Our guest Alain Ruel knows a thing or two about Original CVs, he himself created one to land his current job and has since founded his own French blog CV-Originaux in 2011.
A true mine of ideas, CV-Originaux brings together the greatest creative CVs from around the world. The tops along with the flops. This blog is simply a must see if you're interested in going down the creative route to showcase your CV.
Since setting up your blog CV-Originaux, you must have seen quite a few CVs come your way… what's your take on this issue?
I think creative CVs give a distinctive edge when showcasing your profile, a bit like a joker in a game of cards opening up an added opportunity for the creator to land an interview with a potential employer, provided of course the resumé is well thought-out and designed.
Let's be honest though, nobody's going to land that dream job on the basis of having just produced a creative CV alone. But they do stir up a desire to get to know more about a candidate, to see if they are just as interesting as the CV they made.
A creative CV is a way of getting noticed and standing out from the crowd. Personally I think that to portray yourself as some kind of quirky candidate shouldn't be done off the cuff, rather your profile should reflect your true personality. The reason I did my own creative CV to land my current job was that I felt it was the natural thing to do. Do a creative resume to find a job, yeah sure. Just doing one to create a buzz and not out of a desire to land a new job, I don't really see the point.
Have we seen all that is to seen when it comes to creative CVs, or have we yet to discover new ideas?
I don't think so (well I hope not in any case!) because let's face it creative CVs pick up on all the latest technologies and trends out there. As soon as a new concept hits us, it could be taken up and used by a candidate. It's not so much about the resumé itself but about creative candidates in a general sense of the word. Trust me, there are further trends yet to be discovered. Just like with Marketing and Communication, you need to show the creative edge. We can still see more creative ads out there, there is always room for job seekers to be as creative when it comes to job hunting. A concept is only as original and creative as long as it has not been re-done a million times over. (Check out the example of the “Adopteunmec” CV profile).
Have you got a favourite CV type in particular?
I quite like Guerilla style resumés. It's when candidates carry out several unconventional things based on a really well thought out project they carry out from start to finish. Take for example, I ship a parcel to a company. I then create a buzz on social media and other web platforms to stimulate self-notoriety. So you can see that in doing this you're actually physically engaging in an activity and in a world where resumés are now 2.0, you shouldn't forget that there's nothing better than solid contact to get you noticed.
Generally, how are creative CVs looked upon?
It all depends on the strategy taken by the candidate. Can you secretly target a company? Or take your project to the general public under the spotlight for all to see? In the latter case, creative CVs generally attract a buzz. These CVs are talked about a lot in media but not necessarily by employers or other professionals. When you get noticed it's cool, it boosts your notoriety and e-reputation. But you have to be careful to get attention from the right people. At first when you broadcast your CV to specially targeted companies, you'll get a percentage response rate inviting you to interview. Managers are just as curious and hungry for a little bit of creativity.
Take the example of Philippe Dubost's Amazon CV. More than 1 million visits in 9 days! You don't get a buzz two months after sending your resumé to your intended company. As a result his resumé picked up attention from hundreds of business contacts all over the world and landed a job. This is proof that you need to know how to showcase your CV once it has been created.
A more critical point: Let's imagine the diehard recruiters who are snowed under with job applications who wander off the beaten track from traditional recruiting methods. He spends 30 seconds going through the pile of CVs, he's not going to think twice about viewing a 2-minute video or consulting an 8 page web resumé, regardless of how well they have been compiled and created.
Are you still in contact with these candidates and have they found work right away?
I'd say about 70 to 80% of creative resumé candidates that have featured on my blog find work or an internship. 90% succeed in being called for interview or receive double the amount of replies to their application.
It's an exceptional if a CV mentioned in my blog doesn't get picked up by someone. It's quite interesting to monitor the outcome of candidates. Some CVs get picked up a year later, others are more short-lived.
Do you think that making creative CVs like this brings with it a certain element of risk?
Of course. Just like with life, originality with CVs carries with it a sense of fantasy. Going off the beaten track is never a sure thing. To use the metaphor, if you think that it's a short cut, you could easily trip up, break a leg and never reach your destination.
There are many bad CVs out there, where candidates have kind of become the laughing stock in the web world, remember reputation has never been so global as it is today, when we can consult your profile with a click of a mouse on an online search engine. Whereas creating a buzz is favorable for creative resumés, when this becomes a bad buzz, it could be very counterproductive.
Without going into some of the quirkiest CVs, it only takes a small tweak in comprehension to trigger a bad buzz. My own “CV for sale” campaign could have taken a turn for the worse if the media had misinterpreted it, to something like a young graduate has to sell off and bargain his skills and CV in a bid to find work. You should never underestimate anything.
What was your latest favourite creative CV?
Well, a pretty borderline but in the end a well done application. A young creative English guy tapped into the sleazy side of how people can be to come up with 7 card images he got printed and sent them to advertising agencies and posted them on the web. I think that his campaign “Be naughty to be noticed”, posted in our English language blog, was one of my favourites because it reminds me of an advertising campaign for a major brand. I love when real projects are carried through from A to Z, but also the simplest creative resumés like the one where a caramel was mailed in the envelope of an application.
Can you give any advice to those who want to design their own creative resumé?
A creative resumé is an advantage. It gives a means to finding that dream job or indeed any job and it shows how motivated and active the applicant is in his or her research. This is why I consider creative resumés as a competitive advantage. You should never forget that it's a means to getting employment and so always be true to your name when it comes to the internet. Before posting your CV, check and re-check it several times and get your friends to look at it too.
Finally, only make a creative resumé if you yourself are creative. Remember if you get an interview you'll have to know how to sell yourself. In other words you'll have to deliver the super interview that followed your super resumé! The more publicity you got for your CV, the more you'll have to deliver at the interview so as not to disappoint your future boss.
A creative resumé links you with your future job. So as the saying goes, for better or for worse…!
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