Make your Resume Stand Out | Minnesota School of Business Blog

Written?by Megan Bott, Administrative Assistant

Dull. Ordinary. Humdrum. These are not words you want to describe you. Ever. Your cover letter and resume should be no different.

Think about it. A cover letter and resume are the first items representing you to a prospective employer. You don?t want something you spent time on to be recycled two seconds after reaching an employer?s hands. Instead, you want to grab their attention and captivate them immediately.

In a nut shell, you want to stand out from the crowd.

To do this, you may have to explore outside of your comfort zone. To help get your creative juices flowing, I have found some bold and intriguing ideas that may prompt inspiration for you on how to impress an employer.

First of all, who says your resume needs to be on paper? If you want to show a potential new boss that you are hard-working, what would be a better way than to put your skills and accomplishments on fabric or a coffee cup (see photos)? Not only are you innovative, but it also shows that you are a perfectionist (because you certainly wouldn?t want to go through all of that work and then have grammatical or spelling errors).

Another interesting idea to consider is including graphic art, even if it means putting your text askew (see photo). While you certainly don?t want your paperwork to be as cluttered as a hoarder?s closet, visuals are generally appealing to most people.

Another idea to impress others when you?re searching for employment is to take advantage of the technical world. Gone are the days when it was considered inventive to drop off your cover letter and resume in person. Instead, consider the use of email or social networking sites, (like the person in the chalkboard photo).

Need another idea yet? Check out this YouTube cover letter/resume where one young man took it upon himself to create a video, listing all of his attributes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW-wnaUs59Q

Now you wouldn?t be very original, unique, or distinguished if you copied these ideas in their entirety. Instead, use them to help you think of other creative ways to advertise yourself. You are special; your cover letter and resume should represent that.

?Photo Credits

Goes with Chalkboard/Guy photo:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=creative+resumes&start=624&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=908&tbm=isch&tbnid=DQlUm1zkqwWvcM:&imgrefurl=http://blogs.hawaiibusiness.com/2011/08/29/an-alternative-take-on-resumes/&docid=KrMtgcnt6LonZM&imgurl=http://blogs.hawaiibusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/05-brandon-kleinman.jpg&w=400&h=251&ei=cSh8UJbxGsXRyQHK6ICACw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=768&vpy=267&dur=1041&hovh=178&hovw=284&tx=116&ty=100&sig=103651050499577607050&page=17&tbnh=125&tbnw=220&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:52,s:600,i:160

Fabric resume:?

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fabric+resume&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=908&tbm=isch&tbnid=mhAwwiMSlccdBM:&imgrefurl=http://design.spotcoolstuff.com/print-design/job-career/creative-resumes&docid=DZhd3Ih0gzJaAM&imgurl=http://design.spotcoolstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/cool-fabric-resume-22.jpg&w=575&h=442&ei=rih8UMvNDeqEygHO24CwCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=320&sig=103651050499577607050&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=166&start=0&ndsp=33&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:71&tx=110&ty=80

Coffee Mug & Receipt:?

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=resume+on+receipt+coffee&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=908&tbm=isch&tbnid=B9qAwiyy6x1BtM:&imgrefurl=http://coffeeandblunder.com/post/711163795/sid-santos-resume-on-a-paper-cup-tissue-paper&docid=sioxEXPhmydq_M&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/javajunkie/711163795/1/tumblr_l47j63GvtT1qaugp7&w=1024&h=768&ei=dSl8UOrNNsmEyAHcl4GQDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=265&sig=103651050499577607050&page=1&tbnh=150&tbnw=219&start=0&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:68&tx=150&ty=85

Source: http://blogs.msbcollege.edu/2012/10/15/make-your-resume-stand-out/

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