My What a Pretty Resume You Have- Revisited
Posted on August 18, 2008
Filed Under Personal Branding, Must read, Off the beaten path
A couple of months ago I wrote a post on resume formatting titled ‘My what a Pretty Resume You Have‘. Since it was posted it has become one of my most popular. Last week Jacob Share from the blog JobMob jumped back into the fray. Jacob has posted several times on the topic of resume formatting and it’s probably fair to say we disagree a bit on what constitutes and effective resume. I generally feel that when it comes to resume formatting, specifically around using graphics, crazy fonts, colored paper, etc that less is more. On the other hand Jacob feels that job seekers should use any all tactics to create a lasting impression.
While Jacob and I differ somewhat on how to best format a resume, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that there are two sides to every argument. And since I respect Jacob’s expertise in the field, his work in this area is certainly worth the read. So I’ll leave to each of you to decide which path works best for you. In any event, you won’t be able to say that you weren’t informed.
So do take a few minutes to check out Jacob’s blog and his thoughts on this and other topics. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. And thanks again Jacob for the great discussion.
Until next time…
Scott, I’m glad that you decided to bring the discussion to your readers attention. However, please don’t misrepresent what I said.
Above, you say “I generally feel that when it comes to resume formatting, specifically around using graphics, crazy fonts, colored paper, etc that less is more. On the other hand Jacob feels that job seekers should use any all tactics to create a lasting impression.”
Whereas my article Rebuttal: Why You Do Need a Beautiful Resume clearly states:
“People shouldn’t use graphics, colored paper, crazy fonts, etc. just for the sake of making a resume memorable and that wasn’t the point of my articles….This isn’t public relations where all publicity is good publicity. A resume should only leave a positive impression.”
A resume with real blood stains on it would leave a lasting impression, but not a positive one.
Jacob from JobMob’s last blog post..The Secret “So What?” Method To Resume Writing Success
Yes, bloodstains may be taking it a bit too far.
Overall, I think we’re two sides of the same coin on this argument. From personal experience, I have never hired anyone (or not hired for that matter) based upon the format of their resume and to be honest I pay little attention to such things. My sole purpose is to glean a sense of who they are and what they’ve accomplished in their career. It’s what they say/do in the interview that usually dictates whether or no they are hired.
While talking about a “pretty” resume, no matter how great the layout, a typo or misuse of grammer (to instead of too, for should be form, etc.) will also put your resume in the reject file.
After hiring hundreds of professionals, I tried to ignore the great layout (some were written by someone else and the applicant many times did poorly in the interview) and look for accomplishments (always quantitative), team work and initative.
As said previously,the resume will not get you the job only the interview-too many applicants do not do the required research and study to do well in the interview.
Great comments. In my years of recruiting i found that so many uncontrollable, sometimes bizarre reasons exist for why a certain person will get hired - or not - that it’s just best to stop trying too hard and stick to proven principles like - a resume that is well organised, consistent, clearly identifies the target, clearly establishes the credibility and value of the person; and then persistence … it’s the best ‘playing field leveller’ out there.
Getting ‘fancy’ on a resume could work. But it won’t work if it’s at the expense of the basics. (I’ve called people in for interviews just on the basis of a strange/fancy/full of errors resume - just because I was bored and felt curious about what the person was thinking - with no intention of taking it any further - and it never went further!)
But for the best chances - keeping it simple is best - just the point John Groth and Jacob makes.
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