Don't get too carried away with your resume!
Posted by Brent Bates on Saturday, December 8, 2012 Under: Resume Writing
As a recruiter, I see hundreds of resumes per day.
Some are long, some are short.
Some are succinct & to-the-point, some are overly verbose.
Some are black & white, some are so colorful it makes my eyes hurt!
Some look like they were created by a 4th grader, some look like a graphically designed sales brochure.
You may think that the professionally done sales brochure resume is better than the 4th grade level resume containing spelling and grammatical errors... Well, you are right! However, an overly glamous and eye-catching resume can still work against you in most cases.
Those that think including company logos, pictures, clip art, and/or multiple colors are the best way to get your resume noticed among the pile of other resumes are correct too, but for all the wrong reasons.
Yes, they make your resume look like a professionally done, graphically enhanced magazine advertisement outlining the features and benefits of hiring you. There are several problems though. From the eyes of a Recruiter, HR professional, and Hiring Manager, it raises several red flags.
They start to wonder why you feel the need to stray away from a non-traditional resume format to get ahead, as if your background and skills aren't enough to prove why you're worth interviewing. Puffery on your resume can plant a negative seed in the head of the Recruiter viewing your resume. Some Recruiters more than others. I personally don't see issue with it unless it's just excessive, but it does leave a slight feeling in the pit of my stomach that the candidate is trying too hard and is desperate to impress.
Aside from self-promotion and personal bias, as a Resume Writer, my clients' resumes highlight their most important and relevant accomplishments through facts & figures, optimize keywords to be found by Recruiters, and moderately balance the visual cues to catch their attention, while still maintaining a level of professionalism.
The other concern is specifically about using your current or former employers' company logos. If you weren't aware, legally, you need to first obtain a company's permission to use their logo. It violates their intellectual property rights, and would be considered trademark infringement. Realistically, some companies would not care or even make the effort to sue you over it, but it's not worth the fruitless risk and depending on the company you are applying for a job within, they may not look at it in a positive light either.
Pictures of yourself on your resume in the USA just make the Recruiter/HR Pro/Hiring Manager feel uneasy because of discrimination laws. Clip art on your resume just looks cheesy and cartoon-like. Black, white, gray, and maybe a small hint of color are your safest bet for success!
Some are long, some are short.
Some are succinct & to-the-point, some are overly verbose.
Some are black & white, some are so colorful it makes my eyes hurt!
Some look like they were created by a 4th grader, some look like a graphically designed sales brochure.
You may think that the professionally done sales brochure resume is better than the 4th grade level resume containing spelling and grammatical errors... Well, you are right! However, an overly glamous and eye-catching resume can still work against you in most cases.
Those that think including company logos, pictures, clip art, and/or multiple colors are the best way to get your resume noticed among the pile of other resumes are correct too, but for all the wrong reasons.
Yes, they make your resume look like a professionally done, graphically enhanced magazine advertisement outlining the features and benefits of hiring you. There are several problems though. From the eyes of a Recruiter, HR professional, and Hiring Manager, it raises several red flags.
They start to wonder why you feel the need to stray away from a non-traditional resume format to get ahead, as if your background and skills aren't enough to prove why you're worth interviewing. Puffery on your resume can plant a negative seed in the head of the Recruiter viewing your resume. Some Recruiters more than others. I personally don't see issue with it unless it's just excessive, but it does leave a slight feeling in the pit of my stomach that the candidate is trying too hard and is desperate to impress.
Aside from self-promotion and personal bias, as a Resume Writer, my clients' resumes highlight their most important and relevant accomplishments through facts & figures, optimize keywords to be found by Recruiters, and moderately balance the visual cues to catch their attention, while still maintaining a level of professionalism.
The other concern is specifically about using your current or former employers' company logos. If you weren't aware, legally, you need to first obtain a company's permission to use their logo. It violates their intellectual property rights, and would be considered trademark infringement. Realistically, some companies would not care or even make the effort to sue you over it, but it's not worth the fruitless risk and depending on the company you are applying for a job within, they may not look at it in a positive light either.
Pictures of yourself on your resume in the USA just make the Recruiter/HR Pro/Hiring Manager feel uneasy because of discrimination laws. Clip art on your resume just looks cheesy and cartoon-like. Black, white, gray, and maybe a small hint of color are your safest bet for success!
In : Resume Writing
Tags: resume pictures clip art logo professional intellectual property trademark
