Posted by Mark in Times have changed. What worked in the past still works but if you want to stand out from the crowd sometimes the only thing that is needed is a little creativity. We all have the creative juice in us but only some of us dare to squeeze it out. These job applicants did it and the results are simply amazing. Although some resumes might not look very practical, it all depends on what field they are trying to land a job in.
There are 35 resumes altogether. Please click on the link above each resume to enlarge the image. Enjoy and let your creative side go wild next time you decide to update your resume.
1. Ozgur Alaz
2. Sabrina Saccoccio(PDF)
3. Sean McNally
4. Joe Kelso
5. Kate Nadolski
6. Jolie O’Dell
7. Michelle Dickerson
8. Livelyarsenic
9. duhkine
10. Uito2
11. Kieran Adams
12. Jonathan Kaczynski
13. Kristian Walsh
14. Anna Yenina
15. Chris Swanger
16. Veon Watson
17. David Young
18. Melissa Arbotante
19. Michael Anderson
20. Travis Melton
21. Fresh83
22. Keith Candiotti
23. Sid Santos
24. Greg Dizzia
25. Doug Dodasovich
26. FJ Garcia
27. H. Sercan Tunali
28. Nathan Edgar E. Allones
29. hippiedesigner
30. Rebecca Fildes
31. Aamir Shah
32. Etienne Busch
33. Samuel J. Mallett
34. Robert M. Crum
35. Federico Moral
Now that you are done looking at all these amazing resumes, its time to check out one more. A Flash CV that we guarantee will put a smile on your face (click on the image below to watch the Flash CV)
If you had to pick a winner which one would it be? Let us know through your comments and if you know of any creative resume please share with the rest of us.
Related Posts
Wow!
There are some simply fantastic designs here. This proves once again that it always pays to think outside the box!
DebtFREEk!
I’m trying to imagine the reaction of a CEO / COO to a resume like that, from an applicant for a vice presidential position in a financial corporation.
They are delightful, though!
Very impressive stuff, but as CV goes, just too much.
These are great and eye-catching and probably attention-grabbling, but I would suggest anyone submitting uber resumes like these also include a traditional resume as well. Once you’ve got their attention give them something easy to read.
I love some of these designs! These are incredibly creative, but would only work for designers. I don’t think the majority would be able to get by with them, unless they were clearly legible.
8, 28 and 32 caught my eye the first time around because they were creative and easy to read. 28 is perfect for a Web designer because it is reminiscent of Wordpress themes.
If applying for a design job, I thought 18 did a great job of incorporating design while keeping the text legible.
25 is a design that could be used for more than just designers because it has a little flash, but is easy to read and won’t scare away hiring managers who have zero creativity in their blood. The graphics remind me a bit of Microsoft free graphics, but I really like the layout and use of white space.
Wow… very impressive!
As the others have commented to a certain degree, I think the caution here should be to build and use all resume/CV types in the right context. Corporate cultures, industry types, personalities (if known) should be considered when leveraging.
As stated, they obviously work for designers. I think a high impact creative presentation will work in most right brain, creative situations.
I would think someone like Richard Branson would bite, Jack Welch may not.
Yes, multiple pieces that describe who you are in a meaningful way is very important and these are great for their space
-Dave
I am a resume writer and I have always loved adding creativity to the document. Obviously each document should be appropriately tailored to the industry and culture. I am a firm believer in showing not telling so if trying to demonstrate innovation an eye catching, non-traditional resume shows an employer the value you would bring far greater than the mere words “out of the box,” or “innovative thinker” would on a standard resume.
I notice that many of these resumes come from candidates who don’t have a lot of work experience. As an Associate Creative Director at a large national agency, I reviewed portfolios and interviewed full-time and freelance prospects for our group – many of whom had short work histories. Had I come across resumes like many (but not all) of these – which demonstrate creativity, conceptual thinking and targeted messaging – I’d have been quick to bring them in for an interview.
We agree that some of these resumes don’t seem very practical but the creativity in them is commendable. But creativity sometimes will give you a shot even when you do not have a long work history as Marie suggested in her comment above.
Great examples
You are missing this one that is not special on the design but it is very special from the copywriting point of view:
http://www.uglydoggy.com/2007/04/what-great-resume.html
1. No CEO or CFO will ever look at these resumes because it is not their job to do so ! therefore no worries on that side
2. ALl these resume are of designers and as such they MUST show the creative side of the applicant. Therefore I would say mission accomplished
3. Some of these resumes are really bad in terms of layout, typography or readability. Therefore fail on the professional side of it.
Forgot…the flash resume…DISASTER!!! if you cannot sign you don;t do a “singing” resume…. If you can’t speak English, you do it in French! and for someone who tries to be a smart @$$ about animation and graphics, the overall stuff was pretty horrendous, bad sound, pixelated pictures, one walk cycle… where do I stop?
Excellent as “cover letters” for portfolio. Some have issues but most would prompt me to read a full resume and/or review the portfolio.
[...] 30 Plus Brilliant and Creative Resumes All I can say is WOW. These 35 resumes put my boring old Word doc to shame. My personal fave is #8 [...]
Not bad! There are some good ones that you found in addition to the ones I had already mentioned here:
The 25 Most Creative Designer Resumes You’ll See This Year
The creativity is definitely thought-provoking and inspiring. It would be even better had they all met the business goal inherent in producing a resume – because they all do want to work someplace where their designs meet business goals. The business goal here is to get an interview.
My question: did all these people get interviews? If so, then bravo/brava! If not, it might be well for them to do some research and find out what resume readers are like, what they look for in a resume, and what methods have been successful in getting a resume put into the “yes, interview” pile.
My experience is that resume reviewers (whether in HR or design…) have limited time and want to be able to see very quickly whether the person meets the minimum qualifications, as well as whether they have skills and a potential culture or personality fit. It is smart to do a lot of the reader’s work for them by keeping things simple. It is just not smart to create complex designs that require a lot of reading and decoding (e.g. #13, #19).
I thought #20 did the best job of conveying information in a smart, concise way – it’s easy for the reader to quickly grasp the creative concept and to read the relevant information. Similarly, #4, #6, #12 and #15 used design to capture attention while also presenting clear, succinct information.
I was intrigued yet somewhat dismayed by #10 and #24 – because I like graphic things that tell a great story. These graphics did NOT tell a great story. #10’s graph told me he didn’t know enough about key tools and areas, while #24’s graphs conveyed unpredictability and erratic performance. Not the message you want to send!
A resume can showcase how the applicant harnesses their creativity to solve a business problem – something any employer would be happy to see. With a little bit of work, all of these could be real winners. Again, though, maybe they already are – I didn’t see recorded anywhere whether folks got interviews.
Never Knew I was in this list. Great to find this out.
I am there on number 31
Thanks Guyz
These are great and eye-catching
Very impressive stuff, but as CV goes, just too much.
Very impressive stuff, but as CV goes, just too much.
I found this site by accident and see that somehow my resume (#22 draft copy) landed on this site. To the person asking if a creative resume helped to get a job, I would have to say yes mine did. My boss mentioned how I have to be a confident artist to make such a “weird” resume. I was offered a salary position on my 3rd day north of $50k a year.
Thanks for putting my resume in this website, Im appreciated! (:
As a professional resume writer, I love it when I get a client who is in an industry where I can have more fun with the resume than normal (However all of these go far beyond my capabilities! haha). The concern with a creative resume is that your contact information and accomplishments are easily found and readable. Many of these resumes failed in that respect. As a former HR Manager, I can say that yes, they all would get my attention, but not all of them in a good way. It’s a fine line (for the average job seeker) of having an eye catching resume that incorporates some color and design, or creating a resume that looks like someone went crazy with photoshop.
Kudos to all of these talented folks! There were some really neat and unique designs in there!
[...] taken a different route to hunting for jobs feel free to share with us. Also take a look at these creative resumes to see how people differentiate themselves from the [...]
I work in advertising so resumes like these are actually a must for us! thanks for sharing
was checking my stats on my site and saw a lot of traffic was coming from here… To my surprise, somehow my resume got selected as one of these…..#15. So i say to whomever is responsible, thanks!…. And to all of those who wonder if a resume like this works, let me say that hands down, the only reason i got called first was my resume stood out. Within 15 minutes of an interview at a major la based design firm, I landed a 75k job. No plain resume was needed, just this creative one, and me and my skills in the interview. So i say to all designers – if you want a creative position, show them you are creative…. it works.
Just tripped over the site, freaking amazing. 2o years in management I would hire someoen on the spot who gave me resume like any of these.
[...] just found Mark’s posting at 30 Plus Brilliant And Creative Résumés where he says the following: Times have changed. What worked in the past still works but if you [...]
a Title : “30 Plus Brilliant And Creative Designer Résumés”
suites the apt
Yup true!
Mine sucks… both in content and quality
;D
Nice examples but some are very hard to read but your definitely missing this one:
http://www.tshoda.com/My_Pocket_CV.php
The CV uses a good method of combining samples of work as well as content but looks very expensive to do.
You never know what will impress a boss. When I was studying computer science in 1979 at BBN I was in a hurry to get my resume out and get to work. I didn’t have the patience to wait for the secretary to produce a professional copy so I just printed out my resume with a dot matrix printer on perforated printer paper. The interviewers were impressed as my work would eventually be output to that media anywa. It was just the geeky impression needed to get that job.
[...] of the circular file, you may want to incorporate some of these golden junk mail tactics to prepare killer resumes and cover [...]
[...] same old” kind. However, there are a few that grab our attention. We’ve already covered creative resumes to highlight job applicant’s creativity and today’s post highlights some creative [...]
[...] If you don’t mind thinking “out of the box,” make sure to take a look at some of the most creative resumes. [...]
[...] old, same old’ kind. However, there are a few that grab our attention. We’ve already covered creative resumes to highlight job applicant’s creativity and today’s post highlights some creative recruitment [...]
[...] 30 Plus Brilliant and Creative Resumes Times have changed. What worked in the past still works but if you want to stand out from the crowd [...]
[...] 30 Plus Brilliant and Creative Resumes Times have changed. What worked in the past still works but if you want to stand out from the crowd [...]
[...] 30 Plus Brilliant And Creative Résumés [...]
[...] 5 careers all involve being creative and innovative. They are constantly changing and growing. You can be in these careers and just get by and go along [...]
[...] 5 careers all involve being creative and innovative. They are constantly changing and growing. You can be in these careers and just get by and go along [...]
thanks a lot guys!(:
Oh forget to say my resume is on 27 please check it out!!!(:
Is everyone trying to be a designer here? If so, whatever happened to good typography?
A resume is intended to support significant and relevant experience in a clear and concise manner, regardless of the position. I don’t understand the reasoning behind any of these creatives other then the arbitrary and subjective “I think it looks cool” factor, which doesn’t mean anything. It’s not about what you think looks sweet at all. It’s about the employer whose tastes you probably don’t know. Relevant experience should speak for itself.
Good typography is essential for the purpose of a resume and I don’t think any of these exhibit this.
[...] you are trying to break the norm and applying for a creative position such as web designing, avoid creative resumes. As bad as it sounds, most employers prefer white space over colorful graphics. When it comes to [...]