WELCOME TO MODULE 11
As we reach the end of client resumes, we're not finished yet. Clients come to us for various reasons, and after we've optimized their resumes, it's time to add visual appeal.
If your goal is to get more "wows" from your clients, adding design to your finished resumes is a great step forward.
You may remember me talking earlier in this program about resume design, and compatible ATS compliance isn't difficult once you know a few core fundamentals.
In this next series of videos, we're introducing you to 3 tools and a bunch of design ideas, which are great starting points for those who are new to design.
Most of us are writers, not designers, so having some quick go-to strategies can save our bacon when we're trying to impress clients.
We're also introducing you to layering, a workaround for adding charts, graphics, text boxes, and images to your resumes without causing ATS to choke. 😉
Regards,
1. VIDEOS TO WATCH
Welcome to ATS-FRIENDLY resume designs!
The content we use in our resumes is important for ATS, but the visual appeal we introduce is for humans. We need our resumes to impress clients, HR managers, and whoever else sets eyes on them.
Thankfully, the flat black and white resumes that were dominant for many decades have been replaced. With the age of the Internet, visually attractive assets are now king.
In this module, we're introducing you to ATS-friendly resume designs and how they can transform your finished projects. We walk you through simple to advanced techniques for adding color to your resumes without compromising the document so your clients experience issues with it as they start applying to employers.
INTRO TO ATS-FRIENDLY RESUMES
Within this first example, we're showing you design options that can be introduced in many different ways. Unlike years ago, we can now introduce:
- Graphics
- Charts
- Text Boxes
- Icons
These were taboo additions for many years - but no longer.
The biggest challenge is the marriage between design and ATS compliance.
Once you understand that ATS isn't overly complicated and compliance comes down to a few knowledge points, then you can spend more time on what you love about resume writing and less time worrying.
In this second example, we introduce you to some of the design issues that can go wrong. ATS does its best at interpreting and deciphering the content it reads. When it can't do that, obscure characters and spacing show up for readers.
We're so worried that these "resume missteps" will cost our clients jobs.
However, those on the receiving end of resumes likely make allowances for such things because ATS technology can be fickle.
We're not saying you shouldn't put your best foot forward for learning and understanding ATS, but we are suggesting that you not be so hard on yourself about it.
In this third example, we show you how to make a basic resume visually appealing in just a few minutes.
Resume designs don't need to be overly complicated or time-consuming.
You have many quick design elements at your fingertips, including Word native features, such as shapes. You have a few more if you're a Microsoft 365 user.
Throughout this writing program, we haven't mentioned many other word-processing tools, such as Google Docs. The reason is that, although the software works well for content development, we believe the service's design features are limited and clunky.
This may change in the coming months or years, but for now, MS Word remains the go-to tool for resume writing and design.
In this fourth example, we introduce you to designing a resume around a single item with a unique color.
We take a peek at MS Word's new icon feature.
We also show you how to add shading behind the text and add visuals for resume headers.
In this fifth example, we take a trip to Canva and take a look at their resume templates. Unfortunately, many of them aren't ATS-friendly, which limits our ability to use them.
The main issue with those templates is that many are set up with two columns. They also use a picture that's avoided in US-based resumes, mainly to deflect discrimination.
In this sixth video, we introduce you to Canva's headers.
With a few modifications, a few of their header templates would work well for the resumes we develop.
Some of the templates, however, aren't well-suited because they include pictures and unusual color schemes.
We recommend that you dive into the available templates and pick those you believe will work best for your clients.
In this seventh video, we introduce you to the methods Teena uses to finish resume projects.
Few people know that PowerPoint is an easy-to-use design tool that lets you create resume headers in a few minutes.
We like to keep things simple (and inexpensive, too!), which is why we're recommending this unusual tool.
Remember, you won't create heavily designed resumes, so there's no need to run out and get a subscription to Adobe or Sketch. Chances are, you have most of the tools you need right at your fingertips.
A few additional tools that offer free assets (there are paid features too) that we didn't recommend in the video include:
- IconFinder
- Shutterstock
Canva offers a free account, but it has limitations.
2. ASSIGNMENT
Your assignment for this module is two-fold.
First, create 10 resume design templates using the above examples for inspiration, yet CREATE DESIGNS UNIQUE TO YOU. Each design should be visually different. Use a mixture of colors, layouts, and visuals for each design.
Second, use the resumes* you wrote for this program and create 5 additional resume design templates for those. Your goal is to give those resumes visual appeal and polish them into finished documents as if you're preparing to submit to a client.
For example, fit the resumes to a comfortable page length, fix spacing issues, and make other adjustments to make them FINISHED RESUMES.
This is the perfect time to go through the content to refine and expand the content, too. Fix any glaring issues that were overlooked previously.
* Sales resume (module 6), IT resume (module 7), account resume (module 8), medical executive resume (module 9), and marketing resume (module 10).
