My good friend Jon recently alerted me to a page of infographic resumes.
As a career counselor for the last 12 years, I will admit that I find these resumes to be so different from what I’m used to that I am a bit annoyed by them. Actually, I find them extremely annoying.
But it doesn’t matter what I think. And much as I love my readers, it also doesn’t matter what anyone on this blog thinks, unless they are in one and only one category: prospective employers.
In fields where advanced design skills are needed and/or in the field of infographics itself, this will probably be a smash success. I admit, these resumes are really interesting and cool-looking. They are sometimes hard to read, but this is mitigated by the innovation demonstrated.
In fields like accounting, social work, general management… I think this has a 50/50 chance of being either a total disaster, or at least interesting enough to get a second glance from the hiring manager… who will then decide if the person is too strange, too creative, or too self-involved to be interviewed. This is the risk anyone runs when they present themselves to an employer as different or unique in a way that doesn’t fit with what the employer might value. I’ve seen some strange resumes in my time, and in general I stick with the tried and true Word version, without any weird graphics or fonts or odd colors. Yes, they make you stand out. But so does painting your face purple at the interview, and that won’t get you hired either.
What do you think?
Heather Krasna, PhD & Associates 
I think its a risk, but one that may be worth taking if you are in a creative field or applying for a position where creativity is a priority.
As a manager in a creative profession, these are cool to look at and would get someone noticed. That said, they don’t give me nearly enough information.
If you could also include your “regular” resume–if it is only one page and this more creative piece is page two–you could mitigate the risk somewhat. My interest would be piqued AND I’d have the information I need.
If someone chooses to do this, they should remember to make absolutely sure their infographic resume looks stellar when printed black & white, as many offices make color printers hard to access and few people are going to make color photocopies for a hiring committee. Most of the “subway map” resumes fail this test.