The first time I was introduced to the idea of the infographic resume was during a resume critique session with a mass communications student. They were applying to a firm that thrived on creativity and innovation, so they took this approach with their resume. My initial thought was “This is does not fit any of the standards I’ve been trained on as a career assistant. What do I do?”
To make a long story short, I critiqued the resume and asked the student to provide some websites where I could check out different infographic resumes. What exactly is an infographic resume? It’s a resume that utilizes graphics such as pie charts, bar graphs, and images to enhance the details they provide on their resume. Here’s an example:
(Image via Flickr)
How cool is that? Before you decide to jump head first into changing your resume, keep in mind the employer that you will be sending it to. Typically, an infographic resume is better suited if the company thrives on innovation and your ability to stand out is key in obtaining the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a position that requires a more standard resume, submit it under traditional standards. As much as we would love to have infographic resumes become the standards, some organizations may not be ready for that much innovation.
If you’ve determined that an infographic resume best suits your resume needs, here’s some tips to consider:
The Graphics Should Make Sense
An infographic resume isn’t just a pretty picture that you paint on your regular resume. Take the time to consider which graphics best represent the information in your resume. For example, if you’re considering a career in fashion, having a timeline of your education and employment that looks like a tape measure would be creative yet relevant.
Graphics Need To Be Supported By Information
You shouldn’t just have a pie chart that looks like a pizza without supplying information that helps it make sense. The key part of the inforgraphic resume is the info. This is an exciting concept and you have to be careful to not get caught up in how graphic your resume is. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of pictures with no supplemental information to back it up.
You Don’t Have To Be or Hire A Graphic Designer
Infographic resumes may be hard to create from scratch if you don’t have graphic design experience. What’s great is that there are websites where you can create an infographic resume with just inputting information (some even using a LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+ account). The following websites are popular for infographic resumes:
Visualize.me Re.vu Kinzaa CVGram.me ResumUp
What are your thoughts on inforgraphic resumes? Are they a unique way to represent yourself or just another troublesome format to consider? Feel free to comment below!
