Ask E. Jean: Has Résumé Design Gone Out of Fashion?

Our advice doyenne says add your own personal spin on a classic.

Gregg Delman

Dear E. Jean: Does design matter anymore? I've been looking at résumés at work—they're passed around to the hiring committee, of which I'm a member—and it appears that people no longer care about presenting anything winning and attractive. The résumés I'm seeing look like to-do lists. The content is decent, but overall, I'm not impressed. So does design still factor in? I ask because I'm looking for a new job and I want my CV to stand out.—Business Model

Miss model, my luv: Most résumés are so ugly, you can't even give them away. And, indeed, if résumés actually got people jobs, everybody in America would already be employed. But a cunning, well-designed one will get you an interview. (Then it will be the force of your personality, the brilliancy of your ideas, and your comely suit that will land you the job.)

In creative fields, today's résumé is the personal website—a showcase of your professional life, with videos, blogs, and presentations of your recent work. It's a data­base of your achievements that you add to all the time. (You can quickly build one for free with Google Sites.)

But you're right. No matter what industry you want to work in, you must be ready to present your skills on paper. The key here is to design something that quickly engages the imagination of the employer—that is, if by some miracle somebody actually plucks you out of the pile. What's required is black or dark gray ink on good, heavyish white (or cream) parchment, with no flowers, no bull-hockey photos, no idiot Comic Sans font. You may employ light pastel shading, bold and italic typography, and at the very top (under your personal website address), you may put a quote about yourself from a prominent businessperson. (A friend of mine, an editor at a big-time magazine, disagrees with me about the quote, but I say, if it makes you sound smarter than Madame Curie, then use it! It's the fastest way to present a positive, exciting impression.) If you're over 38, delete dates from your education history, don't use a nickname like "Flopsie," and don't list your work e-mail—give a Gmail account instead.

P.S. Of course, in the end you'll find the most wonderful job when you keep looking, even when there seems to be no hope at all. And you'll also probably find it because someone you know knows someone who is looking for someone exactly like you. So ply your social networks, industry news­letters, meet-ups, alumnae publications, and business conferences. Good luck!

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