Guide: 7 Infographic Resume (Free!) Sites and When to Use One
What is an infographic resume?
An infographic resume visually displays the information you'd include on a regular resume. The content of a traditional resume is crafted into a graphic visualization of your background and skills. Common elements include your photo, bar charts or stars to show skill levels, colors, numbers and more.
These eye-pleasing documents can boost the visibility of your resume, and make it easier for the hiring manager to understand your skills and background in a glance. Beware, however, of using one for every application you send out. You'll need to be selective with where you send this type of resume.
In many traditional fields, such as finance or operations, an infographic resume isn't appropriate. Submitting one is likely to make you seem out-of-touch with the industry. At best, the hiring manager will notice your colorful doc among the pile of Times New Roman, black-and-white resumes. At worst, they may wonder if the resume's creativity is an attempt to mask a lack of experience.
Who should use one?
Creative industry folks are the top match for infographic resumes. Artistic directors, graphic designers, photojournalists, photographers, UX designers and artists are a few examples that come to mind. Jobs in these fields require creativity and design execution, so a well-crafted infographic resume is a natural fit.
You're not limited to just those jobs, however. You can submit an infographic resume to other positions, it just may be less common. For example, Fairygodboss's editorial team receives a handful of graphic resumes each time we have an open position. While these types of documents often make a good first impression, at the end of the day, we're looking at the words on the page, not how well the information is presented visually. That said, a legible font and ink color choice is always a must!
Where to find free infographic resumes:
You don't have to pay a designer for a slick looking resume.
Tweak a free template to your liking. There are plenty of options to choose from. The sites listed below have at least one free template to use, with more options offered to upgraded accounts.
1. Piktochart: Great if you get overwhelmed by options.
When I searched the Piktochart, known mostly for infographics, I could only find one free resume template: Creative Resume 3. To use this resume, create a free account and navigate to the "Printable" tab on the bottom left corner. Modify and add your information, such as your education, website, social media and contact details and resume bullets. With Piktochart, you're limited to a handful of projects at each time, so keep that in mind if you want to make multiple versions.
2. Canva: Plenty of templates to choose from.
Out of all the infographic builders I tested, Canva had the largest selection of free templates to use. You can find something for just about every visual preference, including maximalist and minimalist designs, and there are examples for multiple industries. If you're not satisfied by any of the designs, the good news is you can create your own template. The site is easy to use and templates can be personalized as well as reformatted.
To be honest, for me, there were also too many options. For better or worse, I'm the type of person who can't help myself from tweaking the format and design of projects when I really should just complete them from start to finish (like a resume!). So, if that sounds like you, you may be better served by a site that offers fewer choices.
3. Venngage: Intuitive site design.
Venngage offers a dozen or so free resume templates that are well-designed, with appealing color palettes and legible font families. I found the site easy to navigate and the template simple to personalize.
4. Infogram: One free template available.
It was a little harder to search and use Infogram for infographic resumes, but there is one free template you can find if you search the "Reports" section. The simple template includes a bar graph, and a word cloud (a design element I didn't notice in other templates).
5. Easel.y: Options, but not the most user-friendly.
You'll find about a half-dozen free templates to try on Easel.y. I found the interface less user-friendly than Canva or Venngage — something about the site is reminiscent of early Photoshop in my opinion, a program that wasn't known for its simplicity. That said, there's a decent variety among the templates and the color schemes are attractive.
6. Visme: You'll likely have to upgrade your account.
The interface offered by Visme is simple and intuitive, but you'll likely have to pay for an account to maximize the utility of this site. With a free account, you can only download your creation as a JPEG. Most job seekers will want the PDF version for applications. However, those who don't mind spending time converting files (image a PDF) may be more than happy with a free account.
7. Adobe Spark: Limited options with an easy interface.
You'll find around five templates in Adobe Spark, Adobe's free design site. Customizing the template with your personal information is easy with a simple and well-designed user interface.
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Nina Semczuk is the Head of SEO Content at Fairygodboss. She's reviewed hundreds of resumes and will admit, a well-designed infographic resume does stand out from the crowd.
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