How to Use Multi-Purpose Tools to Create Your Perfect CV Today

Disclaimer: This is a guest post written by Violeta Nedkova.

What if I told you you could have the perfect CV today? What if I told you you don’t need to consult any experts or even pay anyone?

What if I told you you could fashion a creative CV in less than a day?

Don’t believe me? You will. Just read on…

The Revolution of Work

The tables have turned. Work today is not what work used to be 10 years ago. And this is most evident on Somewhere.

But with the rise of creativity as a pre-requisite for applying anywhere, everyone is suddenly feeling the pressure of “being creative” even if they never considered themselves such. Obviously, you and I don’t have this problem, or maybe we all do when it comes to traditional constructs such as the CV, but I personally consider this a lucky turn of events because it literally gives you permission to get outside the box and play.

I mean, haven’t we all dreamed of that since we were little? That one day we would grow up to be what we always dreamed of and all we have to show at “the gate of perfect jobs” is our passion and creativity.

Well, that day is upon us and we’re at the gates. What do you do next?

The Revolution of the CV

Next, you un-learn everything your college advisors have told you about “the perfect CV’ and how to distribute it. Seriously, if you’re going to fit in this new economy, you’ll have to learn new things, like… how to get out of the box and think of everything around you as a tool.

So what’s a tool? A tool is something that helps you achieve your goals. It can be anything from a social media scheduling service like buffer to a blogging platform like Wordpress. However, if you want to get out of the box, you need to stop viewing all of those as “one-purpose” tools.

Nothing is one-purpose. Think about that.

If you go to Lifehacker, you’ll see people have come up with different ways to use everyday objects. Nobody there looks at a paperclip and says: “Oh this is created to hold paper together, so that’s what I’ll do with it.” This is the old thinking, and you need the new thinking if you want to succeed.

The new thinking says: “This is anything I want it to be.”

The rest is just figuring out how to get there. Of course, not every tool can be multi-purpose for you, but if you adopt this thinking, it’ll be easier to come up with fresh ideas for the tools you use every day.

The 3-Step Magic Formula

Most people who get featured in major publications regarding their “amazing CV’s that landed them their dream jobs” did the following:

1. Picked a service they are comfortable using.
2. Used all of its functionality to create their CV.
3. Found a way to put it in the right hands.

That’s it! Does it sound complicated? Hell no.

People have used their favorite blogging platforms, such as tumblr and Wordpress, free website builders like Squarespace, etc. They have fashioned amazing business cards. What used to be unusual is now normal.

Developers have built interactive resumes and designers have fashioned creative portfolios just to have an advantage over the other applicants. Whether you use your skills to build something from scratch or use an existing tool, there is one rule: think outside the box.

Or rather, recognize that there is no box.

The Tools at Your Disposal

Now let’s get more specific. I’ll list some tools you can use (with examples of people who did), so you can see it’s not that hard after all.

If you can perceive it, you can achieve it. — Napoleon Hill

• The Visual CV — The purpose of this one is obvious, but the result is very creative. The Visual CV (by Somewhere) will give you a very personal and visual CV to show your future employers.
• Squarespace — This is probably the easiest way because it’s free and it has beautiful templates for all kinds of pages. Whether you want to promote your project or yourself, Squarespace has you covered.
• Wix — I’m mentioning Wix because my creative resume is on there. Although it’s not public yet, it showcases my 5 values, and then whoever gets to see it can decide if there’s a culture fit.
• tumblr — I can’t find the link, but there was a girl who used tumblr to apply for her dream job and she got it. It was a simple blog with her experience and skills and visions, and it shone.
• Medium — The latest creative CV/portfolio came from Borahm Cho, who used Medium’s collections to gather his projects in one place and because Medium creates beautiful articles, it works perfectly.
• Documents — This is hardcore. Not everyone will look at their passport and say, “Hey, I can make this into a CV, drop it around creative agencies, an see what happens!” but Miruna Macri sure did.
• Product Hunt — Did you know you could go on there and search for anything you like? Product Hunt is the biggest product data base on the Internet and it grows exponentially every day. If you’re searching for a tool, chances are you’ll find it (and some of its competitors) on there.
• Canva — There are infographic templates now! Technically, you can create some kind of timeline of your experience or see how much your skills have progressed over time, and stick it on a page on your site or just attach it to the emails you send to recruiters.
• I bet even trello can be turned into a CV. And it has been.

In the end, it’s best to go with your skills, or “stick with your DNA”, as Gary Vaynerchuk puts it. If you’re a designer, design something. If you’re an illustrator, draw something. If you’re a writer, write something.

As long as you’re using your skills and leveraging new tools, you’re on the right path. Presenting yourself creatively will show your future employers that you’re caught up on the times and you understand that “the future of work” is actually the present, and we’re all living in it.

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P.S. Want to join a community of digital creatives? Start here.