How To Get Creative The Right Way With Your Resume

Famed American author William Faulkner once famously wrote “the past is never dead, it’s not even past.” While Mr. Faulkner certainly had more literary, philosophical matters in mind when he wrote that line, the same spirit applies to resumes.

The past is supremely relevant while writing a new resume, as our prior professional journeys and job histories help determine where we land in the future. Of course, the past, like so much else in life, comes in shades of gray. So, it’s up to you to present your professional past in the best possible light while also maintaining truthfulness and transparency. 

A great resume can be akin to a golden ticket that delivers near endless job opportunities and interview offers, but a poorly constructed resume can put you out of the running for your dream job before ever sending out an application. The average recruiter or hiring manager sees dozens if not hundreds of resumes on a daily basis, and each one usually only gets about seven seconds of their attention! That’s not a whole lot of time to make an impression, which means your resume needs to stand out in all the right ways – and quickly! 

Your resume is an advertisement, not an art project

Whether you’re sitting down to write your first resume ever, or just feel it’s time for a refresh, it’s key to understand that a great resume is like a commercial for your career. The ideal resume is both captivating and detailed yet equally brief and to the point. 

Many people make the mistake of assuming their resume should attract eyeballs like a flashing billboard on the side of the road. This is a major mistake. While there’s absolutely room for some creativity, don’t treat your resume like an art project. The addition of extra and unnecessary colors, patterns, or designs to your resume should be avoided in all scenarios. Always stick with plain old black colored text and a traditional, universally known font (in most cases this will be Times New Roman or Arial).

The same goes for extra columns, superfluous text boxes, and pictures of yourself. All of these well-intentioned aesthetic additions will only serve to slow down readers and take up precious space that should be used to list your impressive accomplishments. It may seem like an exaggeration, but if it takes a recruiter even just an extra second or two to find your latest job or most recent certification, your resume will find itself in the rejection bin nine times out of 10. 

Another reason your resume’s layout and formatting should be as simple as possible: Many positions are now sorting through candidates with the help of automated systems. As you can imagine, AI algorithms are even more unforgiving when it comes to “creatively designed” resumes. Many of these systems automatically reject resumes featuring graphics or too many columns.

The right way to get creative with your resume

Resume formatting may leave little room for individuality, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative while describing yourself and your work history. No one can properly articulate your prior positions, challenges, and accomplishments better than, well, you. Putting together a new resume is a perfect opportunity to finally do some bragging.

The job history section is the bread and butter of any great resume, and the best place to let your creative juices flow. To start, though, it’s important to note this area should always be compiled in reverse chronological order (your current or most recent job should be listed first). 

Under each listed company and position held, add at least three or four bullet points describing some of your biggest accomplishments, successes, or problems solved while on the job. This is your chance to really get creative. Don’t fall for the common pitfall of simply listing off your job duties and responsibilities. Chances are, hiring managers already know what you were expected to do. The real question they want answered is if you managed to succeed in those endeavors.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. The more unique your listed accomplishments, the better your chances of standing above other applicants. Maybe there was a major logistical error that you helped solve, which consequently saved your company tons of money. Alternatively, perhaps you recognized the need to update social media strategies, resulting in a serious boost to on-site traffic. Finding creative, eye-catching ways to articulate such career victories is essential to crafting the best possible resume. 

For example, instead of plainly saying “Oversaw event marketing and advertising campaigns,” write “Generated three new branding campaigns that increased quarterly event attendance by 26%.”

Ready to put your new resume to work? Take a look at Ladders’ comprehensive job search page featuring thousands of high-paying opportunities.