Comments on: Do Beautiful Resumes Help You Get the Job?

By: Kenji Enos

Kenji Enos — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:27:08 +0000

hey… yeah i got the job i applied for… so it worked for me.

By: Rosi

Rosi — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:28:24 +0000

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.

By: The Slapster

The Slapster — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:49:23 +0000

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!

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:50:21 +0000

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

By: VonSkippy

VonSkippy — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:52:57 +0000

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.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:44:54 +0000

I think Kenny and Terry are right - beautiful resumes probably work best when applying for jobs that involve creativity like graphic design.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:46:51 +0000

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.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:47:14 +0000

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?

By: andrew

andrew — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:58:55 +0000

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.

By: kenny

kenny — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:58:44 +0000

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.

By: ted

ted — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:49:55 +0000

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.

By: Patrick B

Patrick B — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:34:45 +0000

MS Word can be a bit pricy.
Try Open Office http://www.openoffice.org/
It’s compatible and free.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:31:49 +0000

Wow. Maybe that’s why my job search is stalled. I don’t have MS Word. Is it expensive?

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:08:02 +0000

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.

By: Parker

Parker — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:04:00 +0000

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.

By: the man

the man — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:12:21 +0000

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.

By: Sofar

Sofar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:07:55 +0000

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.