How to make an outstanding CV

Photo by FLEE (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By Linda Horsta

A desk filled with papers… an exhausted man sits in front of them and inhales deeply. Then he starts looking through the pile of papers. Each sheet gets his attention for less than 1 minute. All of those papers are CVs, and yours might be one of them. How to make the employer look at yours longer? Create a unconventional and insanely creative resume!

Creative resumes are not for everyone

A recruiter at a judicial firm probably won’t find it funny if you send him a sarcastic resume, while McDonald’s might be thrilled. Answer two questions before you start making your CV:

• Who does the company I’m applying to want to hire?
• Do I fit that role?

A good start is finding information about what’s needed for making a CV, like this article about the top 7 ways how to get hired.

Hit the target with a creative resume

The good and the bad of a unconventional CV by Jobsearch:

• Pros – you can concentrate on showing your skills, especially if you want to work in creative industries and media related jobs;
• Cons – many companies prefer traditional resumes, and some of them use applicant tracking systems which don’t recognize images.

Show that you are worth it

Distributing your resume online could get you an opportunity: “There is no bad place to post”, says Steve Burdan, a certified professional resume writer. Creating a resume for media related jobs should include your creative work in an interactive way. Put the newly made CV in your website or blog.

World-class resume looks

Your future boss is absolutely looking for someone who will get the job done, so show it – go the extra mile by making your resume interesting. Create an infographic CV.

A beautiful resume like Monica Gomes’s might be your dream, but she had to collaborate with graphic designers to makes this happen. Start off with an engaging photo and continue with information about your work and education history arranged in an easy-to-follow way like Nantakan Pansong did it with Infogram.

Personal logo? Why not! If it helps you get the job you want. Put effort into personal branding and show it in your resume like Matthew Wilson. Oftentimes a good quote may serve as the best personal branding possible. Take for example Taylor Macpherson‘s who created her resume with Infogram.

Bring to the table your knowledge in the field by showing your work, videos and creative skills. Make your resume as bold as Ksenia Goryacheva’s, by showing attitude and describing your personality. You can do this with Infog.am too, like Serena Andrews did.

Did you get inspired to create your own resume? Go get your dream job!