"With unemployment in the United States hovering around 10%, hunting for jobs can be a daunting endeavor.
Competition can be cutthroat, and job seekers have been using all kinds of unusual strategies to gain an edge in their searches, from donning sandwich boards advertising their skills to passing out resumes on street corners.
While some applicants have used these unorthodox strategies to secure a coveted position, others have used creative brute force, wielding new technology, unusual online outlets, and brand-new content creation tools to set themselves apart."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/09/creative-resumes-ideas-fo_n_530920.html
Please read through the article and enjoy the different portfolios and ask yourself:
Ask yourself for each of the portfolios: What is this person's contribution? How does this person want to be evaluated? How has this person gone about representing themselves?
Pick one of the portfolios you viewed and critique it in regards to the 3 questions above.
Let me know if you have any questions,
--Dr. M
I really liked the idea of “The Pocket CV”. This resume or portfolio was for an architect/designer. When looking at the image on this site you can see the images on the backs of the pages as well as the layout of information. I’m guessing the images were of this persons work. Then the pages are held together by what looks like a bolt showing their industrial flare. Being put in a slide book will definitely be more memorable than if they had put their information in a regular book. This person wants to be evaluated on creativity and design. Being an architect/ designer this is an awesome way to show that. I think this is a great representation of this person’s ability and potential.
When looking through the other resumes and portfolios they were all very unique and memorable. However some of them had so much information put in little areas it was hard to read or find what you were looking for. Some of them were so creative they were unreadable. The designs and layouts were definitely memorable and unique which is what you want in some aspects but the employer etc. still needs to be able to read the information and see exactly who you are not just on the layout but the information as well. I think the hardest one to read was the graph or the isometric resume. Very creative but I thinks it’s unrealistic.
It would have to say the one I found to be the most interesting was the one titled Google Maps. It was made by Copywriter Ed Hamilton. He simply took a Google map page that fit for him and he added information about his past experiences and achievements to the individual locations using "push pins" as markers. Although this is rather informal and in some cases may be hard to read, I think it is very creative and really puts perfect emphasis on all the places he has been. When someone reads that They can get a feel for what makes him Ed. It also shows he can think outside of the box. I am not expert, but I would think it would get boring reviewing hundreds of resumes that all look the same. I think Ed wants them to see that he is not just an average ol' Joe and so he doesn't want to display himself as one or be evaluated as one.
I also found many others to be very unique. Many of them, however, are very crowded or hard to follow. The 3D cutout resume was very amusing, and as long as you made it the right size and didn't try to squeeze too much I believe it could work. I understand the need to look formal and well prepared, but many of these resumes do just that without being boring. I do have to admit that many of them will never reall work. A prime example is the t-shirt resume, animated online, or the isometric. They were all either too extreme or too hard to follow.
One of the Curriculum Vitae that I find most interesting is the fourth CV, done by Joe Kelso. This resume features a large image of man in a business suit bound by ropes, with a pained expression on his face and large letters above the image that state: "Joe Kelso presents: Resume! The Reckoning.
Upon initial review of this CV, I promptly told myself that this is not a good a good representation of an individual who is attempting to present himself as the correct man for the job. I felt that the image in the middle was gaudy and occluding the credentials of the applicant. However, once I read the information on the CV I realized that this individual's expertise is mainly in illustrating, photoshop, and macromedia directing. Kelso designed his CV to model a vintage horror movie poster, demonstrating his abilities to use digital-imaging programs and simultaneously showing some humor in the "horror" that is trying to find a job. This CV creates a representation of Kelso that says he is capable of creating aesthetically-pleasing image while maintaining originality and humor, which would be a solid hire for any advertising company.
The CV that caught my attention the most was the Flash-Animated Online Resume done by Alexis Trépanier, an interactive artist. This online resume presents Alexis himself as he describes his accomplishments in life and the areas that he specializes in. For each accomplishment or significant experience he has had he has an icon you can click on to learn more information about it. While presenting his information/conducting his own interview he shows his hair and beard becoming increasingly shorter as the film goes on. In the end he sneezes and it all comes back and he uses a line about how important it is to just be yourself.
By clicking on the icons you can view Alexis’ previous work and learn about the different industries he has been a part of and the clients he has worked with. You are also able to learn more about Alexis as an individual by learning about the languages he speaks and the various places he was educated at. Overall, I feel that Alexis wants to be evaluated on his work and the emotions he puts into his work. For each of his accomplishments he gives short detail into what he learned from it and what he liked/disliked about the final product, the programs he worked with for the project, why he chose what he did, etc. I felt that Alexis did a great job at relating to the average person. He didn’t dress up in a suit or try to make himself appear like he knew everything. He simply stated his specific specialties and what he is capable of doing with them. That was one of the aspects that made me prefer this CV over some others. When glancing at a few others I felt like they were flaunting themselves rather than presenting their credentials. I also thought the website and display were easy to read, easy to navigate through and easy to understand.
My favorite Tech-Savvy CV idea was the Movie-Style Poster. Joe Kelso’s Vitae caught my eye because it reminded me of a piece of artwork or a movie poster, which I love to watch movies. I spent awhile thinking about this vitae, wondering whether it was professional enough to be presented to a boss. Upon first glance I decided that it was more of something to make someone laugh, but I think that some of the different techniques made it more enjoyable to read. The different fonts, angles, and colors made the little snippets more enjoyable to read. After I read what his resume was about, I realized that he would be applying for some kind of film or graphic design job, so this poster was a good way to incorporate a piece of his work in with a vitae. It shows his creative ability, and his capabilities in computer and graphic design. Overall, I thought it was a very good resume, because he fit it all in one sheet of paper, and it stuck in my head out of all sixteen I looked through.
I like the idea of a pocket CV. It would be very useful for those who have a lot for their portfolio and travel a lot. You can only pack so much when going on business trips and every little space counts.
I have a friend who made a 'movie style poster' for his resume. He is a theater major in Nebraska, so this would be ideal for those going into the arts.
The head shot portfolio is just plain confusing. There is too much information on there. The background of the person makes it ever more distracting.
I like the snack box template. This would seem ideal for a graphic design artist to use for their portfolio. It shows the strength of their talent, but this could be very easy to take the template from another source and just adding your information into it.
I would have to disagree with the 3rd post on here. I like the collage. I think it is very creative. Someone who has traveled a lot (for example my friend has been to europe, mexico, and japan, and he is a spanish teaching major) this would be ideal them. The template background could be a little more professional, but overall I like it.
The animated portfolio...I don't even know what to say. The idea is cool, but the format, dialogue, and music is not professional (I don't think the person was intending it to be). If you are going to make something like this, it needs to have a purpose, not about a song about a kid sleeping during high school.
I was most impressed with the Flash-Animated Online Resume by Alexis Trepanier. Alexis is a creative interactive artist. He specializes in digital media such as animation, graphics, web pages, and noise media. This online resume was a really good idea because all of his talents are displayed in the 20 second intro to his resume. There are graphics, noise, video, and it is a webpage within itself – very cool. Any employer looking at this would know that he is good at what he does without even meeting him. Then, when the graphics are done, there are tabs around the edge that lead to links of previous work and experience he’s done.
I also like that Alexis tied a little humor into it – the hair thing was hilarious. Yes, a person can be qualified at a job but one thing they also need to have is people skills. This resume shows that he is very talented in his field but he also has a sense of humor. I think a lot of employers would appreciate this. I think he wants to be evaluated based on previous projects and putting the portfolio together in general.
My favorite resume is Sam Garfield’s which resembles a scrapbook page or bulletin board. The format is the closest to that of a traditional resume in that it is on one page and contain mainly text. This makes it easy and quick to read.
His resume catches my attention because he has personalized it. I think he wants to be evaluated as creative but still knows how to follow the rules and traditions of creating a resume. With his career experiences I am sure he is capable of creating a video resume, or something more flashy, but his resume understands that those reviewing resumes do not have time to work hard to find the information they want. I think he represents himself as being realistic. He realizes a reviewer is not going to take the time to move the page upside down as one needs to do with the Isometric resume or others. He has respect for the reviewer and the process, yet does want to stand out. The main thing on his resume is still his work experience, mixed with some humor and creativity.
These resumes would seem to have a small rate or reinforcement because most of them are going to get canned because the reviewer does not have the time to sit and watch a video, or try to figure out where the work experience or education is on them. The instances where they may work is when the reviewer is looking for the off-beat, creative person and they see this resume as work product, not a CV. For example, I think the pocket CV could be something you just keep on hand in your purse and if you go somewhere you think you want to work or happen to run into a business contact you hand it to them.
As I reviewed the resumes, what I noticed was how visually overwhelming they were. I could not get a clear sense of who had the best education or experience, just who was flashiest. That is not a good indicator of who would be the best employee. In most circumstances I think the traditional resume is more effective. There are companies that throw out resumes if they are in a different color of font or on a fancy paper. They want a uniform way to objectively look at the qualifications. In the same way that anyone can make a cute resume on fun paper, most people with computer experience can make a resume similar to many of these. Pretty soon none of these stood out; they were all lumped together as “non-traditional.”