Although I am not sure that a creative resume would be the most advantageous, given my career plans, I like the distinctive folded paper and infographic options for alternative resume styles. As I become an actuary and enter the risk field, my professional presence is mostly influenced through networking and the information contained within my resume ( Resume Guidelines: Actuarial Science). Of this information, the most crucial part is what actuarial exams I have passed or plan to sit for, the skills and knowledge I have gained through internships or previous jobs, and leadership roles in relevant activities. I think an infographic or origami resume could highlight this information quickly while being creative, easy to read, and concise.

I think a creative resume would certainly set me apart from the competition, but only to make me more memorable not necessarily give me a leg-up on the competition; I will have a better chance of securing the job by passing more exams. However, an infographic could easily draw the employer’s eye to this score and other important information by giving the information its own box and emphasizing it with color and pictograms. Infographics seem to be the closest to a simple black and white, word processed resume, as would be more appropriate in a serious, data and information oriented environment than a word cloud or movie poster. The infographic shown below is, in my opinion, a good example because it is colorful but has a unifying theme (of pink) and is easy on the eyes. The sheet is not crowed and it is easy to identify the different sections such as skills or contact information.

A creatively folded resume is also acceptable because it can simply be your regular word processed resume folded in a clever way

or your resume can be sectioned off and folded so that the shape highlights different important aspects of your credentials.

The first origami resume, which is folded like an envelope, would be the best option because, like a business card, it can be carried around and given to an interested party without being cumbersome the way a piece of paper or exceptionally 3-D folded resume would be.

Penn State Smeal College of Business. Resume Guidelines: Actuarial Science. Retrieve September 14, 2014. http://ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/careers/documents/resume-rm-actuarial