. Visual resumes can take the liberty of multiple color and sizes for fonts hence, visual resume makes for an interesting treat for your eye.
Visual resumes present and create a unique perspective of who you are, while text resumes usually just provide checked boxes for all that you have just like every other resume.
another difference is the compatibility. Text resumes and visual resumes are not all compatible with all the applications and software. For example, the compatibility with Microsoft word or Adobe Reader. You need to make sure that the hiring manager has the compatible medium to view your visual resume.
When should you use Visual Resumes?
Visual resumes are a bit straying from conventional ways which can make them a bit dicey if you are applying for the jobs in mainstream industries such business, human resources, medical, law, finance and so on.
So you need to make sure that the hiring manager and the job you are applying for will be looking for something new and not absolutely traditional resume format.
However, when you are applying for a role in industries that are art related and provides space for creativity, you would want to go with visual resume template. It will be a good chance to show off your real skills which will convince the hiring manager right away.
Who Uses Visual Resume?
So who are the professionals that go for visual resumes? Which professions are perfect for visual resumes? It's simple- all and any that are related to art industry! Such as-
- Graphic Designer
- Painter
- Artist
- Photographer
- Marketing/Advertising
- Web Designers
and more such roles. That said, depending on the employers, the company and hiring manager, you can take a little liberty of visuals in your resume even in other professions.
Tips to Create a Your Perfect Resume
Now all that said, how to create a perfect visual resume? You may find visual resume templates online but which one would be the best resume templates for you and your career?
Visual resume templates and visual online resume examples are available for free for job seekers, with wide variety and each version will have different visual elements. You cannot go for all the elements or mix and match elements. You need to decide which combination of added visual elements will be perfect for your visual resume.
For the content, you can include the usual education, experience, contact details, portfolio link, LinkedIn profile link and so on like the traditional resume. But the important part is presentation.
Let's go over some of the tips for your visual resume.
Content Presentation
As mentioned before, there are many visual elements that you can utilize for your visual CV. But depending on your role and job title you can decide upon a combination. Job seekers need to keep the focus on their line of profession while choosing the elements.
You have many options for your content presentation:
- Pie charts
- Images/Graphics
- Infographics
- Non-traditional visual resume format
- Designs
For example, if you are applying for a position of a graphic designer, you can integrate one of your own graphic design in the visual resume. Another example is, if you are applying for a position of Instagram content creator, you can choose the outline look of Instagram feed or reel and enter details in that outline of your own resume.
You can also combine elements. If you are applying for the role of web designer, you can use designs and a non-traditional format i.e. a web design.
Portfolio Utilization
This tip is most useful for visual resumes. Utilize your online portfolio so you are not only presenting your skills, you are proving them to the hiring manager. It increases the credibility of your word.
When you go for jewelry or clothes shopping, how do you decide which shops to go in? The showcase or display, right? If you see some good pieces on display, you will immediately believe that the shop must have a good collection.
Same goes with visual resumes, if you have good examples from your portfolio on display in your visual resume, the hiring manager will immediately believe that you have what they are looking for.
If you are a photographer, use one of your best captured shots. If you are a painter, use one of your painting. If you are a graphic designer, use one of your designs. If you are a content creator, use your resume as a space to showcase your creativity!
Themes
There can be many themes of visual resume templates. You can create a visual theme of your own as well. Themes can be defined by the element/s utilized.
Themes can also be defined by the presentation i.e. minimalist, simple, retro/vintage, modern, monochromatic and so on. You can find these in visual resume examples.
You can choose a theme that resonates the most with your profession, role and who you are as a person. The theme will reflect everything that you will be bringing to the table.
What to avoid?
When the strict format and rules are taken away, we might feel a bit lost and end up with chaos. So when you are creating your visual resume, make sure you don't end up creating a mess. So what all should you avoid?
First of all, avoid overcrowding of visual elements. Do not use too many options for combination. Try to use maximum of three elements and not more.
Your content should be neatly put on your resume background and you can get rid of extra content while not sacrificing the important content. Maintain the balance. Don't overcrowd (your resume should not exceed the limit of 2 page document) and avoid lack of sufficient content as well because that will leave a lot of white space.
While you can use multiple color scheme, designs and style, don't make it too chaotic with too many colors, too many font sizes and too many designs. Stick to a limited number so the visual appeal doesn't get compromised.
Skills
Like any other resume, visual resume examples also have the skills described. Although, as mentioned before you can take liberty of presenting your skills with visual elements rather than simple text.
Your resume matters more than you may imagine so invest enough time and energy in it before you consider it done and ready for applications.
Benefits of Creativity
Why go to such lengths and make exhaustive efforts for a visual resume? While the basic reason is to stand out and present yourself in an effective way, there's bit more to its benefits than that.
Everyone likes unusual, creativity😍
Human beings' psychology is very simple. While many people would not like changes and prefer stability and monotony; many do prefer those. But most people have the tendency to be impressed by or intrigued by something new.
Everyone likes to see something new, unusual, unconventional and creative, at least once in a while!
One of the prominent proof is the person who created unique resumes for various companies and went viral on the internet. Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/world/ceo-shares-cvs-designed-as-amazon-netflix-page-should-you-go-for-it-11668474636104.html
You can see the resumes they created below. The creativity and imagination certainly makes you stop for a second and take a look at it.
Impact
When you read some simple text in usual format, you are likely to forget it pretty soon. On the other hand, if you see something unique, especially something visual as opposed to textual, you are bound to remember it for some time.
The recall value of a visual resume is much better than the traditional text resume. The impact a visual resume has, is significant. The hiring managers are likely to remember a visual resume and would most likely forget a text resume because there's nothing distinct about them.
Key Takeaway
✒️ Now that you have learned everything about visual resume, let's go over key points-
- Choose the suitable elements
- Do not overcrowd the content and visuals
- Research your employers, company culture, hiring manager before going for visual resume
- Utilize your portfolio
- Present your different skills in eye catching manner
If you keep in mind all the tips and cautions, you are definitely going to make yourself an attractive resume, one that is a job ready resume. You can especially go for your own visual resume if you have good sense of artistic presentation. You can also choose from visual resume templates available online. These visual resume templates will need to be modified though, do not take them as they are.
If you are choosing from the various visual resume templates available online, make sure you choose the right one for your role and dream job. Most CV builders are generic and may not provide you with the personalized format that you need. Your visual resume design needs to be visually appealing and also have the right content.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
Cover letters are useful with visual resume if you feel like you need a space for a little text summary of your profile. Your visual resume will have limited space for text so you can compensate with the cover letters.
It is very simple, does it look eye-catching, attractive and visually appealing to you? If yes, you are good to go! All you need is a beautiful looking resume, just avoid overcrowding and such chaotic mistakes.
There are many sources with simple examples, templates for visual resume. However, if you want to personalize your visual resume with your skills and portfolio, you can also make your resume on your own.
