When you're job hunting, signing up with an employment agency is a great way of finding leads to good job vacancies with top employers. However, it can be tricky to get onto the books of the best employment agencies, and that's where a really great visual CV can get you noticed.
In addition to the standard black and white document CV content of career history and work-related accomplishments, a visual CV in the form of a presentation gives you the opportunity to show a recruiter more about your individual brand.
Here are some tips to help you create a visual CV that will make you stand out from the crowd—for all the right reasons!
First impressions
When it comes to impressing recruiters, the old adage that 'first impressions count' certainly holds true. Remember that the first slide of a visual resume is shown as a thumbnail. It's therefore essential that it's engaging enough to pique someone's interest sufficiently that they will want to read the whole thing.
Consistency within your CV will make it look and feel professional and slick. It also shows a recruiter that you value attention to detail and that you have a good eye for presentation. Choose a pleasing font and colour palette that you like and stick with them through the whole presentation.
Make sure that everything flows logically and predictably from your most recent achievements to those in the past. This makes the presentation easier to read and follow and demonstrates that you are able to organise your work in a logical way.
Your personal brand
Today's business culture is just as interested in employees' personal lives as it is in their professional ones. Photos of yourself in work-related scenarios, like receiving an achievement award from a former boss or attending a sales conference, are important, but you should also include snaps of your family or even videos of your hobbies. This gives the recruiter a window into the kind of person you are as well as what sort of employee you might make. This can be particularly important to some employers, especially if they encourage team bonding sessions outside of work time.
A good visual CV is also a sales tool. Don't be afraid to include links to your professional Facebook page and personal website, and ask the agency to connect with you through LinkedIn. This demonstrates that you are enthusiastic about joining their register and that you are serious in your professional aspirations.
In conclusion
In addition to your standard CV, it's a really good idea to put together a visual one. This gives you the opportunity to present a recruitment agency with an all-round picture of yourself, and it could just give you the edge over other candidates.
Share18 December 2015
Do you have questions about consulting? Do you want to know how it can improve your life, your business or your future? Then, you need to check out my blog posts. My name is Roberta, and I love to write. I also faithfully read the business section of the newspaper, and I love explaining things to others. Together, those passions fueled my interest in starting this type of blog. I hope that you learn from these posts and the research that I have done, and I sincerely hope that this information helps you. In addition to blogging, I love working on computers, trying new recipes and spending time with friends.