The resume has always been the necessary and go-to document used by hiring staff to evaluate whether someone has the capability and potential to be one of the company’s future employees. But with the competitive job market, you will have to do more than just a black and white document with your credentials and education printed on it.
If you are running low on ideas or feeling lost as to how you are going to be noticed among a crowd of fellow candidates, here are 10 creative ideas that you can use to make your resume stand out.
Make Your Resume Colour-blind Friendly
According to Better Vision, about 180 million people globally are colour-blind to some extent. There’s no harm in going the extra mile to make sure that your resume meets the needs of those who are colour-blind. What you need to make sure of when you are designing your resume is to avoid using similar colours in close proximity of each other; pair colours that have a striking contrast from one another instead. A classic example is black with white. More colourful options can be bright yellow with a dark blue etcetera. Colour pairings to avoid are the ones that have similar levels of brightness, like putting dark brown with dark green swatches together.
San Serif Font for Headings and Impact, Serif For Body
There’s always the discussion on the pros and cons of using Serif or San Serif fonts, so why not have the best of both worlds by using both? Keep in mind that in general, Serif works better as the main body text as this type font is easy on the eyes when it is read on print, while San Serif fonts are great at creating emphasis and resilient to any forms of photocopy or smearing that might occur in the process of printing.
Change Up The Physical Presentation of Your Resume
Customising the physical form of your resume can be a great plus point in the eyes of employers as well. Imagine if you are applying for a job that calls for social media managers in a music recording company, you will make quite the impression if your resume resembled that of a vinyl record! If you are dealing with more stoic industries such as banking and finance, sales etcetera, jazz it up with a subtle touch by using wax seals to seal your documents.
Use Quirky Bullet Designs
Rather than sticking to the old dashes and arrows, you can browse and consider other vector designs available that can be used to replace the common symbols and help with the aesthetic of your resume. Look for one that goes well with your resume design if the design aspect of a resume is relevant to the company that is scouting for hires.
Incorporate Relevant Graphics
All text and no play makes Jack a dull boy - never leave your resume bare with just content and make use of the space to incorporate relevant and fresh graphics that complements the job position that you are applying for. It pays to quantify your accomplishments that you have obtained from your past job experiences, and it will definitely give you brownie points if you pair it in with infographics that help your potential employer to visualise that!
Incorporate Personal Elements
If the job that you are going for does not fall into solid, white collar territory, add in personal touches into your resume. Instead of going for a formal, profile shot, use a fun or candid shot instead that reveals the positive traits in your character. Take note not to go overboard by doing overly-exaggerated facial expressions, or expressions that may come across as rude. Take your potential employer into account, and figure out if the photo is the right one or not. If the resume document or hiring staff allows it, you can also put together a photo college of you in action during work at your former workplaces. This is to kickstart the hiring staff to have a positive impression of you as a person from the get go.
Get a Professional Profile and Full Body Shot At a Studio
A research carried out by Cornell University revealed that first impressions do have a significant effect in someone’s judgement on another person’s character. Meaning a well-captured photo of yourself will paint you as a credible and likeable employee when you are called down for a face-to-face interview. Figure out what suits you, and dress to impress by donning on a customised suit for your individual profile shoot. Communicate with your photographer as well, so that the final product makes you look like the embodiment of a good and trustworthy employee. Scrutinise your expression and body language in both profile and full body shots, and ask yourself if any of these might give the wrong impression to the employer who will be seeing this. Take note and avoid overdoing the size or placement of your profile picture in your resume as you do not want it to overpower your resume content.
Supplement Your Resume With Online Content
You can always increase your exposure and build your work image further in the eyes of your potential employer by making use of by making use of other online platforms. If you are taking a shot at a position relating back to the creative field, consider making a brief introductory video about yourself and post it online, or make use of the Instagram Grid feature to create an impressive collage that links back to how you are the most suited candidate for the job in the first place. Working up a classy online portfolio webpage can also help your chances as it gives your employers timeless and unlimited access to vet and reflect on the past works that you have done. It gives them time to contemplate on your abilities, rather than a quick scan through that always happens when they simply do not have the time during your interview. Make sure to provide and state your links to these online content clearly on your resume, lest it gets missed out.
Add In Relevant Culture References
When appropriate, you can also choose to add in humour into your resume when you are describing your job accomplishments and applied job skills. It is definitely worth betting on putting in a timely reference to pop culture so that the employers get the hint that you are someone who not only catches up with the times, you also tend to keep up with it too. The more relevant the reference is to the positive trait that you are trying to emphasise, the better. This is the chance for you to let the employers have a feel on what personality and person you are, so make sure that these references give off a humorous and positive vibes as you read your resume document in the end.
Include Positive Quotes from Past Superiors
If you would like to prove your credibility as a capable individual with the ability to fulfil the desired job scope, you can always choose to insert relevant quotes or comments given by your past employers on how you were as a worker back in their company. You can place these praises sparingly after the part where you discuss about the job accomplishments that you have achieved in your resume. No harm providing your potential employers with contacts for them to get back to prove that you were a good and credible worker in your previous place of employment.
Even though first impressions do count most when you are having an interview, an impressive and striking resume is what gets you the chance to be interviewed in the first place. It pays to invest enough time to revamp and check through your resume document before you send it in, so that your resume is an accurate reflection of not just your accomplishments, but your qualities and traits as an effective and valued worker.
