Business Card Resumes

Over the past 15 years, there have been many attempts to makes resumes "portable" -- from JIST Cards to Social Media Trading Cards to the "Business Card Resume."

Martin Yate's article this week on the topic, "The Business Card Resume" caught my attention.

While his article covers the basics, I thought the visual example he gave was lackluster:

If you're going to provide these cards to your clients, you need to make sure they have the same branding and identity (and look and feel) as the resume. And by all means, the "Performance Profile" has to be as distinctive as a branding statement on the resume. I don't know why Yate chose to abbreviate "Senior" in this example (did he really need to save the extra three letters?) or why his performance profile doesn't quantify ($$, %%, or ##) the real value the client can deliver to an employer.  (Shouldn't all senior A/R specialists be focused on the "identification, prevention and solution of recurring accounts receivable problems"? What sets this client apart? A 44% recovery rate of receivables past due more than 120 days? Expertise in reducing average time-to-collect by 23 days?

More "trendy" -- but not necessarily appropriate for all job search uses, are social media trading cards (thanks to Wendy Terwelp for pointing out her hometown's company, Meet-Meme).

These cards are certainly attention-getting! Another neat feature of the company's services is that QR codes on the cards direct to a personal online brand site, which can contain the full resume and portfolio.

No matter what format you recommend (or provide) for your clients, make sure that it's consistent with their personal brand and identity. Provide as much value as possible in the small space, but don't cram it with information. Consider adding a QR Code (like the ones on Meet-Meme's social media cards) to lead to the client's LinkedIn profile, or a personal website.

Creative Resumes: Do They (Get) Work?

Every once in a while, I come across an article like this one: "13 Insanely Cool Resumes That Landed Interviews at Google and Other Top Jobs."

The premise is out-of-the box resume designs -- printed on unique paper, designed to look like a movie poster (or Facebook page, or Google search results page), featuring a QR code instead of text, etc. -- that is unconventional and landed the job. We get it -- you need to set yourself apart.

It's cute. But the article glosses over the reminder that these types of resumes work best when the "normal" job search principles apply:

• Content is still king. Put it in a pretty package, but if you don't have anything to say, you'll get an interview, because they're curious about the person behind the package, but ...
• You must have the qualifications to get the job. All of the resumes purportedly got an interview -- it doesn't say if any of them actually landed the job. (In fact, the "Google guy" got the interview, but not the job.)
• Creative resumes work for creative fields. Out-of-the-box formats don't work for all industries. None of the samples listed were for an accounting firm or manufacturing company, for example. Which brings me to...
• Size matters. That is, the size of the company you're targeting. Creative resumes are more likely to win interviews in smaller, especially entrepreneurial companies ... where risk is rewarded. They're also more likely to get to the desk of the decision-maker in a small company. As the job seeker behind sample number #5 pointed out, "HR people don't always respond well to this."
• Don't make the employer do more work than necessary. A QR code is trendy, but if the hiring manager or company owner doesn't have the software (mobile phone app, usually) to access the code, the resume will be passed over. (As resume writers, we tell our clients the same thing with regard to boring things like .docx formats, so it's not just cool stuff that can derail your path to an interview ... it can also be boring Microsoft Word software versions...)
• The federal government still is involved. With more and more recruiters and hiring managers Googling prospective hires, and candidates providing video segments and links to online profiles which feature photos, the lines are getting fuzzier about not using traits such as personal appearance to influence the resume screening process, since factors such as race, color, religion, sex, age, ethnic/national origin, disability, or veteran status cannot influence employment decisions.
• It's about form and function. Rick Mundon, the man behind Orange Resume, "a website that designs creative resumes, business, and websites for job hunters" (it's the graphic of his sample resumes that's featured above) does make the point that "employers need to pick (the resume) up and know how to find your past work experience." Not all creative resumes "get" this.
• Graphic design candidates can get away with a lot. See earlier comment about "creative resumes for creative fields." 'Nuff said.

As resume writers, we've probably all developed some creative resumes for our clients at one time or another (I can specifically recall one for a photographer and a couple for elementary school teachers that were out-of-the-norm and landed interviews), but the basic principles of a resume still apply. You must target the reader and demonstrate why this candidate deserves the interview ... and the job. The rest is .... well, window dressing.