By Susan Ricker
Once you really get your information organized and know what job you’re applying for, working on your résumé can be fun. Well, maybe we’re the only ones that think that, but it’s true that design and formatting can be a little more engaging than trying to creatively say that you answer emails in a timely fashion.
But beware the common problem that designers and job seekers frequently run into: Too much of a good thing. It might seem like giving your résumé a 150 pt. font header of your name or adding a background image of your LinkedIn headshot is a way to stand apart from the competition, but the distinction you risk making is that your skills can’t stand on their own, or that you lack professional taste.
Either way, employers aren’t interested.
To see what a redesigned résumé looks like without qualifying as a design disaster, check out this before-and-after infographic. As you’ll see, the best résumés have a good balance of white space and text, use easy-to-read fonts and are as classic and clean as possible.
Also remember that your résumé can be submitted to employers in a variety of formats, and that not every format will get delivered in the same layout you send it in. To avoid the embarrassment of sending a garbled document, create and save your résumé in several formats, including PDF, word document and text document.
Once you really get your information organized and know what job you’re applying for, working on your résumé can be fun. Well, maybe we’re the only ones that think that, but it’s true that design and formatting can be a little more engaging than trying to creatively say that you answer emails in a timely fashion.
But beware the common problem that designers and job seekers frequently run into: Too much of a good thing. It might seem like giving your résumé a 150 pt. font header of your name or adding a background image of your LinkedIn headshot is a way to stand apart from the competition, but the distinction you risk making is that your skills can’t stand on their own, or that you lack professional taste.
Either way, employers aren’t interested.
To see what a redesigned résumé looks like without qualifying as a design disaster, check out this before-and-after infographic. As you’ll see, the best résumés have a good balance of white space and text, use easy-to-read fonts and are as classic and clean as possible.
Also remember that your résumé can be submitted to employers in a variety of formats, and that not every format will get delivered in the same layout you send it in. To avoid the embarrassment of sending a garbled document, create and save your résumé in several formats, including PDF, word document and text document.