It can’t be argued that most of us write down things on résumés in a strange way for example missing pronouns, making present participles appear as fragments and making odd word choices to name a few.
If that wasn’t concerning enough, a recent The Wall Street Journal report says that Gen-Z specifically is doing some weird things when it comes to résumés such as adding photographs, dashes of color and even BITMOJI to the digital versions.
These practices are surely making résumés look less professional and more like the About section of a Social Media profile.
Although these tactics might make a résumé look different and the candidate look creative, various applicants haven’t landed decent gigs due to this approach. For example, at an Indiana high school, an applicant was rejected and guess what! Their digital résumé had a bitmoji saying “hi”. There are a number of other similar examples in the article.
One other example that should be highlighted here is of an applicant who applied for a marketing and communications position at Jeni’s. Their résumé had a (somewhat) emotional photo of themself in a café. Covering the attention grabbing photo were the applicant’s personal details including their hobbies such as "spin aficionado, dog lover, foodie, outdoor enthusiast."
As mentioned above, these tactics rarely work and unless the industry requires the applicant to do something out of the box, it’s best to remain confined in the boundaries of professionalism especially when it comes to résumés. There are several other ways in which the candidates can stand out among others without ticking off the higher-ups.
One of the best ways for applicants to showcase their personality is by writing a book about themselves and what they do. The book doesn’t have to be a classic that the world will talk about for years. It can be a short and sweet self-published book.
Having written and published a book related to the position a candidate is applying for can greatly help them out in landing the job and looking different from rest of the aspirants.
In the end, it is best to say that although the résumé formats are kind of outdated, it is best to comply with the standards. If someone really wants to stand out and demonstrate their true potential and personality, they can do that during the interview or once they get hired.
Read next: Creating AR filters for Snapchat is now a proper profession
If that wasn’t concerning enough, a recent The Wall Street Journal report says that Gen-Z specifically is doing some weird things when it comes to résumés such as adding photographs, dashes of color and even BITMOJI to the digital versions.
These practices are surely making résumés look less professional and more like the About section of a Social Media profile.
Although these tactics might make a résumé look different and the candidate look creative, various applicants haven’t landed decent gigs due to this approach. For example, at an Indiana high school, an applicant was rejected and guess what! Their digital résumé had a bitmoji saying “hi”. There are a number of other similar examples in the article.
One other example that should be highlighted here is of an applicant who applied for a marketing and communications position at Jeni’s. Their résumé had a (somewhat) emotional photo of themself in a café. Covering the attention grabbing photo were the applicant’s personal details including their hobbies such as "spin aficionado, dog lover, foodie, outdoor enthusiast."
As mentioned above, these tactics rarely work and unless the industry requires the applicant to do something out of the box, it’s best to remain confined in the boundaries of professionalism especially when it comes to résumés. There are several other ways in which the candidates can stand out among others without ticking off the higher-ups.
One of the best ways for applicants to showcase their personality is by writing a book about themselves and what they do. The book doesn’t have to be a classic that the world will talk about for years. It can be a short and sweet self-published book.
Having written and published a book related to the position a candidate is applying for can greatly help them out in landing the job and looking different from rest of the aspirants.
In the end, it is best to say that although the résumé formats are kind of outdated, it is best to comply with the standards. If someone really wants to stand out and demonstrate their true potential and personality, they can do that during the interview or once they get hired.
Read next: Creating AR filters for Snapchat is now a proper profession
