What is a "Visual Resume"?

7/25/2018

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Job Search Ideas July 25, 2018

What is a Visual CV?

Professional Image Building

Words on paper or on screen can communicate only so much. With a visual resume, you can enhance the look with more colors, icons, and designs that are more contemporary and attention-grabbing. But it is only recommended for networking purposes, while being handed to another person. It is not recommended for job applications, or online job boards.

How To Use Visual CV For Job Search

Visual CV's have a different purpose than a standard resume. They are not exactly the same thing... A Visual CV is an effective tool for networking purposes. It is a step up from just handing out your business card while networking. It is a step towards branding your name, your service, and all that you have to offer.

Visual CVs are NOT ATS-friendly (Applicant Tracking Systems). There are over 40 attributes one can unwittingly build into a resume that will cause ATS difficulty reading. Some will cause ATS to not be able to read anything at all.

A major contributor to problems is graphics. But that is not the only problem. In fact, it goes beyond graphics. File types such as PDF's, font choice, mixed fonts, how certain information is laid out, even section tiles, can cause problems depending upon who the ATS software vendor is.

With over 200 ATS software providers and no standard to uphold, it's no wonder people fail to get responses or are rejected regardless of qualifications.

Visual CVs are fine IF, ... IF you can hand the resume to a human. The computers that read them are blind. That is why a Visual CV is best used only for networking purposes. A more classic resume is still your most powerful tool to navigate through the job search process.

Classic Resume vs Visual CV

TRADITIONAL RESUMES WIN EVERY TIME

No visual resume has “perfect fit” formatting for most people and it’s like trying to reinvent the wheel to make visual resumes bend to your wishes. Visual resumes ARE slick to look at. Use them for networking at a job fair where somebody has already met you and you just want them to remember you.

Visual resumes are usually created with complex formatting features such as images, graphics, text boxes (most ATS systems can't read information in a text box or in the header or footer), columns, etc. Images, color, and "fancy" elements on a resume just interfere with the ATS and are visually distracting for most people reading and comparing Visual CVs to a normal, easy-to-read classic resume.

Visual CVs with a picture of the jobseeker are considered automatic disqualification by most HR Managers. In fact, it is close to illegal for an HR Manager to even have talents’ photo(s) on hand (on one's computer).