A lot of people reach out to me asking for flashy resumes that they’ve seen on Pinterest, however the truth is that a flashy resume won’t get you the job. Regardless of how pretty your document is, if the content isn’t there, the pretty resume won’t do you any good.
The truth about a lot of the flashy resume templates online
A lot of the resume templates circulating the internet right now are minimalistic, eye catching, and appear more like a work of art than a resume, but the truth is that most of these minimal templates have no real information on them. It’s because they don’t have much information on them that they look so clean and simple. Once you add the right information onto your resume, the template will likely look a lot different or simply won’t allow the space needed to add on the necessary information.
Infographic resumes are another popular style of resume known for their flashy and colorful nature. While these documents may look like there’s a lot of information on them, I have yet to see an infographic resume that actually contains the necessary information needed on a resume. Additionally, many recruiters agree that infographic resumes rarely work when applying for corporate jobs.
An effective resume is about balance
Balance between an aesthetically pleasing document and a document that has the information you need; balance between text and white space; balance between creating a document that will get you through an applicant tracking system and a document that will engage a real person. Everything about your resume should be balanced. Your resume might be eye catching, but it doesn’t mean that it’s effective; this is why a flashy resume won’t get you the job.
What kind of resume will help your job search?
Notice how I didn’t say “What kind of resume will get you a job.” A resume alone will not get you a job. A resume is tool that will help you get an interview. Your resume, interview, personal brand, connections, and a whole lot of other factors will help you get a job. It doesn’t just come down to your resume.
In order to create an effective resume that will help you in your job search, you should make sure that you document meets the following requirements:
- It highlights your value and gives concrete metrics and achievements to show what you’ve done
- It is accomplishment based and NOT responsibility based
- It is catered to the specific job you’re applying for
- It is free from spelling and punctuation errors
- It is aesthetically pleasing and easy to read
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When you’re trying to create an effective resume to help you land your dream job, it’s important to keep in mind that a great resume contains information that highlights your value. A flashy resume won’t get you the job, because resumes that are focused on visual appearance rarely have the right information that recruiters and hiring managers are looking for. Resume templates are often created by graphic designers who focus on creating a document that is visually appealing, not on creating an effective resume to meet your needs.