Encoded in our very genes is the will to survive by any means necessary including competition. We have been displaying these acts acts of competition our entire lives and now it’s taking a step further in our workplace. The process of applying for a job is way to pit a group of people together and see who can stand out and take the job position.
While I do believe in people going the extra mile to stand out to the employer, I also believe in understanding your surroundings. When applying for a graphic designer position I could see the necessity to show a more creative side to display your skills in a brief and yet capturing way. However seeing how the majority of people go for a more corporate job or a more professional environment it seems to me that it is more practical to go with a more traditional resume.
While some people may go on thinking that they need to make their resume make more physically appealing, the research shows that it isn’t what employers are looking at. In fact according to research only six seconds are spent looking at each individual resume. In case you were wondering what exactly your future employer is looking at here is what the facts state. “In the short time that they spend with your resume, the study showed recruiters will look at your name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education.”
(The above picture shows eye movement on a resume from the employer’s point of view, this helps to see where the mainly focus)
All in all what the above statement clarified is that the least important thing about your resume is how creative you appear to be when sending to an employer. Some people may make a point that some employers will favor job candidates based on their originality but the fact of the matter is, after seeing a thousand resume at a rate of six seconds each, they are not going to waste time by seeing how “cool” your resume is.
If you really want to show a more vivid resume, a social media site such as LinkedIn is a great place to do so. Once your employer is visiting the site he can really see what you have participated in and valuable skills that could not be mentioned on the resume. It will allow you to maintain a clean and professional resume and show your employer that you are still creative and think outside of the box.
Sources:
“6 Seconds”
http://business.time.com/2012/04/13/how-to-make-your-resume-last-longer-than-6-seconds/
Rarely on the class blog do I find someone I completely agree with. I am of the opinion, that the “cool” resume has its place in various creative fields, yet those jobs are few and far between. The reality is that most of us will be applying for traditional jobs, and creating a “cool” resume runs the risk of an inability to conform to a company culture. Furthermore, nothing can take the place of substance. No matter how creative one might be, an eye popping resume will not compensate for a lack of credentials. Once again, great blog post? I really enjoyed it.