Did you know that infographic resumes are the format preferred by those working in personnel selection? Being able to summarize key information and display it in the most visual format possible is what will make the difference between passing versus not passing the first round of the selection process. We’ll tell you how to get through to the next round with Genially!
Your goal is to achieve a graphic and visual representation of your resume. An infographic resume allows you to easily highlight your strengths and the most important information so it stands out at a first glance.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, an infographic is a communication tool that combines icons, images, and short texts. They are great for outlining and summarizing the information you want to convey in a way that makes it much easier to understand.
An infographic resume displays more or less the same information as a traditional resume, but is better organized to fit the infographic format. If you can’t imagine how that would work, don’t worry! We’ll share resources about how to do this as well as examples for inspiration later.
Are infographics a good choice for a resume?
Absolutely! The infographic resume model connects with humans’ visual disposition.
People are said to process images up to 60,000 times faster than text. And, as you can imagine, recruiters are particularly concerned with speed. Put yourself in their shoes: if you had little time to review lots of resumes, which would you prefer? A typical resume in document format with tons of disorganized information? Or something like this?
The ability to organize information and display it as attractively as this example does will help you stand out as a candidate. What if you could then further bring your resume to life? You’ll stand out even more. With Genially, it’s possible to animate the elements of your design, add interactivity, or include different types of content in the infographic resume model.
For example, by inserting an audio you can have a resume that “talks.” You can also insert videos and other types of content such as GIFs. Why not? Unless you’re pursuing a position in a very traditional company or know for certain that the person in charge of selection hates new technology, it’s quite possible that an innovative and out-of-the-box resume could be your winning card.
The interactivity, animation, and different integrations that Genially allows are powerful weapons to stand out. Your resume certainly won’t go unnoticed!
Why are infographics so effective for creating a resume?
We spoke to Cristina García, work counselor and academic coordinator at WindUp School. She told us that it takes about a minute for a recruiter to decide whether or not to discard a resume on the first round of the selection process. “If it’s too full of text, we don’t stop to read it,” she says.
Many people make the mistake of wanting to include absolutely everything in their resume – every detail of their training and work experience. But that’s not the point of the resume! The idea is that the person who has to review it can easily find the information they’re looking for. You can expand upon that information in an interview later.
According to Cristina, an infographic resume allows you to easily see the strengths of each candidate, and whether or not they fit the position. It’s a good idea to combine it with other formats such as a video resume or a QR code to offer more information. You can also add links to your website or portfolio.
Want to see a template created by the WindUp School HR Team? >
Genially is the perfect tool for creating a resume because it allows you to deliver the information in two layers: the first one, with the information visible when you access the geniallly and the second one, made available by clicking on the item or items that are set up as interactive.
Having all the information handy is practical for the recruiter viewing the resume, but also for the resume’s creator. Your resume grows throughout your life and, as you know, you have to update it from time to time. With Genially, it will take you a few minutes to make these updates and you will have the main information in a living resource, all in the same place. Because creations are stored in the cloud, you’ll always have the latest version available.
How do you make them? We’ll help you with some ideas
In the Personal Branding section you’ll find free templates to create your infographic resume with professional and attractive designs, ready to be filled with all the information you need to display.
Creating any content using a Genially template is very easy, but if you still don’t know the tool very well, here’s a video tutorial on creating infographics. It’s thorough and easy to follow. Now let’s look at some tips on how to add content to make a great infographic resume.
- Choose a template with a style that suits your needs and look at the spaces available for text and images. This will make it easier to adapt the content to the available space.
- A productivity tip: Before you start editing the template, prepare a resume outline with the text, images, and resources you want to add. If you know what you want to use, in a few minutes you’ll have it ready to show to the world.
- Prepare the message you want to convey by focusing on what your business needs. It’s important that the information is brief and to the point, about what you can offer with your knowledge and experience.
- As (almost) always, less is more: Use visual resources, yes, but with restraint so as not to overwhelm those who see it. If you have doubts, a good way to test your design is to show it to a few people whose opinions you trust. This will ensure your design works.
- Organize information taking into account how it will be consumed so that whoever reads it quickly finds what they’re looking for. Did you know that the most important section for the recruiter is the skills section? Next they review the training and experience sections to learn how you acquired those skills. Other sections such as contact information, for example, are not necessary until the selection process is well advanced, so you should put them at the part of the page we usually review at the end. Don’t know what it is? Look at this image?
Now that you know which area of the screen we look at first, reserve that part for information about your skills. This will make it easier for anyone who sees your resume to do their job.
- Look for inspiration! You can see some examples on the Genially Inspiration page or on Pinterest.
Want to start creating your most differentiating resume now? Choose one of the 5 templates we suggest below. Believe us, it’ll be easy for you and you’ll have great results.
