Do Beautiful Resumes Help You Get the Job?

By Alex in Everything Else on Mar 15, 2008 at 1:59 am

Need a job? Jacob Share of JobMob posted a compilation of 36 beautiful resumes that stand out from the boring ol’ black-and-white ones job seekers everywhere make by the millions.

This one to the left is the resume of graphic designer and illustrator Kenji Enos.

I’m curious if they work: do beautiful resumes help you get the job, or are employers wary of people that stand out? Link – Thanks Jacob!

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

Sofar
Mar 15th, 2008 at 2:07 am
I try not to overthink it. I dress to stand out, I drive a car that stands out, and my resume stands out. If someone don’t want to hire me because of that I wouldn’t get along there anyway.
the man
Mar 15th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Have you noticed that most of the resumes there won’t adapt very well as a MSWord attachment to an email?

I really haven’t seen ANY employers in the last 12 year of my online applying who take PDF files.
Parker
Mar 15th, 2008 at 3:04 am
2nd the man. There’s no way I’d be able to send in anything that wasn’t completely MS Word compatible which is how the vast majority of places want your resume.

Also, I think the ‘man head’ would be seen as highly unprofessional in non-design or creative fields. I love the second one though and will see how to reproduce it with MS borders.

And, if you’re applying for entry level clerical work I have found it doesn’t pay to be overly impressive. Chances are, the person interviewing you doesn’t want to feel like you can/should replace them or will move on to bigger and better. I was once interviewing for a high paying assistant (clerical) position and one of the interviewers was a bit perturbed that I had a bachelors degree..no reason given. I was just asked to respond to ‘I worry that you have a bachelors’. May be just my experience but be careful interviewing for jobs you know (and your resume shows) you can do in your sleep.
Matt
Mar 15th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Some of these are attractive and might work if you’re applying directly to a person or small company, but the reality of most medium or large companies is that your resume gets immediately scanned into the resume database. Sure, they might keep the original around to return with a search result, but if it’s not easily text-searchable (weird fonts, small text, color, unusual layouts), a database search will never return it.
Miss Cellania
Mar 15th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Wow. Maybe that’s why my job search is stalled. I don’t have MS Word. Is it expensive?
Patrick B
Mar 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
MS Word can be a bit pricy.
Try Open Office http://www.openoffice.org/
It’s compatible and free.
ted
Mar 15th, 2008 at 8:49 am
While these look lovely online, you really need to have a simple black and white resume that potential employers can print and use.
Retrievability is the key.

I remember getting a job years ago when I sent in a PowerPoint – some folks are impressed by those things.
kenny
Mar 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Absolutely. I was actually told in an interview that my resume stood out from all the others and he knew he would invite me in for an interview before he had even read it. I think it also varys for the type of position you are applying for. In my world, graphic design, a crappy looking resume probably means you’re a crappy designer. I’ve designed resumes for many friends and relatives who have all had positive feedback from potential employers. Your resume is truly your first impression. If it’s boring and bland and blends into the grayness of all the other applicants than it is hard to stand out.
andrew
Mar 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
It might be that I’m a designer but submitting PDF files as a resume is pretty much the way to go. People in my field seem to expect it.
Kate
Mar 15th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I think it definitely depends what kind of job you’re going for. I’ve been involved in the hiring process to replace three assistants who got promoted, and the cleaner and more readable the resume, the more likely we’d call them in. Anything too fancy would be obnoxious and show-y. But for higher positions….maybe?
Terry
Mar 15th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
It depends on the job you are going after. If you are going for a straight-cut, blue suit executive staff position then you will probably want to “blend in” style wise but have strong words. If oyu are going for a “think out of the box” position then creativity and originalty can sell well.

Personally, I was invited to three interviews solely for my stating “All Around Good Guy” on my resume.
Alex
Mar 15th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I think Kenny and Terry are right – beautiful resumes probably work best when applying for jobs that involve creativity like graphic design.
VonSkippy
Mar 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Fluff over content never worked for me.

More and more, job listings clearly state the resume must be machine scannable.

Don’t follow the rules – don’t be surprised when your resume gets tossed in the bin.
Kyle
Mar 15th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Speaking of beautiful resumes, I found a site recently that offers free online resume reviews. You upload your resume, black out your contact info, and then it can be rated and critiqued anonymously… it’s at http://www.razume.com
The Slapster
Mar 15th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Know what really makes your resume stand out? Pheromones. Spread a little on the cover letter, then sit back & watch the six figure offers start rolling in baby!
Rosi
Mar 16th, 2008 at 3:28 am
It’s worth a try at least… because the area I live in is “disadvantaged” (load of rubbish, but whatever), there aren’t many part time jobs available for teenagers because a lot of teenagers drop out at sixteen and work full time. Also, there are a lot of adults working in places that require little experience. This makes it really hard for me to find a job, and believe me, I’ve tried pretty hard. I went to my local shopping centre and handed a CV into every shop and got no replies at all. I’ve been searching for a year and I’ve only got one interview. So maybe a change of tactics would be helpful.
Kenji Enos
Mar 26th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
hey… yeah i got the job i applied for… so it worked for me.
Pete
Jan 9th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Vaginas dude, that is what it takes to get a job now days.

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