Just when you thought that résumés were beginning to get interesting, then there’s this: http://bit.ly/bCKaT7
which is a blog website listing some of the amazingly creative career documents that graphic artists have come up with… take a look! I found out about this site, courtesy of a member of Career Directors International.
Some of these examples are truly mind-blowing!! If anything, it is something to think about… and remember that looking for a job search is really all about marketing your brand and services to prospective customers (employers) who will buy those services.
However, right now, there is also a debate within the résumé writer community about creative résumés- is form valued higher over substance? Seems like that most writers are saying that the examples provided on this blog, while visually exciting, haven’t done justice to the content to clearly show their value proposition.
What do you think?
What do I think? HM… They are creative, for sure. And I think that for certain industries like Marketing,engineering ect. these types of resumes could really be a wow factor and demonstrate the creativity of the said candidate.
That said, as part of an effective search process, candidates need identify organizations they want target. If candidates wants to take this approach and be creative and bold, they better do the research required to understand the target company's culture or this approach will be ineffective.
It may be more powerful to combine both approaches: Stick to submitting the standard cover and resume where the content demontrates the concrete ways a candidate's skills align to the requirements and included as part of that portfolio the creative document as the proof in the pudding.
As a search consultant, I would be impressed with that approach!
Donna Valente