Take a look back, and I've been against throwing a picture on a resume. After all, I don't want to see that, and as I've said before, it never seems to be the beautiful people who use their picture on a resume. Can I get a heck yeah?
Note - before I give you the following alternative to the resume picture, I don't classify myself as one of the beautiful people. A person, yes. Beautiful, no.
So, my picture rule stands. I don't like them and they tend to look crazy as hell. That being said, I recently ran into a format option that might actually make the picture look like it fits in. It's called the VisualCV.
Here's the scenario. I recently changed gigs, moving from SourceMedical to DAXKO. I knew the CEO at DAXKO, and when they grew to the extent that they were ready to fund a senior HR pro, we talked. I was interested and wanted to be included in the process, but here's the problem - I didn't have an active resume, and the CEO asked me to put one together because, let's face it - that's what all my potential peers at DAXKO were going to expect when I interviewed with them, right?
So I thought about that. One of the things I wanted to do was present the fact that I was active with the blogs, writing columns and making presentations in my field, which I think shows that I have some passion in the space. To do that, I decided to turn to a product that had been on my radar screen called the VisualCV. You can find my VisualCV here, and a screen shot is available above.
It's a cool product, and the main thing it accomplishes is that it allows you to do the traditional resume, then add a side column that provides an interactive display of all your digital content - blogs, presentations, video, and links to other material (like my columns). You can also format it to show that you're active in things that a lot of candidates aren't (like twitter, associations, etc.).
I'm a big believer in candidates not only having a resume, but also a portfolio of their work. If you have work that is plugged into a blog or another digital format, the VisualCV is a great tool to present that work in a smooth digital format that most candidates won't be able to achieve.
Take a look at the product, and even if you can't use it now, it's probably worth your time to consider how you might become involved in content and activities that could be leveraged by the VisualCV format. Over time, it's likely that the best employers, the places you really want to work, will be open to this format - and your competition won't be able to hang if you go this direction.
Just food for thought. And yes, that's my picture on the Visual CV. Having the digital portfolio up somehow makes adding the picture more acceptable in my eyes. Hopefully no one holds my looks against me. Maybe I should have plugged in Ari Gold instead...
