Creative Ways to Address a Career Gap

Aug 29, 2023 | Podcast

World at Work episode 46 Creative Ways to Address a Career Gap

Your colors and graphic design mean that three to five seconds are spent admiring your colors and graphic design, instead of focusing on how you can help the employer. Spend those precious seconds sharing with people how you can help them. – Tim Dyck

Many creatives feel a need to inject creativity into their resume as a way to stand out among the otherwise common resume format. A splash of color here, an intriguing icon there. The goal is for their personality to leap off the page and grab the reader’s attention. Unfortunately, that creative flair is actually distracting from the qualifications and experience that you really want to get noticed for. During this episode, Katie and I dive into ways to incorporate creativity into resumes without sacrificing professionalism.

Any time you give your resume a revamp, you need to make sure your creative elements didn’t compromise the readability or the format of the resume. Think about all of the volunteer activities that you participate in and any continuing education courses you have taken. Those are often a pretty solid reflection of your values and personality.

Let your personality shine through the content of your resume, not just the design. Reconsider how you approach creativity with your resume, and focus on the substance rather than the style. That way your resume tells an engaging story of who you are and what you bring to the table.