In an era of branding yourself and adding that flavor into your resume, does anyone have examples of how to sprinkle in personality?

14 Comments

1. AnonymousAugust 9,2024 at 2:18PM UTC

   Thank you and I've viewed examples with colors, headers and that a professional summary should no longer be used. I'm confused about the stylized graphics and formatting. Wouldn't that make it more difficult for ATS or forms to review? Is anyone on here using these types of resumes successfully?

2. AnonymousAugust 9,2024 at 7:39PM UTC

   Thank you and after viewing the templates, I decided to create my own in Canva. That way I can customize as needed and have the files to be able to create different versions per industries.

3. AnonymousAugust 9,2024 at 7:47PM UTC

   Former recruiter here and work in higher ed/career center. Use your Summary as a statement of your work experience. The resume is not a tool to make it express feelings, though I understand what you're saying, it makes sense to make sure it has the skills required so you get a call/email to interview. Under the Summary include an area with Specialties. Such as negotiator, commentator, or whatever action words express your skills. That helps sometimes too. Good luck!

4. AnonymousAugust 9,2024 at 9:57PM UTC

   Great ideas and I appreciated your advice!

5. AnonymousAugust 10,2024 at 12:10AM UTC

   At the bottom add an Interest section but keep it business words. Otherwise you will get emails for chef positions. If cooking is an interest. Compass-USA does that. I took mine off.

6. AnonymousAugust 10,2024 at 3:07PM UTC

   What portion of marketing are you in? Perhaps use some samples redacting the companies that you have worked at to show a snip of what you can do. If you are in marcom for example a small sample of writing blurb for an ad. Remember a resume is like an amuse bouche, it should get you to crave more but not answer everything. Use a cover letter to do that and be sure that your resume for each role has direct alignment with a few key points that are the same as the job you are applying for. Capturing HR's attention is irrelevant since HR does not look at resumes - in larger companies recruiters do, its a different job. Try to make contact with real folks who work there or have worked there for inside connections vs just sending a resume into the air.

7. AnonymousAugust 12,2024 at 12:40PM UTC

   I've heard of people including pictures of themselves on the actual CV, using customized paper and font, etc. IDK if I'd go that far, but I have added little touches of flare like accenting the punctuation (not ALL, but slashes and punctuation) with the same color template as the company for which I'm applying. Lame? lol idk but it's a small touch of detail that shows that the CV is customized to their position. I also have a generic version I keep to give to other roles when mass applying. I only do the customized flare for jobs I REALLY desire.

8. Danielle CastilloAugust 12,2024 at 7:13PM UTC

   You could try a video resume.

9. AnonymousAugust 13,2024 at 1:25PM UTC

   This doesn't work for someone who is part of a marginalized or protected group. If I did a video, it would be evident that I am an over 50 white female, and potentially gender variant or other LGBGQIA+ class.

10. Danielle CastilloAugust 13,2024 at 6:21PM UTC

    Wow, I didn't even think about this. You're so right! This country is so messed up and exhausting ?‍?

11. AnonymousAugust 13,2024 at 1:22PM UTC

    No. It should stay flat and reflect your experience so ATS can easily verify it. Government (state and federal, especially) jobs do not want any personality in the resume or answers to questions on your application; they only want experience. That said, the best way to inject your personality is to include a link to your personal webpage or portfolio (especially if you are applying for marketing or creative design-type jobs). This keeps your resume professional, as expected, and under a maximum of two pages. The resume should get your foot in the door with your extraordinary abilities. The place for your personality to come through is in the interview.

12. Evon Young, MBAAugust 13,2024 at 2:49PM UTC

    OMG, I so feel you and what you are saying. I'm in Brand and Marketing (creative) as well and the career coaches and others tell you "Like well you are marketing yourself and your brand with your resume" LOL. Funny not funny. Unfortunately, even as marketers we have to follow brand and industry standards. Especially with the ATS systems, etc. I did see on TikTok yesterday that a young lady did add a small blurb in her summary about winning a chili cook off to add a little bit of personality, so I'm thinking of adding in a sentence regarding a successful event from an engagement committee to my summary to sprinkle in a little bit of personality but have not totally decided as of yet. Hopefully you will get some interviews and be able to add in your personality at that time, as all interviews are little different with different personalities and questions. Good luck with your search and keep us posted. We will land, just keep going!! E!

13. AnonymousAugust 13,2024 at 8:46PM UTC

    I feel your pain and when I created my new marketing resume, I used a two-column approach that afforded adding a smaller first column with a simple color banner color where I highlighted skills, recognitions and a few items that didn't make their way onto the main resume column. Examples:. I've traveled to 75% of the world, worked globally (prior to the 10 year cut off) and freelanced as PR Journalist working with celebrity chefs, hotel and travel groups in addition to my marketing and media roles. The new format is more visually appealing and doesn't list every role but highlights main ones. Loading to forms, most only require 15% changes that my previous 50% I used to face. Good luck to you as well and we've got this!

14. AnonymousAugust 13,2024 at 8:47PM UTC

    OP: Thank you all and I've taken your notes while drafting a new resume. While still keeping it simple for ATS and forms, I feel it reflects more of branding and hopefully stands out from competitors.