Infographic Resumes: Fad or Trend?

With unemployment still hovering at impossibly high numbers, there are still many more people to compete against to find a job. When you email your resume off to a hiring manager, how can you be sure that they will even give yours more than a cursory 20 second glance? In recent years the solution to making your resume stand out from stacks and stacks of other resumes is to include clever and well-made infographics.

What is an infographic resume? This is a resume that uses colorful charts, graphs and timelines to detail a person’s work history and experience. They can range from basic pie charts to advanced, 3-D graphics that make your skills and work history really pop. Many job seekers are probably asking themselves if this type of resume is really for them. Here are some issues to consider before deciding to revamp your resume with over the top graphics and colors.

• What type of job are you applying for?

The consensus among hiring managers is that these resumes can help a person to really set themselves apart from other job seekers, but that they may not be right for every kind of job. If you are applying for a job as a banker or an accountant, it might not be wise to use an infographic resume. If you are looking for a job in a creative industry, such as an interior design position, infographics are a great way to show your creativity and talent. Always consider the job before submitting an infographic heavy resume.

• Are you skilled at graphics?

If your graphic design skills are less than stellar, it would not be advantageous for you to create your own graphics for your resume. Unless you have a knack for creating attention grabbing designs, or you are willing to hire someone that does, you should avoid infographics. Shoddy, poorly finished images and graphs will do nothing but make you look unprofessional.

• Are you including a standard resume as well?

No matter what type of job you are applying for, if you are sending out this type of resume, you should also include a standard, type-written resume as a reference for the hiring manager. This way they can easily print off your information and can consult either document.

• Is your resume completely image-based?

Make sure your infographic resume has more than just images. If a hiring manager is performing an online search or a search of a job site for certain keywords and your resume only has images, you will get passed up. Include relevant descriptions and text so that your resume does not get overlooked in a search.

The bottom line is if your infographic resume is well-done and eye-catching and you are applying for a job that is in a more creative field, you can find success in showing who you are as a person and making your resume stand out from everyone else’s. Always make sure that your resume is presenting accurate and relevant information and if you do choose to use graphics, make sure that a highly skilled individual is creating them for a professional presentation.