How And When To Make A Creative Resume That Actually Gets You The Job
It’s only creative — if it works.
The Struggle of Standing Out
It’s okay to feel the struggle. Tons of people do. Every job application has what feels like a million other applications and your student loans grace period are only getting closer to it’s end.
This isn’t the economy your parents graduated into.
- Nearly half of all 25-year-olds in the US are still living at home with their parents
- Over 70% of millennials are unhappy with their current jobs
- 83% of recent college graduates have no job lined up for after graduation, and 44% of those who do get jobs are underemployed
A nice resume and a college degree no longer gaurentees you a job you’re excited about.
Recruiters need your whole story (that’s tailored to them) to notice, vet, interview, and then maybe hire you. But what else are you supposed to do?
Learn how to code your own website? Make an infographic resume? Blog every week?
It’s only creative if it actually works.
Why most creative resumes don’t work
Most creative applications and resumes don’t work because they deviate from the goal of a resume or application in the first place: convincing the recruiter that you’re the one for the job.
The best application is not the most trendy, creative, or visual. The best application is the best application. When you’re excited to be thinking creatively — this can sometimes be difficult to keep in mind.
Most creative resumes backfire. Most often, they weren’t executed the right way — a high quality eye-catcher that also highlights your strengths.
Most of the time, it’s best to use a simple personal website and clean, tailored resume — but whether you decide to go with a creative resume or not, you should know that recruiter are always looking for the same thing at the end of the day.
What do companies and recruiters look for again?
The best person for the job. It’s worth saying again just to bring it back to the top of our minds. It’s the only thing that really matters.
At the end of the day, it’s a clear demonstration of a job fit. Recruiters have a job to do. They’re going to make the best choice they can. You should only use a creative resume, then, if it that helps them do just that.
When It’s Time To Create A Creative Application
If you’re applying to a general online job application, your creative resume is likely going to get in the way because the applicant tracking software they’re using probably can’t even read it to begin with.
You should really only use a creative application when you have direct access to the recruiter. When you do, you need to make sure it’s impressive, not something that’s in their way.
Here are a couple points to consider:
- If you’re going to go out of the box, think about how to SHOW your strengths not TELL them. If you’re a graphic designer, strong visuals are a must.
- Try your hardest to get direct access to the decision makers (otherwise someone may not even see your creative work) and understand they people they have to talk to and work with
War Stories: Breaking What’s Good And Why
The Clever Addition:
While this captures the recruiters attention, it is also supplemental to a traditional resume. It does a great job at GRABBING your attention, but leaves the applicant’s qualifications to speak for itself.
The Tailored Proposal:
This is a website I personally created when I was looking to become a product management intern for Airbnb. Never mind the leftover spelling and grammar mistakes (yikes-DO NOT DO THIS), but it SHOWS how I thought about the role, instead of TELLING them vague qualifications I have for the job.
The Interactive Website:
I wouldn’t recommend something as elaborate as something above, but creating an interactive piece of work — a video, short audio clip, or video game, can be clever if it fits the bill. These are very easy to screw up, so only try to execute something like this when you know you have the chops and opportunity to actually pull it off well.
The Subtle Creative Element:
If I were to apply to a job at New York Times, here’s a subtle tagline that’s clever and shows that I have a sense of excitement and passion about the The New York Times.
Graphical Resumes:
Graphical resumes are perhaps the most overused of any of these because they’ll often detract from the message itself. If you’re a graphic designer, the design IS the message (like the example above). But for the majority of us who aren’t well-versed in photoshop, a modern and clean approach to your resume design is almost always the best bet.
I’ll Spare You The Horror Stories
There’s a ton of reason people screw up creative applications.
I’ll spare you the countless horror stories, and leave you with the top 5 mistakes people make in making creative resumes and applications.
Avoid these, and use the advice above and your own common sense on what might work. When in doubt, use a service like nametag (disclaimer: I’m the founder).
1. Creating an unclear infographic resumes or a hybrid resume that applicant tracking systems cannot read and recruiters need a magnifying glass to examine
2. A video resume that has no real rational behind it besides the fact that “it’s different”. While sometimes that’s all it takes, be mindful that you have to actually get someone to watch it. Why will they?
3. A graphical resume that’s too hard to read and the recruiter just skips over it after a moment of trying to figure it out
