By Jennifer Janviere
Recently, I’ve been hearing about new ways to present resume information that better showcase skills and abilities than the traditional single page format. This makes sense in many ways; we live in an increasingly visual data-driven world, so why shouldn’t the tools that we use to sell ourselves to employers reflect this?
A resume that incorporates visual data–whether in the form of videos, infographics or just creative illustrations–communicates information to a potential employer in ways that a piece of paper simply cannot. Presenting data in a visual way allows an individual to craft a story about oneself and communicate a message about who he or she is in a way that would otherwise be lost within the limitations of a paper resume.
An article on the multimedia journalism website 10,000 Words.com also extolls the virtues of visually-driven resumes, and cites the case of college student Christopher Spurlock, whose well crafted resume recently landed him a job with the Huffington Post.
Whether you’re a student looking for that perfect internship, a recent grad searching for a career break or someone who has been out in the workforce for awhile, below are some resources to make those traditional (read “boring”) resumes stand apart from others in the pile.
One site that has been getting a lot of buzz is Vizualize.me, which is set to launch this August. Vizualize.me pulls information from a user’s Linkedin profile, turning it into an attractive, professional looking infographic.
And if you happen to be looking for inspiration, here are a few more resources for creating infographic resumes:
10 Mind Blowing Infographic Resumes
Jennifer Janviere is an instructor and multimedia specialist for the Diederich College of Communication.
