It has been widely documented that recruiters spend about 6 seconds on the average resume. It is no wonder; they are flooded with resumes on a daily basis. And I am sure that the job you are applying for is not the only one the recruiter is looking to fill. So, they are in a hurry. Completely understandable. Not only that, the average resume is filled to the brim with “responsibilities” and “accomplishments.” And each of these has more keywords and buzzwords to make any reader’s eyes glaze over.
Let’s be honest, reading just isn’t where we are as a society anymore and, unfortunately, the resume has yet to evolve... at all. We are deep in the “show me” era. Visual experiences are easier to consume, easier to understand. Visual is where we should be going. After all, a picture is worth 1,000 words.
Tools That Showcase Your Skills To Recruiters
It will take time to evolve to a more visual representation of
work experience because the system is not set up for visual, but I happen to believe that it will be one day very soon. In the mean time, here are five tools that showcase your skills to recruiters. Some are visual. Some are not. Some are new, some are tried and true, but all of them will help you stand out in the search process.
1. Word Clouds
Easier than sifting through the text of a resume a word cloud can show a recruiter your areas of focus in your career. It is also more visually interesting than the average resume. There are a number of tools to create word clouds of
your resume. I used
Wordle for mine.
Not only does it show you what your resume is really saying, it can show you what it ISN’T saying. If you are an amazing sales person and your word cloud is all about service, then, you may want to re-work your resume to be more demonstrative of your sales achievements. Here is my word cloud:
Guess what, I have done a LOT of years in Digital. Regardless, 6-seconds reviewing this and you get a better idea of what I have done in my career than 6-seconds with my resume.
2. LinkedIn
It is easy to stand out and be found when you have a strong social presence that is professional. To stand out on
LinkedIn, be sure that your profile has a strong headline, a professional picture and all of your experience is filled out with memorable content that is focused on tangible results. But really, that’s the table stakes for everyone.
To really stand out, it isn’t the profile that is going to get it done. You should spend a good amount of your time adding value to conversations in your industry. Join relevant groups, then add content and comments that show your expertise in your field. Recruiters are visiting these groups to source and the people with thoughtful content and valuable comments get noticed and, most importantly, get those lovely InMails.
3. CredHive
CredHive, a new tool that is in private beta, allows people to anonymously store and showcase their best work in the cloud. The work that is stored builds a visual resume for you, so you essentially never have to write a resume again, you just need to manage and curate your work privately and anonymously over time.
When you want a
new job, then you turn on your antenna to broadcast your work and truly stand out with your best samples on display for recruiters. The kicker is, that only your work, not your work history, or even your identity on display. Recruiters only get to know who you are when they show interest in your work and you want to reveal your identity based on the opportunity the recruiter is hiring for. CredHive uses the cloud to help you manage your career and stand out to recruiters. And requires no design experience to stand out.
4. SlideShare
SlideShare is a great way to showcase your work to recruiters in a public way. With SlideShare you can publish presentations that showcase your skills to everyone online. You can also save those presentations to your social profiles as further evidence of your skillset and proof points for all those words on your resume.
Not only can they be a good door opener, SlideShare can also help seal the deal. Let’s say you have had a first interview or phone screen. In your thank you note, you can link to your presentations on SlideShare to further show why you are the best candidate for the position. Having a reason to
follow up and doing so elegantly always helps you stand out!
5. Prezi
As the resume evolves, Prezi has a nice offering in terms of creating a more interactive resume-style experience. With the
Presume you can create and tell a more visual story of your experience and timeline. You can showcase the content in your resume in a new way.
And if you are not design savvy, Prezi offers some good examples and templates of how to build a Presume. Prezi is a beautiful and elegant visual experience and an easy way to make your resume stand out and unique and different. When you develop your Presume, make sure you share it widely on social and include the link on your resume and
LinkedIn profile.
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Photo Credit:
Shutterstock
Guess what, I have done a LOT of years in Digital. Regardless, 6-seconds reviewing this and you get a better idea of what I have done in my career than 6-seconds with my resume.
