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Selling Yourself making a creative resume

At some point we all need to consider how to quantify the things we've done that might help us get a job. Typically one of the main things we use to do that is a resume or, the longer version, a CV or curriculum vitae. We'll stick with the shorter version, a one page resume.

Your resume must include at least five sections. Make it visually clear which section a viewer is reading. Here are some areas people often focus on when they build their resume: contact details, educational history and performance, special skills, qualifications, goals, work / volunteer experience, awards / certifications / achievements, activities, shows, and press. Feel free to name these as you would like. And of course, the whole point of this process is to make the resume visually stimulating so that it gets the attention of the person hiring you.

Here are some inspiring resumes that are also visually captivating. Try to think about making your resume reflect who you are so that it communicates as much as possible to the person looking at it and so that it's uniquely yours.

Notice that most well-designed and memorable resumes have some common traits:

  • They use just two contrasting fonts that work well together and also make each font stand out with varying weight, style, and / or size.
  • They use smart groupings to organize the information about themselves.
  • They create a design style (often using shape and color) that feels relevant to the job and to who they are so that even the look of the resume tells the viewer about the applicant.

This is a 50 point project that will be graded with these criteria in mind:

Creativity: Is this resume unique to the designer? Is it inventive and thought-provoking?

Memorability: Will this resume leave a strong enough impression on the viewer that they remember after they've looked at several others?

Organization: Is it clear where the viewer's eye is supposed to go first, second, and so on? Can the viewer quickly identify which information goes with which category of information? Is this document easy to read and easy to grasp as a representation of the designer's qualities and qualifications? (Typically information is organized well when the designer has thoughtfully aligned and spaced like-information and has used contrasting fonts (two only), weights, styles, and sizes.)

Skillfullness: Has the resume been put together in a way that looks professional, yet artistic and unique. In this case, has Adobe InDesign been used well.

Completeness: Has the designer included at least five areas of qualification or contact information so the hirer has a solid understanding of who they're considering hiring?

Credits:

Created with images by BrAt82 - "Retro old microphones for press conference or interview recording on wooden table front gradient aquamarine wall background. Vintage old style filtered photo" • Africa Studio - "Group of people waiting for job interview on white background" • stokkete - "Job interview"