By: Joanna McNurlen
Infographic résumés have seen a rise in popularity in the past few years, but not all of them have been stellar. If you’re thinking about submitting a non-traditional résumé, here are some tips that might help you stand out from other applicants:
- Only create an infographic résumé if it makes sense for your field. A carefully designed, colorful layout could be a great way to showcase your talents as an art director, but chances are the hiring manager for an actuarial firm won’t be impressed.
- Don’t use a template. You’re supposed to be showcasing your design talents.
- Include your skills. This seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes applicants put all their efforts into creating beautiful works of art and leave out relevant information like education or prior experience. Remember that this is a professional document with a purpose, not the next installation at the MoMA.
- Make it personal. One of the advantages of infographic résumés is that they give you more freedom to show who you are. However, if you’re creating a fancy design just because you think you “should”, the end result isn’t going to accurately represent you as a potential employee.
- K.I.S.S. If I’m going through résumés and I see a complicated chart that’s going to take me more than a split second to figure out, it’s going in the NO pile.
- Be careful with color. Your résumé is not a Lisa Frank binder. Work with a clean theme that let’s the reader notice the information, not the color palette, and make sure it’s readable in black and white in case the recruiter prints it as such.
- Choose fonts wisely. Stick to just a few choices so the reader isn’t overwhelmed. Avoid Lobster. If you’re even considering Comic Sans, you probably shouldn’t be making an infographic résumé in the first place.
- Keep the reader in mind. Would she have to turn her head to decipher something? Is the order in which he should read information unclear? Are the font sizes impossible to read for people over 25? Fix it.
- Proofread. Have a friend proofread your résumé. Have your mom proofread your résumé. Go outside and flag down a stranger to proofread your résumé. Then proofread it again. Twice.
- Finally, don’t do this – ever:

Have any more infographic résumé advice? Let us know in the comments.



Screen shot from the mid-80s: boring!
Overly simplified website display: “Single White Female”1992.
Scene from “House of Cards,” 2013.















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