I was listening to a presentation by a job coach/resume writer recently and he made a suggestion to the job networking group. He contends that adding a graphic to a resume was a good way to set you apart.  Something like a puzzle piece or a dollar sign could be a subliminal message that the candidate is the missing piece of the puzzle or  that the sales person is money-driven. 

I am skeptical. I have reviewed a lot of resumes and I don't recall ever being swayed by something like that. I question whether it would do more harm than good. 

There is a branding aspect, which makes a little more sense but you have to be consistent and it should not look like something copied from Clip Art.

What do others think about this? 

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It's a shame that there really is so much crappy resume advice out there. I think this is ridiculous, and even IF one resume was improved somehow, you know there will be thousands more that take this idea and run to Crazytown with it.

All I want from a resume is basic: name, location, contact information, CHRONOLOGICAL job history, education/licensing, and not much else. Let it tell me what you have done, what skills you have, and that you can put together a pretty basic document.

Ugh! My guess is that "expert" has never hired anyone in his/her life and wouldn't know the first thing about how the process works. Adding gimmicky graphics to a resume may make it stand out from a visual perspective, but it won't matter if there isn't any relevant content to make it worth reading beyond the pretty pictures. 

I feel sorry for the poor unsuspecting participants in that presentation that probably don't know any better and assume said expert is right. So sad! 

I've seen a lot of so-called expert resume writers' work and much of it atrocious. For some reason, they think the fancier and more cluttered the better. They add all sorts of goofy junk that probably convinces the person that hired them to put it together that they got their money's worth, but what a pile of crap. 

~KB @TalentTalks 

Every time I read about shit advice like this a little part of my soul dies... I want to see specific, measureable accomplishments related to the job I'm interviewing for, not that you know how to drop cutesy word art into a document.

I have to go outside and scream now.

Thank you  Amber, Kelly, and Amy. I didn't mean to raise your blood pressure. I just wanted to make sure that I hadn't missed some secret recruiters meeting where everyone voted that this was a good idea.

It should be noted that there was a lot of good advice that went along with the presentation but this one struck me as wrong. Obviously, resume reading can be very subjective and recruiters have different pet peeves. For me it's objectives, especially boiler plate objectives, and the phrase "References provided upon request."

LOL thanks Brian - and you're not alone!! I share your pet peeves. The hard part about offering resume advice (or calling out bad advice, for that matter) is that resume reading IS so darn subjective... what I can't stand some other recruiter might require. Sigh.

Whenever I sit on employer panels or dish out advice I ALWAYS include a caveat - "this is what I think, talk to recruiters at the companies you want to work for!"

Yeah pretty much agree, poor advice.  Stick to content and information about your success.  While we are at it, "Keywords", I hate them.  I am assuming you are punctual, truthful, hard working, friendly, etc. 

I'm over all this "create your brand/personal brand" crap. Show me a well constructed, results driven, easy to read resume. If you have what I'm looking for, you will be contacted. Catchy phrases, graphics, etc, while sometimes livens up my day, still won't prompt me to contact you if you aren't selling what I am buying.

@Amy "Every time I read about shit advice like this a little part of my soul dies" I am dying laughing at that line. Good one!

"ultra-visual" was a keyword on a resume today.  Can someone tell me what that means?  Is it like really really visual?  Would I have to explain everything in picture form?

 

 

I must have been feeling snarky that day :)
 
Tiffany Branch said:

@Amy "Every time I read about shit advice like this a little part of my soul dies" I am dying laughing at that line. Good one!

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