Are traditional CVs not enough anymore?
By: Cat Hancock
Tags: Marketing, Personal Branding, Recruitment, Cv, Cv Writing

“As an employer I have always tried to look at each CV, but it becomes clear very quickly which CVs catch the eye and begin to ‘sell’ a potential employee.” Karen Millen OBE

During lockdown (the first one in England) I took the opportunity to join Facebook groups filled with people working, or hoping to work, in marketing and communications. As practice and trends are constantly evolving in these areas, and as someone early on in my career, I wanted to learn from, as well as share my own knowledge with, like minded individuals. Through these groups I have been introduced to a wonderful community of people happy to provide guidance and support to each other. But, one of the things I have noticed in particular is the rise in popularity of creative CVs. This has led me to question, are traditional CVs not enough anymore?

CVs traditionally consist of two neat pages outlining previous experience, education and skills, in addition to your personal details and anything else you want to share with your potential new employer. If you search “CV template” on Google you will be inundated with examples of black and white pages, utilising Times New Roman or Arial, bullet points and bolded headers. Creative CVs on the other hand can be just about anything. Examples I have seen range from posters, scrapbook graphics, videos, songs, mock ups of social media profiles or websites, books, piñatas, toys and even a real custom doll’s house (think 13 Going on 30).

From the case studies I have seen it is clear these are a clever way to help your application stand out against the ever increasing number of applicants. For the right job and the right company this is a sure way to demonstrate your personality and how you are a cultural fit, something regular CVs are unable to provide. However, when it comes down to it, you can create the most inventive, spectacular application imaginable but that can’t always make you the best candidate. That being said, if your creative CV can demonstrate you have the skills and potential to succeed, a great employer might just see that.

Most days now a creative CV pops up on my LinkedIn feed. They usually are quite popular with other users showing support on their creativity. What I see, however, is silly flaws. It is exasperating to me, to see almost all of them contain grammatical, spelling or layout errors, obvious from a quick scan. Spending hours devising graphics unfortunately becomes worthless when you use the wrong “there” or forget to capitalise a previous workplace. Indeed, this is also true when it comes to regular CVs. With traditional and creative CVs alike, they must fulfil the same foundational criteria. Do they meet the personal specification? Are they tailored to the specific job? And, equally as important, are they clear, lacking fluffy language, and readable.

CVs have been round for, not just decades but, hundreds of years. In fact, the first professional resume recorded came from Leonardo da Vinci in 1482. However standard paper CVs, as we know them today, became the norm in the mid-20th century. In a world of Tik Tok, iPhone 12s and artificial intelligence, does this not tell us it’s time to move on to something new? People are unique and innovative and individual. Within a society where most spend the majority of their life working, shouldn’t we be putting ourselves into the hands of hiring managers from that first stage of application?

It would be wrong to suggest that by using a traditionally “boring” CV format you have no personality. And many would argue that is what the later stages of the hiring process are indeed for showing. It was Bill Gates who first said in 1996 “content is king” and this certainly still rings true today. One of the best examples on creative CVs I have seen compared them to books with interesting covers, but disappointing interiors. If your CV has nothing worth listening to, you have no business shouting about it.

Unfortunately, I think the decision on creative CVs is largely out of our hands. Hiring managers are individuals themselves and know what they are looking for prior to advertising. However you apply, you just might not be it. With creative CVs in the minority, it’s difficult to conclude a success rate but I would be interested to find out. As with any application, CVs ought to be tailored to the specific job and company. If that job and company might respond well to your creative and enthusiastic talents, I say go for it. Just understand there are so many factors contributing to the hiring process, and don’t be disheartened if putting yourself out there and spending hours on a project does not get you where you want to be.

Oh, and always get someone to proofread your work.

Images: João Ferrão via Unsplash

https://www.vertex42.com/resumes/cv-template.html

References:

Bill Gates, Content Is King. Available at: https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill-gates-1996-df74552f80d9#:~:text=Ever%20wondered%20where%20the%20phrase,as%20it%20was%20in%20broadcasting.

Laurence Hebberd, Undercover Recruiter. Available at: https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/history-resume-info/#:~:text=Leonardo%20da%20Vinci%20wrote%20the,a%20new%20template%20for%20resumes.

Karen Millen OBE, via Jan Cole, Creative CV Guide. Available at: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers/documents/students/other/creativecvguide(1).pdf