Creative resumes, when you first see them, are amazing creatures to behold.

Sleek lines.

Dazzling graphics.

Amazing charts.

Eye-catching colors.

Creative layouts.

But that’s what they are.

Eye candy for human resource / hiring managers or recruiters who are so tired of boring old formats that their eyeballs are about ready to fall out of their sockets.

So if creative resumes makes it onto the desk or inbox of the potential employer, chances are that the reader will perk up.

“Aha!,” they exclaim. “Finally something INTERESTING to look at!”

True fact: the purpose of a resume is to get the attention of the prospective employer.

But here’s the catch. There’s a second purpose of a resume.

It has to make someone want to pick up the phone and call you.

Which means that despite all the eye glitter they are ingesting from creative resumes, employers still have to read between the lines.

You have to SHOW that you can actually do the job.

And that, my friends, is where content really is king.

All bedazzlements aside, at the end of the day, substance has to be the last one standing.

You can’t rely on dazzling the employer with B.S.

You have to have the content to match, otherwise, you are no better than the most odious click bait if you go the creative resumes route.

And another thing that job seekers tend to forget: if fed into online application systems, oftentimes, creative resumes end up getting vomited out the other side.

The software simply can’t digest it.

So here’s your strategy should you go the creative resumes route:

1. Develop great creative resumes that have substantive content that means something to your target audience.
   Only give that resume to a REAL LIVE HUMAN.
2. Have the more traditionally-formatted resume ready to feed the hungry ATS monster.
3. Network like hell!

Looks and looks alone can’t seal the deal.

You have to be able to do the job, and that’s where the content really makes the case.