Above is an example of a infographic resume. However,
most infographic resumes are more detailed than the
one shown above. Infographic resumes can be used to
show any skill or experience that the applicant would
like to visually display.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Imagine being a human resources manager and being in charge of hiring new employees for the company you work for. Each day, you thumb through hundreds of resumes that all look the same. Then, one day you run into a resume with something attached to it. The attachment is filled with much of the same information that the resume possesses, but in a visual form. This attatchment is called an infographic resume, a new revolutionary kind of resume.

“It’s very cutting edge and can really make you stand out,” career experience counselor Aleta Wolfe said.

An infographic resume is a visual representation of your resume. An infographic resume can display really anything that the job applicant wants it to. It can display personal interests, hobbies, languages, education and even spoken language.

“It shows as opposed to tells. Before you even read, it shows you,” Wolfe said. “They can show uniqueness and other qualities in an applicant before a prospective employer has even met them.”

The infographic resume is truly at the creative control of the person creating it. It allows the applicants to get away from the boring traditional resume and display themselves in a visually appealing way.

“They show the creative side of an applicant that can’t be seen in a regular resume,” Wolfe said.

Infographic resumes are especially useful for those in the creative fields of work.

“They would be very useful in industries like design, photography, architecture and even engineering,” Wolfe said.

One issue with the infographic resume, however, is that it is relatively new and many working as human resources managers may have never come across one before.

“It is not truly known how effective they will be. You may not want to use them in every field,” Wolfe said.

Many human resources managers are used to the traditional resume and cover letter, so perhaps one of the best things that the infographic resume does is cause them to stop, pause for a moment and look at it. This could, for some, get them noticed, when they may have not gotten noticed if they just sent the traditional resume without attaching the infographic resume.

“The infographic resume could cause problems for some in the screening process of applications and resumes,” Wolfe said. “But, at the same time, it could cause them to get out of autopilot and focus.”

And getting noticed is key when searching for a job and shows a prospective employer your skills.

There are a couple important things to remember when using an infographic resume.

First, don’t include all information from your resume. Simply put, some things just don’t translate from text to graphics. So, try to only include things that will translate.

Like a resume, try to keep it to one page. Employers quickly glance through applications and resumes. You don’t want to overwhelm them by sending them pages of information. That is what an interview is for.

Personally, I’d recommend using one in addition to a traditional resume due to the fact that many are still not used to them.

This column is the second in a series of columns that will appear in The Collegian in coming issues.