In many fields, a standard resume is sufficient. Listing your strengths, experiences, memberships, and qualifications lets potential employers evaluate whether or not you’re a good fit for a company and whether or not to bring you in for an interview. It’s a relatively straightforward process.
For professionals in more creative industries, the competition to get noticed can be intense. As an employer sorts resumes into “yes,” “no,” and “maybe” piles, you have just seconds to speak to that hiring manager or recruiter and impress them with your accomplishments.
One of the ways you want to make your resume stand out is by visually highlighting your innovations and capabilities. Have you designed popular infographics or websites for interesting clients? Are you a photography master who will hang from trees upside-down to get a killer shot? If the answer is yes, how you present these projects and skills on your resume is the way you can shine.
More employers than ever – 77% of employers to be exact – are searching for candidates online before scheduling interviews. Even if you’re likely to stick with a hardcopy resume format, hiring managers will appreciate something extra. In the creative field, if you’re not representing yourself online or, at least, creating a resume that clearly articulates your skills, you’re missing out on opportunities.
Check out the tools below for creating a complete creative resume that will help to get you noticed:
Represent
Created with designers in mind, Represent allows users to create minimalist, responsive portfolios that function like webpages. Think of it as an online visualization of everything you’re capable of and what your potential clients – or employers – could be looking for.
Users can create simple yet striking professional web pages that highlight professional experience and link to social networks, online portfolios, and more. Unlike other online resumes that take design to the extreme, Represent focuses on the basics.
Online profiles take little effort to build and can be modified easily, and users can test a demo before making any purchase decisions.
Kickresume
In just four easy steps, Kickresume helps you create a “kick-ass” resume. The site offers about eight ready-to-go templates and promises to add more. It’s a good option if your focus is more on organizing all your accolades into a standard format with just a little style.
To start, pick the template of your choice and go through their quick sign-up process. If you already have an established LinkedIn profile with all your work history details, this step is even easier – Kickresume offers a data import option.
Once you’ve added everything, you’ll be able to review it as well as save it to your computer. There’s also an option to download it as a PDF. Sign-up takes less than 30 seconds, and the service is free.
Krop
Krop is a California-based business that offers a couple of different services, all combined into one. They host their own creative job board, as well as online candidate portfolios and resumes.
There are a few options when it comes to Krop, but it lets you create a stunning online portfolio using a wide variety of eye-catching themes, including ones with video backgrounds. They also offer a free resume-only option, where you can organize your accolades and then post your resume within their online database.
If you’re interested in getting your resume up and running and discoverable, the free option is a great place to start.
Accredible
Maybe you’ve taken so many CE courses or other professional coursework that they could fill your resume on their own. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. There’s a tool for you.
Accredible has been designed to highlight these courses and your professional attributes using a portfolio format. This allows potential employers to browse your qualifications or dig as deeply as they’d like into what you offer. The tool has been designed to enable users to create online portfolios that bring those skills to life.
For each qualification or key competency listed, users may include photographs, official documents, videos, and other facts to back it up. The easy-to-use site and the resulting portfolio allow employers to make hiring decisions based on demonstrated facts rather than employee claims alone. The site requires some effort from the user to produce excellent results, but the no cost makes it well worth the time.
VisualCV
VisualCV offers over resume samples and touts that over three million high-level applicants have utilized their services. They have samples and templates from many industries and roles, including graphic design.
Samples offer the option to include small images of your projects alongside where they appear in the text or tie everything together with a bold full-screen background. Instead of clicking and navigating away, or having to look elsewhere in a folder, managers can easily see samples of your work as they skim through your qualifications.
After choosing your design and signing up, you’ll be able to publish your resume online (it will look great on both the web and mobile) or print (PDF) for more traditional job applications.
Another powerful feature is the tracking and analytics – VisualCV offers you metrics so you can see how often your resume is viewed and where the visits came from. The starter kit is free and has some feature limitations, while the professional pricing model grants you access to all features.
Get Creative & Explore Your Options
If you are in a creative or more image-centric industry like design or marketing, a creative resume can help you stand out when competition is fierce. Take the time to explore the options above and think about which features will best showcase your skills. The important point to remember about any resume is not just the content but how you organize and present your industry accomplishments to stand out.
There are many online options for creating design-worthy resumes. Whether you’re looking to build out your digital portfolio or organize your creative accomplishments into a mobile-friendly format, the time to highlight your abilities online – in addition to on paper – is now.
If you’re looking for an HTML & CSS resume template, check out this post: 10 Free Professional HTML & CSS CV/Resume Templates.