Finding a job is a laborious process that requires an impressive amount of internal resources and patience. It is unlikely that any of us at least once in his life did not find himself in the role of an applicant. Many people neglect the need to create a professional resume, focusing entirely on interview preparation. However, a simple listing of skills, experience, education, and description of achievements in a regular Word document is hard enough now.
Do not send such a resume to dozens of companies, not a single HR will even look at it. Yes, the first and most important problem that prevents you from finding a dream job is a wrong resume. Today we will try to solve this problem.
A professional, stylish and attractive ready-made solution is what will help you quickly arrange your CV in the right way. Beautiful resume design templates do this job well.
Your resume is your only chance to make a good first impression on the recruiter before the interview. The main things to focus on are the structure and appearance of your resume. If your resume doesn’t draw attention to itself visually, chances are, it can get lost among dozens of others. You may be the perfect candidate for a job, but no one will ever know about you unless you first highlight your virtues in your CV.
How to present yourself to employers in the best way:
Choose a resume format. This choice should depend on those qualities or achievements that you want to focus on (skills, experience, etc.).
- If you need to focus on experience, previous positions, and the companies you have worked for, a chronological resume format is the best option.
- If you want to emphasize skills, we recommend using the functional CV format. This type of resume allows you to list the skills that you have acquired not only in your main job but also in universities, organizations, extracurricular institutions, etc. A functional resume is especially beneficial for candidates looking to build a career.
- To highlight your knowledge, you can combine the two CV formats described above.
Focus on resume design. It should be attractive and memorable, but the “wow” effect can hardly be achieved by making the CV overly meaningful, too bright with a pile of unnecessary elements. Try to keep the layout clean, present information concisely, keep headings clear, readable and have a nice color palette. Don’t push yourself on HR managers. Instead, try your best to describe your accomplishments in a concise and concise manner.
Research the industry in which you want to find a job. If you need a job in a traditional field, stick to a conservative resume writing style, but that doesn’t mean it should be dull and boring. Combine fonts, use italic and bold, and color to highlight the most important details: headings, dates, etc. Candidates for more creative positions can move away from traditional resume templates and use richer visual aesthetics.
Resume design tips
It might seem like the choice of a design or resume template doesn’t really matter, but trust me, it doesn’t. Especially if the design of the resume makes it difficult to read.
To save you the tragic mistake of choosing a bad resume design, I’ve prepared a few guidelines. They will help you not only create an easy-to-read resume but also help you stand out from other job seekers.
- Use professional photography for your resume
Most resume templates have a section where you can add a portrait shot. Including your photo on your resume is a great way to introduce yourself to the recruiter.
I recommend using a professional photo for your resume. The main thing is that it is a recent high-quality photograph in which you look like the ideal candidate for the stated position. Never use photos of questionable quality.
- Add a nice and interesting frame to your resume
I won’t be mistaken if I say that most resumes are printed on plain white paper. The colors most commonly used in a resume are light gray and blue. Every recruiter has a pile of such resumes on his desk.
A nice and interesting frame like the one in the resume example above will help you really make your resume stand out from others. Using a frame in your resume will allow you to show your personality without distracting the manager from important information.
- Use data visualization to show agile skills
Talking about agile skills on a resume is not easy. When describing yourself, if you include a number of buzzwords and phrases, your story will probably seem insincere. On the other hand, the manager may find it strange a resume that has too few personal characteristics.
I’m sure visualization is a great way to show both rigid and flexible skills. Unique data visualization will not only draw attention to itself but also help to present information in an unusual way.
- Stick to a consistent color scheme in your resume design
For a resume to be effective, its design must be holistic. Remember to use the same fonts, icons in the same style, and the same colors across all sections of your resume.
With a consistent color scheme, your resume not only looks great but is also easy to read.
- If you don’t have a lot of experience, create a minimalist resume
It’s okay if you have little work experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, so don’t worry! To make up for your lack of experience, you can create a minimalist resume.
But this does not make this resume design look empty. On the contrary, thanks to the minimalistic style, it seems that the author was striving for brevity and expressiveness.
If you want to use this tactic, make sure the other sections of your resume look similar. It will be weird if you list 1-2 jobs and then list a huge list of flexible skills that you think you possess.
- Highlight the contact details by changing the background color in the section
Your contact details should be at the very beginning of your resume. It is advisable to give them their own section, so it will be easy to find them. You don’t want to miss out on your dream job just because a recruiter or program couldn’t find your phone number!
One of the easiest ways to highlight contact information is to change the background color in the appropriate section.
- Never use just one font in your resume design.
Using just one font on a resume is the worst design decision you can think of. No, really. There are literally thousands of fonts that you can use. In reality, with such a huge selection, there is no excuse for using just one font in project design, especially in resume design.
For example, the combination of serif and sans serif fonts makes a resume convenient for quick viewing and transition from one data to another.
That’s all for today’s resume design tips! Hopefully, these tips and templates will help you get a great job.
Top resume design tips:
- If you have little work experience, create a minimalist resume.
- Stick to one color scheme in your resume design.
- Create an infographic resume.
- Use icons to illustrate your interests outside of work.