An infographic résumé uses to convey a persons career development and skill set
There’s no question: You’re far more interesting than your resume lets on. Show
You have an A+ work ethic, an impressive portfolio of skills, and an epic list of accomplishments to your name. You make scintillating water cooler conversation, to boot. Everyone who knows you knows that you’re at the cutting edge of your field. So why are you still sending out resumes that look not so different from the ones your mom and dad sent out 30 years ago? Text-only resumes are yesterday’s news. The infographic or visual resume—which uses charts, icons, and other graphic design elements to show vs. tell a person’s professional story—is the new darling of the recruiting world. A picture is, after all, worth 1,000 words. Check out the best-of-class visual resumes below for tricks of the trade, then see “This new kind of resume could help you get hired” to learn more about the trend. 1. Pull out some numbersHighlighting numerals—as Stuart Mayhew did below with years at each company, hours worked, applications known—makes the standard resume info more quickly digestible for a recruiter who's short on time. 2. Display your sense of humorYou won't get hired solely for your ability to make someone laugh, but emphasizing something a little lighter—like Tina's icon about coffee or her note about Comic Sans—helps you convey that you won't be a wallflower at the office happy hour. 3. Showcase your skillsThe part of your resume that says what special talents you bring to the table may not seem immediately graphical, but as Chris Rowe's resume below and others in this list show, there are many creative ways to break those down. 4. Make words into artText doesn't have to be boring. Playing with the fonts, sizes, boldness, and kerning can help turn something wordy into something purdy. 5. Use icons to become iconicRather than relying on charts and graphs, Matthew Hall interspersed simple but lively images in his resume to get the point of each section across quickly. 6. Tell a good storyIn the same way that a good infographic usually has a kind of thesis statement, your infographic resume can illustrate a narrative as well. Courtney Freeman's below shows how she approaches marketing from both sides of her brain. 7. Excel at ExcelBar charts, pie charts, and line graphs, oh my! Most visual resumes include at least one graphical element—Alexander Ray Boren's below includes a few. 8. Map your career journeyAssuming you've been following a particular career path, a timeline can be an ideal way to represent your experiences. There are many ways to design a timeline; Daniel Kramer demonstrates one of them below. All resumes used with permission from their authors. MORE FROM MONSTER:
The current job market is flooded with people who submit their resumes in the hopes that a hiring manager will notice it. With the number of applicants that popular position openings see, getting lost in the shuffle can seem more likely than not. A tactic that many job seekers looking to set themselves apart from the competition will use is developing an infographic resume. Key Takeaways:
What Is an Infographic Resume?An infographic resume is a creative resume that relies on visual marketing tactics to make themselves distinct from the myriad of traditional text resumes a company will come across when hiring. Instead of just writing out lists of your personality, accomplishments, and professional history, an infographic resume uses visual elements to communicate these things. The graphics featured in this formatting aren’t just cute pictures to grab attention on your resume. They should follow the definition of its name and visually convey important information in a way that’s easy to follow. If a potential employer feels like they’re just looking at pictures when they see your resume, your infographics are not doing their job. The stylistic openness that focusing on infographics provides usually creates a unique resume that’s interesting to look at and read. This can be useful for making yourself stand out among other applicants for the design and layout of your infographic resume. When To Use An Infographic ResumeInfographic resumes are not for everyone. They have their drawbacks, which will be addressed in this article later. You should only use an infographic resume under the following circumstances:
What To Include In An Infographic ResumeEven if you’re working from an infographic resume template, there are some things that you still are responsible for including.
Tips for Creating an Infographic Resume
How to Make an Infographic ResumeCreating a successful infographic resume depends on your visualization and design skills. An individual whose skill levels are in the beginner stages will have to take a more simplistic approach than a graphics expert. For the average Joe of graphics or image-making knowledge, start with browsing templates for infographic resumes. Many sites can provide you templates for resume designs that are similar to infographics, but these won’t be exact. Examples of websites that have infographic resume templates include:
If a company you’re applying to specifically requests an infographic resume, it’s recommended to use more details, charts, and graphs. Using only basic graphics or bright colors to make your resume have a more infographic style won’t fly if the employer is expecting more. Are Infographic Resumes Good?For most people, an infographic graphic resume is not a good choice. Nobody technically needs to use an infographic resume in the place of a traditional text-based one unless a job listing specifically requests it. In fact, it may not be recommended to use it when you’re not familiar with implementing graphics into a resume document. It’s also possible that an infographic resume won’t make it past an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) because it relies on images more than keywords. The risk of sending an infographic resume in for a job opening you’re hoping to land is that it will either dazzle the hiring manager or fall flat. There’s rarely middle ground when it comes to formatting your resume like this because it’s a dramatic approach. To avoid these challenges, always keep a copy of your traditional resume that outlines the same information and send them together when possible. How Can an Infographic Resume Help Me?Although there may be some considerations to make before deciding to create an infographic resume, it can also greatly help in your job search if it’s executed well. The following are ways that using an infographic resume as opposed to a traditional one can help you.
What is an infographic resume?An infographic resume is based on visual representations of your skills and experience, such as timelines, graphs, icons, or bar charts. Unlike a traditional resume style, which just uses text, an infographic resume uses graphic design elements.
What should an infographic resume include?An infographic resume portrays a candidate's relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments in a visual manner. Rather than simple texts, this type of resume contains images such as graphs, charts, and icons that convey an applicant's distinctive professional story.
When should you use infographic resume?An infographic resume can be a useful addition to personal websites, professional networking platforms, and social media accounts. Including one can help hiring managers and recruiters remember who you are after reviewing your application or interviewing you.
Who should use an infographic resume?If you work in a creative field or creativity is one of your strengths, you should seriously consider designing an infographic resume.
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