You’re now waiting for the right opportunity to send your shiny resume off to a dream employer who’ll be floored by your awesomeness. Sadly, there are several hiccups before that can happen. Most employers will spend about 5–7 seconds on your resume, and that too if you’re among the first few applicants received 200 seconds after the job is posted (yes, that’s 200 seconds only!) If you do manage to hit “Send” in those first few minutes, there’s a huge chance you’ll be looked up online (68% employers will search for you on Facebook), so you want to make sure your after-party video does not make it to YouTube. One spelling mistake and you’ve lost your only chance. But that’s not all—once you do take care of all the possible road blocks, you have a new problem. How do you stand out from the crowd who have put equal amount of effort and care in their resumes? The answer is simple. You must do what most of your competition hasn’t thought of yet: Embrace the technology of Interactive Resumes. Needless to say, an interactive resume (when done right) will get you far in the fiercely competitive race for a job than a plain, boring one. For starters, interactive resumes let you show your personality to your prospects. You become “more human” and less of a faceless applicant (that said, do not put a photo on your resume ever—research states that 88% of employers will reject you if you have a photo on the document). Secondly, with interactive resumes, you get to show your creativity, which could well be the deciding factor between you and the next person. But before we delve further, let’s first take a look at what it means to build an interactive resume.
Just What Is an Interactive Resume?
This question can be best answered using an example. Check out Robby Leonardi’s Mario-inspired resume here to get an idea. An interactive resume, unlike the traditional ones, is a website created with the sole purpose to showcase your skills, knowledge and abilities so far. Think of it as your store-front where you put your best wares for sale. Interactive resumes are also known as multi-media resumes which include audio, text, video, links and graphics that give you a lot of room to play and build credibility. But don’t be mistaken—your resume doesn’t have to be over the top and scare off the employer. Some industries may not be ready for a fluorescent-themed animation (is anyone ready for that?) but if subtly done, by mixing creativity and fun, you can build a cool resume that captures your prospect’s attention, such as this one.
More Benefits of Interactive Resumes
1. You always know what happens to your application.
With most text-based resumes, you have no idea if the document was ever opened. If you never heard from the employer, how do you know if they even looked at your application? Since an interactive resume is basically a website, you can track the number of clicks and the most popular links on your resume using monitoring services such as Click Meter.
2. You can update your resume instantaneously.
With traditional resumes, once you’ve sent it away to the employer, you won’t be able to send them an updated version (unless you’re asked for one). With an interactive resume however, you can almost instantly make changes and keep your career history updated for head-hunters.
3. You can make informed decisions based on the clicks.
Let’s say you have a link to your YouTube video on your resume. If you notice employers clicking the link and staying on your YouTube page a lot, then you can make the smart decision to keep adding/updating your videos.
4. You prove you’re comfortable using new technology.
One of the selling points, especially for older job-hunters, is the ability to stay abreast with technology. If you’re a graphics designer looking for a job, an interactive resume can give you an edge over competition.
The Downsides
Like everything in life, interactive resumes come with their own set of flaws. One could be the industry you’re applying in is not yet ready to face such interactivity. For such industries, bring in a moderate level of interactivity with hyperlinks to your blog and website. Another possible down-side could arise when head-hunters compare different resumes. They could have a hard time comparing your interactive resume with other text-based ones, so much so that they might give up on reading yours.
How to Create Interactive Resumes?
Okay, you’re now convinced and ready to give interactive resumes a go. The question naturally arises “Just how do I create these beautiful resumes? Do I have to learn to code?” Thankfully, there are services that do the most work for you. So no, you don’t have to learn coding. This tool lets you create interactive resumes for free and you don’t need to download any additional software either.
Your Turn
Have you ever built an interactive resume for a job? How did it go? Share your experiences with us in the comments below! Want more? How to Make Your Resume Stand Out From the Crowd.
