Creative CV and pattern: How much creativity is allowed?

What the CV tells you about you

A resume is traitorous. Erroneous errors indicate sloppiness. Or that the applicant simply has a lot to look after.

An original curriculum vitae will score the applicant in terms of creativity. But if it is structured well, it shows that its author can structure itself well.

How much creativity is allowed?

The curriculum vitae recommends adherence to a strict chronology, according to which the current position is listed at the top. The American variant has meanwhile also prevailed in Germany as far as possible. The basic structure of a resume looks like this:

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• Personal data
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Interests

Mention children and marital status or not?

In addition, there is a constant demand for mandatory information in the CV - such as the question of marital status or children. Agnes Stock, HR Consultant at Kelly Services, advises:

"Children do not have to be mentioned if their existence has no relevance and has no impact on the intended employment relationship - for example with regard to full-time employment." Such information is rather uncommon internationally, which is why managers, in particular, did not ask this question at all.

How much more can be?

Far more important is that the Casting fits the tone in the respective industry. Each candidate should therefore ask the following questions:

• What is common in my industry?
• Is the basic information already enough to attract the desired attention?
• Can I make my CV more creative?
• And to what extent can a CV be customized?

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The industry is important

How much more can be more is different from industry to industry. In the communications sector, for example, in marketing or design, the design of the CV can be a bit more creative.

We have the subject of creative resume now multiple times Best of HR – Berufebilder.de® discussed. For example, the application of Jeanne Hwang with Pinterest, which I personally found too confusing. Or the very unusual social media resume of Hagan Blount, who had visualized his CV as a modern graphic.

Social media style is often still needed

As a result, I have on Best of HR – Berufebilder.de® asked the question: how extraordinary may CVs be? And how destructive? The reactions were also divided here: some thought it was good and original, the others rather getting used to.

This shows how many people's CVs in the new social media style are still getting used to - even if social media have certainly fundamentally changed our communication habits.

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Key facts at a glance

Personnel who get used to social media have now been trained to capture and evaluate relevant texts according to a particular pattern at a glance. Still others still prefer the old, classic school.

Because even in the social networks, descriptions of people are also very fast to the point and are appropriately structured and visually equipped. The extreme case is certainly Twitter with its 140 character per profile.

Brevity is the soul of wit

It is precisely this brevity and spice that the contact person then also in the CV. Means in the plain text: On the cover sheet the most important facts should appear to the applicant, so that they are recognizable at a glance.

At the same time, however, a sensible structure and a good, meaningful photo should not be left out - the lack of these features was one of the main criticisms of such creative CVs.

A tip is still to be revealed. If you are too lazy to design your own graphic resume, you can use the visualize.me tool to automatically generate graphic resumes.

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