The jobs market is changing as rapidly as the world of technology and the way candidates present themselves to potential employers is no exception.
Many companies are now asking applicants to prepare video resumes so the potential employer can size up candidates before actually meeting them
Are They Effective?
Strong work experience and qualifications are still the most important assets when trying to get the job of your dreams but a visually impressive CV can also make a surprisingly strong impact on a potential employer who is used to fielding dozens of standard-format CVs.
Any chance to stand out from the field and show creativity is priceless, and it’s smart to remember that life can become pretty tedious for recruiters who have to plough through piles of CVs every day.
According to a 2015 study by CareerXroads, employers spend an average of just six seconds looking at a CV before moving on. In such a hectic environment, it helps to use thoughtful design and colour, fonts and images to highlight whatever aspect of your own story you want to emphasise.
It is hard to find clinical evidence that such CVs are more successful than old-fashioned CVs in landing jobs but they certainly represent a growing trend among young people and are generally welcomed by employers.
How do they Differ from Old-Style CV’s?
Visual CVs can include charts and graphs in order to show your skill levels, professional development history and other timelines in a catchy and unique fashion.
But how do you do that? There are several websites offering help to build serious visual CVs. There are plenty of scams lurking among the free sites but there are also good websites offering valuable products such as VisualCV.
The company offers two plans. The first is free and provides access to a couple of templates and two versions of a CV. The second option is the premium plan for £5 a month, with six months paid upfront for £30.
If you want to do the work yourself, we are here to help. All you need are basic graphics skills and a copy of Adobe Photoshop installed on your PC or MAC (you can get a free 30-day trial here).
How To Do It
If you are a graphics expert you probably already know what to do. Otherwise, some beautiful Visual CVs templates are available on Behance, Creative Market or Envato Market in a .psd (Photoshop) format, and most of them are free to download (you just have to register to get an Adobe ID). The ones you need to pay for are legit, and some of them are really worth the price.
The CVs on the website are organised according to the type of job you are after, so it is easy to find the one you need. Once you have picked up your .psd format CV, all you have to do is open it on Photoshop.
Every CV file has a clear level structure, so you can just select the standard template level and modify it with your personal data. Once you are finished, just rasterize the levels (to reduce the file size), and save your file in a PDF format.
What are your views on Visual CVs? Let us know by emailing Felix Magazine through our “Contact Us” page.
by Alessandro Mascellino
The post Job Hunting: Making CVs Stand Out appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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