Infographic Resume Report

       

Survey Results

December 2014

Prepared by: Claire Scott        

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Table of Contents                   Page  Purpose of the Survey 3 Methodology 4 Results 5 Survey Summary 10 Examples of Infographic Resumes 11

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Purpose of Survey Resumes have been in existence since the 1400’s (apparently Leonardo Da Vinci had the first one). During the 1500’s the resume was used by travelling workers, serving as an introduction to lords or guildsman. Fast forward to the 1950’s and a more formalised approach was developed closely resembling the modern written resume. Despite having a 500 year history, the purpose of the resume remains the same; to act as a sales tool to gain the interest of the buyer (employer) and pave the way for further discussion. Whilst sites such as LinkedIn serve to deliver an online platform where candidates can list their work history, ask for recommendations and can be endorsed, in 2014 the humble resume is still the most requested document by employers from candidates when they are applying for a job. Over the past few years, there have been many articles discussing the merits of submitting an Infographic Resume (a visual representation of a candidate’s resume). This has caused confusion among candidates, with many not knowing whether the more traditional format is still sufficient, or whether a more creative approach is required. This report attempts to understand employers’ expectations around the use of an Infographic Resume and give job candidates some insight into this topic.    

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Methodology  An email introducing the purpose of the survey was sent to a select group of professionals through LinkedIn and through Claire Scott Consulting’s corporate database. The majority of those contacted are employed in the Human Resources and Recruitment industry, or are direct hiring managers responsible for hiring decisions within their organisation. Additionally, the survey was promoted publicly through social media channels (Claire Scott Consulting business pages on Facebook and LinkedIn). Each contact was invited to participate in a specifically designed survey being conducted through Survey Monkey. The survey asked participants to answer questions and comment on whether they knew what an Infographic Resume was, their thoughts on its use and what advice they’d give a candidate who was considering using one. The purpose of gaining information on these topics was to understand the penetration and relevance of the Infographic Resume from an employer’s perspective. Approximately 400 potential respondents were contacted. Of those, 43 respondents successfully completed the survey. Respondents came from across the globe (predominantly Australia and the United Kingdom) and from a range of industries including:

-­‐ Accounting -­‐ Administration -­‐ Advertising/Media -­‐ Banking/Finance -­‐ Building/Construction -­‐ Education/Training -­‐ Engineering -­‐ Government -­‐ Healthcare -­‐ Hospitality -­‐ Human Resources/Recruitment -­‐ Information Technology -­‐ Manufacturing/Transport/Logistics -­‐ Marketing/Sales -­‐ Not for profit/Charity -­‐ Retail -­‐ Sports/Recreation

 

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Results 1. Have you come across, heard about or seen an Infographic Resume before today?

   The majority of respondents (62.79%) stated that they were not familiar with the concept of an Infographic Resume. Of those that answered “yes” to having come across, heard about or previously seen an Infographic Resume, most respondents classified their industry as being Advertising/Media industry. A smaller number came from the Human Resources/Recruitment, Information Technology and Marketing/Sales industries. Fewer respondents said they worked in the Education/Training, Engineering and Hospitality industries (one respondent per industry).

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Results 2. When you see an Infographic Resume (either today or previously), what impression does it make on you?

 

     The participants were divided on what type of impression an Infographic Resume would make. 42% said the impression would be positive. Similarly, 42% said the impression would be negative. 16% felt it would not make an impression either way. Of those that stated an Infographic Resume would make a positive impression, the majority said they would regard this type of resume as being professional, easy to read, visually striking (if done well) and a good way for a candidate to differentiate themselves.

 Those that felt an Infographic Resume would make a negative impression stated that it could be seen as gimmicky, busy, complicated and messy.

   

42%$

16%$

42%$ Posi+ve$

Neutral$

Nega+ve$

Positive Negative

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Results   3. If a candidate submitted an Infographic Resume, would their chance of moving through to the next stage of the selection process be increased or decreased? Why/Why not?

   Nearly half the respondents (48.84%) stated that an Infographic Resume would have no bearing on whether the candidate progressed to the next stage of the selection process. However, 37.21% of respondents felt that it would increase a candidate’s chance of moving to the next stage. A smaller number (13.95%) stated it would actually decrease a candidate’s chances of moving through to the next stage. Below are a few of the supporting common responses:

Overwhelmingly, the majority of respondents who said it would increase their chances came from the Advertising/Media industry (53.33%). The remainder of respondents came from the following industries: Information Technology, Education/Training, Not for Profit, Marketing/Sales, Accounting, Manufacturing/Transport/Logistics and Hospitality. Of those that said it would decrease a candidate’s chances, the majority came from the Human Resource/Recruitment industry (50.00%). The remainder came from the Information Technology, Building/Construction and Sport/Recreation industries. It should be noted that the respondents from the Information Technology industry were equally split across both categories.

Increased:    “top  of  their  game”,  “shows  creativity”,  “out  of  the  box  thinking”  Made  no  difference:    “It’s  the  content  that  matters”,  “depends  on  the  quality”  Decreased:    “May  miss  crucial  information”,    “harder  to  find  information”    

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Results  4. Would your Applicant Tracking System/Online Application System be able to successfully process this type of resume? Why/Why not?  

   The majority of respondents (69.77%) said their organisation does not use an Applicant Tracking System. Of those that did, there was a slight skew towards not being able to accept an Infographic Resume (16.28%), compared with organisations that would be able to (13.95%). Most of the respondents that use an Applicant Tracking System and were able to accept this type of resume came from the Advertising/Media industries. One came from the Human Resources/HR industry. Of these respondents, the majority said their system would only be able to process an Infographic Resume if it were uploaded as a separate document/attachment. Those that use an Applicant Tracking System and said they would be unable to accept an Infographic Resume as part of a candidate’s application came from the more traditional industries such as: Engineering, Not for Profit, Manufacturing/Transport/Logistics, Building/Construction, Human Resources/HR Industry, and Hospitality. The majority of respondents said the reason they would not be able to process this type of resume would be because their system cannot process a PDF/graphic image, or that their system would have problems picking out the keywords within the document. It should be noted there was an equal response between yes/no from the Human Resources/Recruitment industry respondents.          

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Results  5. What advice would you give to a candidate who was considering submitting this type of resume? “As it is new be prepared for those that are not used to seeing resumes in different formats and may be adverse to this type of resume - be prepared to not get some jobs based on this traditionalist way of thinking.” (HR Business Partner, large corporate, transport) “Make sure it tells your story in a way that is relevant to the job criteria.” (General Manager, mid sized corporate, marketing/sales) “Ask yourself 'why?' If you can give a good answer to this question, go for it. Otherwise, don't bother.” (Sales Director, mid sized corporate, media) “Check with a prospective employer that the Infographic is acceptable first before sending.” (Line Manager, large organisation, Government) “Make sure you can substantiate any claims made with actual examples.” (Line Manager, mid sized corporate, Healthcare) “I would encourage them to do it, assuming they had sufficient "selling points" to create a resume like the example.” (Line Manager, large corporate, Advertising/Media) I think it is definitely the future and would be worthwhile as a starting point to gain attention of a recruiter/employer and then they could supply a format that integrates universally with Cloud databases. (Owner, small organisation, Human Resources/Recruitment) “Keep it simple and segregated as possible to prevent it being difficult to read.” (Owner, small organisation, Accounting) “Use it as an auxiliary tool but do not rely on it to progress you, as many companies may not be in a position to handle resumes submitted in this way.” (Line Manager, large organisation, Not for Profit) “Don't include too much information. Think of it more as a 'cover letter' in terms of using it to gain the readers attention so they want to move on and read your full CV.” (Senior HR Generalist, large corporate, Engineering) “Don't - I had one submitted for an EA role and we nearly discounted the candidate because the information was too confusing - if you can't present information appropriately how do you be an effective EA? Eventually we did make the call and she was outstanding - so I guess it works both ways, you need to read into them and candidates need to understand that if it is for a marketing role they are probably great, for any other role I'd reconsider.” (Direct Talent Acquisition, large corporate, Information Technology)

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Survey Summary  It appears that although the Infographic Resume has been in existence for some time, (with the exception of the Advertising/Media, Recruitment and IT industries) the vast majority of hiring managers and HR/recruiting professionals that responded to the survey were not previously aware of them. The respondents were split on whether an Infographic Resume made a positive or negative impression, and despite the kind of impression it made, nearly 50% of respondents said an Infographic Resume would have no bearing on whether the candidate progressed to the next stage. The exception to this was the respondents who came from the Advertising/Media industry. This is perhaps unsurprising given that a reasonable number of candidates who would apply for roles within this industry are “creative types”. Additionally not all Applicant Tracking Systems, it seems, can process an Infographic Resume. This means candidates run the risk of being screened out at the initial stages of the selection process as a result. For the candidate that wishes to consider using an Infographic Resume, the following would constitute good advice:

• Check that an organisation can accept an Infographic Resume before

submitting one as part of the application

• Ensure that an Infographic Resume highlights skills, attributes and experience as well (if not better) than a traditional resume. In this case, style definitely does not make up for substance

• Ask yourself “why do it?”. If you can reason that an Infographic

Resume will definitely give you an edge over the competition, then it may be worth considering creating one

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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Examples of Infographic Resumes

Claire  Scott  Consulting,  Infographic  Resume  Report,  December  2014    

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To discuss this research in further detail contact:

Claire Scott

Phone: 0419 299 592 Email: Claire@clairescottconsulting.com.au

www.clairescottconsulting.com.au