Screenshot of Robby Leonardi's interactive resume (Image: RLeonardi.com)
As I was reading up on career trends and news this morning, I came across a Daily Muse article titled “This is It: The Best Resume We’ve Ever Seen.”
At first, I read the headline with a great deal of skepticism considering that almost every article or blog is guilty of the best-surefire-no-way-you-could-lose-with-these-tips article or two (or hundreds) in terms of career development and job seeking.
But with this particular resume, I’d have to cosign Daily Muse’s sentiments. This has to be the best resume I’ve seen … well, ever. (A close second would be this one, by former Black Enterprise producer and now, social media analyst, Renita Burns.)
Interactive coding and tech professional Robert Leonardi decided to integrate a gaming feature into his resume, where you can basically run through a series of scenes, a la old-school Mario Brothers, to get to information on his interests, work experience and contact information. The resume reflects his skills and is a fun break in the day for any overwhelmed manager or HR professional looking for a creative, innovative professional to join the team.
(Take a look for yourself. And don’t blame me when you’ve spent your whole lunch hour playing around with it. You almost forget it’s a resume.)
Here are 3 job search lessons you can take from such a resume:
1. Showing versus telling can be the best play. True, for some industries and companies, Leonardi’s resume simply won’t work. Some hiring managers and supervisors would rather you simply get to the nitty gritty of your qualifications, quickly and concisely. But that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate his show-and-prove approach to marketing yourself as the best for a job. Whether you utilize a short case study or example of how you’ve been able to add value, or make a quick Vine video showcasing your personality and qualifications, the success of showing versus simply telling via a flat piece of paper or PDF document can be tremendous.
2. The more effort you put into something, the better the results. I’m sure it took a great amount of work and coding to put this type of resume together. Whenever you can apply extra effort to make yourself stand out above the rest—whether it’s professonal, personal or business branding—it gives you that much of an edge in the market. Take the time to really connect with hiring managers via social media. Attend events and really get out there. Tailor your cover lettter and add that personal touch to your correspondences that will make you stand out—in a professional way, of course. Take the time to research the company you want to work for, and practice due diligence on the job you hope to obtain. Diversify your job-seeking efforts so you’re not limited to one or two options for marketing yourself.
3. Be as extraordinary as you can be, and the right people will notice. And that’s a good thing. Leonardi’s resume reached global heights, being touted by global news outlets. When you go above and beyond, you’ll get above-and-beyond results. I’m sure he’s now more concerned not with whether he’ll land a gig but how to choose between the offers he’ll be receiving.
Follow me on Twitter @JPHazelwood and #Soundoff about your resume writing efforts.
