Resume Design

Be careful about being too creative with your resume design. Most recruiters are serious, bottom-line, conservative people. Approach your resume design the same way you would your interview. You wouldn't want to do anything "REALLY creative" there would you?

To make yourself stand out from everyone else, your resume should be accurate, visually attractive (but not overdone), well-organized, concise, and written in a positive (but not arrogant or "know it all") tone. It should also present information that shows you know your field. These are the qualities a prospective employer will be looking for in the person he/she hires so you need to show him/her you are that type of person on your resume.

Also, once your resume arrives in the hands of the person you're sending it to, you lose control over how it's handled. The recipient may fax it or photocopy it for someone else. Or your resume may be scanned into a database. Make sure all of the design elements of your resume (typeface, color of paper, color of printing, graphics, borders, etc.) are conducive to whatever might be done to your resume once it's out of your hands. Always try to make sure your resume looks as good as it can, not only to the specific person you send it to, but also to others down the line who may not always receive an original copy.