10 Pros, 4 Cons and 5 Risks of Graphic Resumes

Graphic
Resumes
All You Need
to Know
4 CONS
5 Risks
10 PROS

In today’s congested job market,
in order to stand out, job seekers
are turning to non-traditional
ways of communication
with employers.

One of the latest trends is
graphic resume. The logic is clear – a
picture is worth a thousand words.
Brain processes images 60.000
times faster compared to text.

However, situation is never just
black and white. Graphic resumes
also have their share of
benefits, pitfalls and risks. Let’s
dive straight into them.

BENEFITS
It’s of crucial importance to show as much
relevant information as possible on your resume
in a fast-digestive way. By its nature, graphically
presented information is ideal for this task

If executed right, graphic resume will raise a non-
intentional smile on recruiter’s lips and after a brief
scan of needed experience and qualifications, your
resume is going straight to the “short list” pile.

Benefits of Graphic Resumes
People like pictures more than words
and recruiters are also human.

They clearly show information.
Instead of reading lines and lines of plain text,
a recruiter can comprehend all of the needed
info on you in a much shorter period of time
with a graphic resume.

They highlight strengths.
Using special graphics like bars, charts etc.
clearly shows relative relationships between
different elements.

They help you with branding.
With a graphic resume, you can match
the branding of your employer using
colors, logos and shapes and that’s an
immediate attention grabber.

Additional positive info for the employer.
Using a graphic resume will show your potential
employer your creativity and talent, your
adaptability to new trends and that you are forward
thinking person with a good dose of courage.

Networking and Shareability.
It’s very shareable content and can be good for
introduction and as a conversation starter.

Thankful for younger readers.
If you happen to communicate with a
younger recruiter, a graphic resume
will be very appealing to him.

Uniqueness.
All classic resumes look similar at first
glance. With a graphic resume, you can be
sure to have unique representation of yourself.

Graphic resumes are easy to make.
You don’t have to be a graphic designer
to make one. With widely available tools
(free and paid), you can make your
graphic resume very quickly and easy.

Unfortunately, it’s not all milk and honey
when it comes to graphic resumes.
Let’s see the biggest flaws of communicating
your info this way to a potential employer.
PITFALLS

Pitfalls of Graphic Resumes
Graphic resumes are not meant
for Applicants Tracking Systems.
A lot of companies are accepting applications
online only. It means your resume is going to
be scanned and stripped down by some
software and those programs are not made for
graphics. They work exclusively with text.

Graphic resumes can be
perceived as less professional.
If it happens that your resume comes in
hands of a conservative recruiter or hiring
manager, graphic elements can be a
major rejecting factor as they can be seen
as a gimmick or unprofessional.

Employment gaps are highlighted.
If you’re making a timeline of your
employment, it’s much more noticeable
if you had a gap on the graphic timeline
than on standard text resume.

Glance logic.
Recruiters and HR staff are used to
traditional resumes and know where to look
for the info. Graphic resume’s elements can
be distracting and sometimes it’s not so
obvious where to look for data.

As with everything, if things are done
right, you will make great impact. On the
other hand, if you mess up with a graphic
resume, you messed up big time.
Here are the most common
dangers that can put your graphic
resume in a ”rejected” pile faster
that you can say “bad design”.
RISKS

Risks of Graphic Resumes
They can be unclear.
There are hundreds of graphic resumes that do
exactly the opposite of what they are meant to
do. Instead of extracting and showing
accomplishments, sometimes it’s not very clear
what the candidate was doing on some job, not
to mention what he achieved.

Bad design.
If you’re trying to add some value with design
and then execute that design poorly, it’s
automatically a worse mistake than the one
you can make designing a traditional resume.

Too much or too flashy colors.
Choose your color set wisely, use 2 or 3 colors
only, and use mild, pastel colors. Having a
resume half in screaming red, half in bright
green probably won’t lead you anywhere.

Distracting shapes.
When creating a graphic resume,
always have in mind that graphic
elements are there to make info easier
to read. If the opposite is true because
of the graphics, you’re doing it wrong.

Industry specific.
Not all industries are suitable for graphic
resumes. Conservative, traditional
industries are very sensitive to clear
format. Alternatively, creative industries
are craving for graphic resumes.

Summary
Benefits Pitfalls
Help you stand out of the crowd. Not meant for Applicants Tracking Systems.
Interesting. Can be perceived as less professional.
Clearly show information. Employment gaps are highlighted.
Highlight strengths. Glance logic.
Help you with branding. Risks
Thankful for younger readers. Too much or too flashy colors.
Uniqueness. Distracting shapes.
Easy to make. Industry specific.
Additional positive info for the employer. Can be unclear.
Networking and Shareability. Bad design.

And here are some examples…
It’s a predefined search
on Pinterest, actually.
Click on the logo below.

This story is brought to you by
The full article contains:
- Infographic “Should you
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- How to make one yourself?
- Examples
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10 Pros, 4 Cons and 5 Risks of Graphic Resumes

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