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Are recruiters looking more into creative (colorful) or formal (black and white) resumes?

I am a current student looking into applying for social media marketing jobs and other positions in the marketing field. I have had submitted my minimalistic creative resume but I have always been curious if one option is better than the other in the eyes of a recruiter. Oh, and how do we know which to use? #marketing #resume #student #JULY20

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Jessica’s Answer

Hi Daniella, in short you want to stand out in the marketing world so having a resume that speaks to your abilities would be ideal. A big tip would be if you're looking for a social media marketing position be sure to list all the social platforms you take part in as well as your handles. This will give recruiters a live look into your abilities. Hope this helps a little bit!

Jessica recommends the following next steps:

Check out Canva for templates!
Post a couple resume options on LinkedIn to see which one sticks, you could get noticed there as well :)
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Ro’s Answer

I always tell my students to adjust their resumes to fit their majors and industry field. For ex: teaching and legal resumes should look different from tech resumes since the format and education/experience focus is not the same. Since you're geared towards social media marketing, I would research a bit online to see a) what the resume trend is, and b) what kind of info would be important and make you stand out.
For ex: to show your expertise, maybe you should have a well developed LinkedIn page that you would reference, or provide a QR code to your site.
Here is a link to some relevant resumes for you from the "Resume Genius" site: https://resumegenius.com/resume-samples/social-media-resume-example

Remember to also try and include key words from the job description in your resume so your resume can pass any automated software a company may use to screen initial applications. Good Luck!
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Paula’s Answer

Many companies will software to do an initial scan resumes based on keywords determined by the recruiter and/or hiring manager so a minimalist black and white resume is best. If you have a website or any social media accounts that showcase your work, include links to them so that the recruiter and hiring manager take a look at them once your resume is in their hands.
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Steve’s Answer

I would say B&W CVs are most useful to recruiters, as they will scan for keywords to qualify you when applying for a role. Also remember to focus the highlights of your CV using the "thumb" rule in that recruiters usually just ready down the page to about where the thumb and fore finger are holding the paper. At about that point you are either "in" or "out" when it comes to securing the next step in the selection process.

Happy job hunting....
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Kaitlin’s Answer

Hi Daniella,

Great question! It largely depends on the industry. As you're looking to be involved in Social Media and Marketing, your resume is a great place to showcase some of your skills and the way you craft words. You can consider crafting your name into a logo and establishing your own brand - have fun with it! In Finance, resumes are largely simpler (black and white with a clear outline). With all this said, it's important to remember that your resume should be punchy (to the point) and digestible (easy to read).

As a general helpful step, I always recommend googling an example resume for the field you're applying to. This will help orient you in terms of formatting, but also useful skills that someone in the field may have. Best of luck!
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Michael’s Answer

Hi,

If you have resume paper that is an unique color that helps make your resume sand out. Then I highly recommend trying to use it.

Every little bit helps. If your resume color makes your resume stand out against 100 others then you should keep using that paper.

Try using a fun color resume paper and if you get a call back, then keep trying that paper.
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Elena’s Answer

HI Daniella,

You can find a variety of Resume templates for free on Canva. They have different types of layouts depending on which field you are in! Like others mentioned is you are in a role like marketing you might want a more creative resume vs accounting you might want to be more simple.
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Koryn’s Answer

I would suggest getting a feel for the company. Are they more playful and relaxed? What is the dress code at the office? What does their website look like? What does the copy on their website say? What does their recruiter page look like (are people in suits or are people lounging in chairs with jeans on?). Also, if the role you are applying for is client facing (such as consulting), I would imagine the company would prefer a B&W resume. If the role you are applying for is more creative (brand or graphic design), do your thing! If you are unsure, I would stick to B&W (if you're feeling a tad risky, you can add in some pops of color here and there, but I wouldn't get too crazy with it).
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Shannon Shae’s Answer

Resumes are an opportunity for you to show your creativity and personality. Most importantly, you want to find ways of driving the most impact with the least amount of copy. Recruiters are not reading resumes word for word, so find a way to make the most important things stand out.
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Karen’s Answer

Hi Daniella, As others have answered, I echo "it depends". For example, I work in IT and while there would be little appreciation for a "minimalistic creative resume" in my department, the same is not true if you were applying for a position in sales or marketing. In short know your audience. Generally speaking, consider the classes you are/have taken and the professors for those classes. If you were applying for a job with the computer lab professor the resume format would likely be different than if you were applying for a job with your marketing professor.

Whatever resume you decide on, make sure you copy and paste it into a text editor (*.txt format) and format it accordingly. Some applicant websites are rudimentary and only allow you upload basic text formatting. It will save you a lot of trouble if you already have the "format" ready and waiting.
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Simeon’s Answer

As long as your resume is still legible, any extra effort you can put into your resume looking unique will help it stand out from a stack of other applications. This is especially the case if there is a visual design component to the job you're applying for. If it's a job that requires creative work on your part, try to have a portfolio of work that you've done that demonstrates your creative capacities.
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Maciej’s Answer

Hi Daniella,

As someone that has experience applying to various roles at different companies I would say it differs. Sometimes a larger company will use an automated process to scan over hundreds of resumes and look for key words. What I would suggest is that you keep multiple resume formats for different positions that you apply for. If you are applying for a large company my suggestion is to go with the minimalist black and white resume since it will be possibly scanned at first without an actual human looking at it. Another point is that sometimes when you use different margins and colors and system gets confused and might change the format of your resume. You can always try to find a point of contact in the company and send the creative resume directly to the recruiters email.

However if you are applying for a local company with a small amount of employees you might be better of by sending them your creative resume since you are in the marketing field.

Good Luck!
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Nupur’s Answer

Hi Daniella,

I'm all for a minimalistic resume, and have always made it a point to try and make my resume a one-page document - and I'm a marketing communications professional myself. Play to your strengths more than anything, if social media is your interest, how would you leverage social media to showcase your skills? How would you incorporate this in your resume? It would also be good to do a bit of research on resumes that are successful in the field of marketing.

Hope this helps. All the best!
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