JAZZ UP YOUR CV DIGITALLY
Jazzed up CVs, infographics, YouTube links. Job-seekers stand out with creativity
Adapting to new trends can help get calls >
NEW DELHI: In the age when the telegram is giving way to the SMS and Facebook updates, can job-seeking resumes languish in the old world of papers?
Slowly but surely, aided by specialist resume writers, the good old "biodata" is being turned into the new age curriculum vitae. Jazzy CVs are meant to catch the recruiter's eye.
Pictures that tell stories, infographics that display data, YouTube videos that show personality, blogs that display chutzpah and LinkedIn accounts that display references are the new jewels that CVs wear. And yes, Twitter followers can be like cricket scores for some.
It is not just paper that is ebbing. In the millennium of political correctness, "personal details" are good only for identification.
"Personal details starting from your likes, dislikes, hobbies, marital status and childhood achievements, are now considered useless," says Sushil Baveja, head, corporate at diversified manufacturing firm DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL).
And your CVs can sing and dancesort of. “Audio- visual resumes offers an opportunity to candidates who are seeking jobs in sectors like art, architecture, design or in other areas where showcasing creative competencies will be beneficial," said Amit Garg, business head, Internet Business, HT Media which owns job portal Shine.com.
The emerging future is of resumes with QR (quick-response) codes that can be scanned for video content.
Human resource experts say onefifth of the CVs being made now in the Indian corporate job race are jazzy in some way or the other - aided by professional resume makers who charge anything from R500 to R15,000.
"Competitiveness is forcing candidates to be creative," said Sreekanth K Arimanithaya, chief human resources officer, Britannia Industries.
Sanjeev Sharma, a 34-year-old marketing professional at MetLife Insurance said he broke into the financial sector thanks to a professionally written resume with career detail graphics that got him interview calls within a week of applying.
"One out of 20 resumes our hiring team gets is infographic-based," said Amit Das, senior vice-president for HR at the RPG Group.
Jazzing up maybe in, but overdoing is out. "The style of over elaborated resumes is passe. To escape the bad economy, we are trying to pump in more innovations and develop a crisper, authentic profile," said Payal Dhar, associate vice-president (resume writing), Naukri.com, whose team makes 2,500 resumes a month.
Resume writers who report 30% annual growth in business say the cool CV business works more with junior and middle-level professionals.
But eventually, it is what you can deliver that matters. "We appreciate novelty and encourage innovative ways of expression but it would not help in the selection process, rather it is just a first impression," said S. Varadarajan, executive president, human resources, Tata Teleservices.
As Sharma says the well-written CV made him stand out, not get in.
“It was my educational background and grip on the subject that helped me to sail through the interviews," he says.