Part 2: If Your Resume Were a Cake… Recipe for Success
In part 1 of “If your resume were a cake'“, we talked about the basic ingredients of your resume. Now, you’re ready to give it some sparkle. Perhaps you’ve seen people doing things that are out of the box to stand out. You’ve heard that resumes need to stand out. Natural questions you may have: Should you make it purple? Use a photo? Talk about your interest in knitting?
In the metaphor of cake-baking, consider this the “decoration”. Certainly, choosing some out-of-the-box elements is an effective way to stand out. But you want to make sure you are standing out intentionally, being clear what message you are sending. Send the wrong message and it can be a sign to show you the door.
Before you can break the rules, you have to learn them. Read our post on learning the microculture of your industry to establish the context within which your message will be received. Be mindful of your audience. Is this a rainbow sprinkles kind of party or a classic buttercream rosette? If the work culture you are applying to is fun and youthful, they will celebrate you letting some of your personality out. If you’re going for a more buttoned-up environment, be aware that too many frills can come off as unprofessional.
Potential Decorators
Color: A classic resume is black and white. We no longer live in the age of Times New Roman size 12 being the standard professional font weight - although if you’re applying for a super old school job, you may want to revert to that. Adding color - be it a color font, or a color header, is a bold move. Bold can be good, if executed intentionally. Rule of thumb: choose one signature color that feels authentic to you or is consistent with your website / external brand presence. Too many colors and you’ll distract from the message. www.canva.com has a variety of designs to browse.
Photo: Actors need a photo - their employability depends on it. For STEM careers, a headshot is not necessary. In fact, at the resume stage, it may work against you. With a visual image you are summoning up implicit bias in the viewer before they even read your name. Again, it’s important to think about the culture you are applying to. Will your identity box be an asset or a detriment in your job hunt? Note - if you feel like showing your face might not get you through this door, ask yourself whether you want to be working in this culture at all. If you can’t even show up as yourself in the resume - what kind of masking will you have to do day to day to survive this workplace? Even though it’s illegal, unfortunately many people will your race or your youth and unconsciously discriminate. But companies that have committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion might bump you to the top of the pile specifically to counter discrimination. Research the cultures of who you’re applying to before making this tricky call.
Hobbies / Interests: If you choose to list something outside your professional track, make sure you know why. Everything, from hard to soft skills, is telling a story. If you need to communicate your ability to take risks, then go ahead and list your sky-diving experience. If you need to showcase your ability to persevere with details, then talk about your dollhouse building passion. Whatever you choose, make sure you know why you’re listing it, and be prepared to talk about it as it will surely catch attention!
Lastly, if there is something from your life that is relevant to your application that doesn’t seem to have a box - maybe you’ve been to space! - then add your own box. You can always give it a simple title, like “Relevant” or “of Interest”. This is part of your story, so tell it.
