Resumes are very personal documents, and you probably feel like you want to convey a sense of who you really are. But if you focus on unnecessary flourishes or make your relevant experience ambiguous, the person reading your resume will toss it aside in a heartbeat. Most of all, focus on clarity!
In fact, whenever I’m reviewing a resume, I always ask permission before I mark it up. Who am I to edit your life’s work? That said, I can almost guarantee you that the way your career counselor handles your resume is not the way it will be handled once you submit your job applications. After speaking with many, many recruiters, here are some hard truths I’ve learned.
Skip Unnecessarily Lavish Designs and Focus on Clarity
If your relevant experience, education, or skills are hard to find at a glance, your resume might as well be blank. It’s understandable to want to make your resume stand out a bit from the typical resume, but getting creative in InDesign isn’t the way to do it. As the head of Google’s HR states, “Unless you’re applying for a job such as a designer or artist, your focus should be on making your resume clean and legible.”
In other words, no funky formats. You’re far better off spending your time trying to maximize the top half of your resume.
