No, that resume template won't work for you
A few days ago I signed up for a low-cost app to help create social media postings. It’s easy, fun, and cheap. Of course, I know that in the first weeks, I will get bombarded with emails. What I didn’t expect (but should have) was today’s email: “New Resume Format.”
I get the appeal. The standard resume can seem pretty boring, especially in today’s slick social media, graphics-savvy world. And it’s pretty easy to find resume templates at a low price or even free. But here’s why you don’t want to use them. (If you REALLY think you want to use one of these templates, keep reading, I’ll explain when you can use one.)
ATS-Unfriendly
If this is the first time you’ve heard these three letters together, let me bring you up to speed. ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System and it’s the software that most companies use to scan through resumes. ATS doesn’t like it when resumes are formatted differently. Most (actually, all) of the templates I’ve seen are not in a format that will scan well by ATS. In fact, 70% of all resumes are never seen by a human being because of ATS systems. Format matters!
Some of the elements that ATS doesn’t like include text boxes, tables, columns, unusual formatting, unique characters, text in the headers or footers, and margins that are too small.
Rigid Structures
When you use a template, you’re forced to fit your experiences, accomplishments and skills into space and restrictions set by that template. At some point, you will find yourself frustrated by the lack of space in certain sections of your resume and too much space in other sections. Or, you have room for everything but the information isn’t presented in the best order to emphasize your accomplishments.
Generally, I have found that once you have more than one job or internship of worth, you have outgrown the use of those templates.
Resume organization
It might seem boring but recruiters are scanning through a lot of resumes. Studies show that the average resume is scanned for 6 - 7 seconds. The traditional format is easy for the reader to scan and find the information they’re looking for.
The template doesn’t “match” the industry
There are many industries where recruiters do not want or expect design in a resume. That includes technical fields, engineering, science and research fields, and post-secondary academics.
If you are entering a creative industry, a creative resume makes sense. If you’re going into design, I would definitely suggest designing a unique resume for your second resume. But again, don’t use a template. Create your own—after all, you’re a designer. Check these out for inspiration.
Instead of a template, this is what you should do
Create your resume in Word and add a light design touch with different font colors for headers and some graphics to draw attention. When you understand ATS, you’ll be amazed at how many design elements can be added without tripping up ATS. But if you’re unsure, keep it simple to avoid problems.
If you insist on using one of those templates
You’ve read the problems but you still want to use a template. Here are a few ways it could work:
Create two resumes—one for the purpose of applying online and the second to email as the graphic resume. (Read the fine print below.)
If you are in a creative industry, this could help you grab recruiters’ attention. in this case, you won’t include everything on the graphic resume. You’re just trying to get the interview.
If your job search is done completely through networking through email, personal contacts, etc. Keep in mind that you might think you can connect with companies outside of their scanning systems but they might be required to put your resume—and everyone else’s resume—through the ATS software in order to score and rank all applicants.
The fine print: Here’s the problem with using two resumes. You will need to update both versions of your resume every time you have a change. You should already customize your resume for every job you apply to, and with this approach, you’ll need to customize two resumes. Every. Single. Time.
Wait? You want me to customize my resume for every application?
Yes, I will share more details in a future blog.
