Creative Resumes
(Scott) I'm currently in resume review mode, and every single one that crosses my desk (or inbox) looks absolutely identical. Times New Roman, 11-point font, line after line of bulleted achievements, black and white. Is this uniformity in fact an opportunity to stand out from the crowd? Or, is breaking from the status quo too high risk?
For those of us in the world of creativity / innovation, should we ever consider a candidate who sends us a plain black and white resume? Are they walking their talk?
As food for thought, I recently read a survey that said the average black and white resume is viewed for a total of 8 seconds by the "gatekeeper" (usually somone in HR). That's not a lot of time to make a first impression. Conversely, resumes that were printed on colored paper received 17 seconds of attention. That's a significant difference... and that's only from colored paper.
The best "resume" I ever received was a few years back... on a Monday, a large box arrived at our office, sealed with a big, red bow tie. Inside was a set of red, bicycle handlebars. Etched into the handlebars were exciting adjectives and a note to stay tuned. On Tuesday, another box, this one with a front wheel. Painted on the wheel were company names and previous work experiences. Wednesday and Thursday brought similar pieces. Still, no candidate name... just bicycle bits. Then, on Friday, the candidate delivered the final piece herself. She also arrived with a wrench and volunteered to put the bike together (a Radio Flyer tricycle). By this time, our whole team was totally enamored with her... the bike told her work and life story, and as she put the bike together in our conference room we chatted her up - she proactively created an informal interview. She was applying for a creative position, and proved she understood how to deliver a memorable message and get results. We hired her without reservation.
What's the best resume you have ever seen? How have you seen applicants push the envelope? Or, alternatively (and for fun), what is the worst resume you have ever seen?
For those of us in the world of creativity / innovation, should we ever consider a candidate who sends us a plain black and white resume? Are they walking their talk?
As food for thought, I recently read a survey that said the average black and white resume is viewed for a total of 8 seconds by the "gatekeeper" (usually somone in HR). That's not a lot of time to make a first impression. Conversely, resumes that were printed on colored paper received 17 seconds of attention. That's a significant difference... and that's only from colored paper.
The best "resume" I ever received was a few years back... on a Monday, a large box arrived at our office, sealed with a big, red bow tie. Inside was a set of red, bicycle handlebars. Etched into the handlebars were exciting adjectives and a note to stay tuned. On Tuesday, another box, this one with a front wheel. Painted on the wheel were company names and previous work experiences. Wednesday and Thursday brought similar pieces. Still, no candidate name... just bicycle bits. Then, on Friday, the candidate delivered the final piece herself. She also arrived with a wrench and volunteered to put the bike together (a Radio Flyer tricycle). By this time, our whole team was totally enamored with her... the bike told her work and life story, and as she put the bike together in our conference room we chatted her up - she proactively created an informal interview. She was applying for a creative position, and proved she understood how to deliver a memorable message and get results. We hired her without reservation.
What's the best resume you have ever seen? How have you seen applicants push the envelope? Or, alternatively (and for fun), what is the worst resume you have ever seen?
posted by ROInnovation at 8:48 AM
3 Comments:
That is an interesting one, I think that the way our recruitment systems work actively discourages people to be creative in their CVs, as being comparable is one of the key criteria. Personally i would not send any other than the standard two pages unless I knew that was what they were looking for.
I have recruited for creative roles and once recived an steel arrow in a large box with the arrow piercing the cv (which was made in the shape of an apple), creative yes. But the experience and skills did not match up to the job. I think it's a balance.
Also on another thought unless it is truly creative i think it runs the risk of looking naff. For example I have had quite a few with people's pictures on and the odd couple on coloured paper...
It's really interesting you started this because when I was applying for my current role I wanted the job so badly and wanted to stand out, so I had a friend take my lack and white text and put it onto a card flyer with a very unposed, informal picture of me sort of in the background (in mid flow of a conversation - as I am often seen). The text copy was not different from how it would have been on the black and white version, but it seemed to look more engaging. When in the interview my now current boss actually took the copy from me and said "oooh is this for me? thank you". It helped me be noticed I think (but then again they were already seenign me in the first place)
Oh, and something else - I was at the fortune Innovation conference in New York this week, (I'll put a whole lot of separate posts on about that) - but one small thing I saw was this incredilbe video that a 19 year old student put together as a job application for Sony, with these incredible images moving, with a camera becoming a tv, becoming an MP3 player, becoming a camera again, all to great techno much (like those Peugot car adverts where the car gets up and dances / skates). Anyhow it was mind-blowingl good quality, and this guy had just done it at home, an amateur. sad part of the story - it was so innovative and good that Sony never hired him - they just didn't know where to fit him in their organisation....
Post a Comment
<< Home