Pretty in Ink and Video Resumes?!?

I really enjoyed the articles about making resumes more fun. The article "Pretty in Ink," definitely caught my eye. It talked about how an unconventional resume could definitely help you catch someone's eye, and maybe even keep it. It talked about a writer, who sent a resume to an employer, that looked like a newspaper....definitely an attention-getter. I really appreciate that kind of creativity because I have always considered resumes formulaic and boring.

Another article that I read talked about video resumes, something I had never considered before. I don’t know if I entirely like the idea of video resumes as much as creative resumes, since they open the door for employers to judge based on physical appearances. I would hope that, that type of behavior would not go on, but we are all human.

Both articles warned about the dangers of using these types of resumes. If you use unconventional resume be sure to avoid doing the following: include things that don’t really matter (i.e. you going to the gym or dancing in your video resume for a job writing for a newspaper), create an unconventional resume for an online posting that requires a specific format, include typos, manipulate text to the point where it’s hard to read, or wear flashy jewelry for a video resume.

All in all, it seems like a good idea to use slightly unconventional methods to presenting a resume, but you still have to be aware of your audience, your medium, and all of things you would normally worry about in business writing.