5 Creative Ways To Make Your Resume Stand Out

Every country will have its own cultural “stand out” tips that make sense in their cities, but generally speaking there are 5 ways to make your resume stand out no matter where you are from.

Ideally, you should be looking at unique techniques that fit your location, for more information click on this link. Otherwise, these less specific ideas will show your potential employer how creative and special you are.

Make Your Resume Stand Out

Create A Story

Your resume should contain easy-to-read details about your life. This means having clear details about where you went to school, the grades you received, and your previous work experience. But being clear and easy to find, doesn’t mean you have to be boring.

Instead of creating a bland list, instead, write a story. The story needs to be charming and relevant to work. For example, if you hope to become the next employee in a sports center, you might create a story about how you were once a sporty person, but when you left school you lost your athletic drive. Jumping from job to job, you gained skills but not love for your work. You recently started joining sports games again, and have found your place. Now you want your job to match your passions, which is why you are applying.

This type of story tells the potential employer who you are, what your mindset is, and how you have reached this part of your life. It even shows why you care about the application.

To make sure the important details don’t get lost in the story, you should bold all the information they may need to refer back to. Schools, grades, and previous employers should all be bolded for ease.

A Video Resume

Along with all the information the interview needs, you should also send a link for a video. Make a quirky remark like “Why read about me when you can see me in action”. 

The video should only be 3 minutes long maximum, as the idea is to make the information easier to digest. Any longer and your employers will get bored. In the video, you can talk to the camera while also presenting a PowerPoint presentation about yourself.

Just like the story, you should be showcasing why you care about this job, and how your accomplishments match the employer’s needs. Perhaps one of the requirements asks you how you would deal with a certain situation. In that case, you could explain what you would do in graphs while moving around the screen. This active movement suggests you are confident, know what you’re talking about, and can hold a crowd. 

With a video resume, you show that you can be engaging, which is a skill very few people have.

Be Colorful

Everyone prints out their resume on white paper with black writing. If they don’t print it out, they will email the document on the same white paper and black writing. 

An easy way to stand out is to copy Elle Wood and make your resume a completely different color. In Legally Blonde, the iconic lawyer student printed her CV in bright pink. On a table of white paper, that pink was sure to stand out.

You don’t have to use the same dramatic pink, but you should think about using a stand-out color. 

Pick Anything But A4

Turn your resume into a business card with a QR code on one side, and your name and main skill on the other. Hand it out when your network and let the employers come to you.

Or if you would rather send the potential employers a letter, use an A3 piece of paper. The comically large resume will create a lasting impression from the moment they open the envelope. 

Give A Sample Of Your Abilities

Our last suggestion is to send your potential employer an example of what you can do. If you know how to build a website, and notice that the potential employer doesn’t even have a website for the company, you could set up something for them.

When you send them your resume, you can forward a link to the website too. Explain what you did, and how you could expand it if they end up hiring you.

You should only use one of these techniques to make sure your resume stands out but doesn’t overshadow your abilities. Looking at the potential employer you’re aiming for, make a judgment call on which one seems the most appropriate.

A small business with young CEOs would love a good website, while a large business may prefer a stand-out colored paper among the stacks of potential candidates.