Difference between Professional Resume and Visual Resume

Professional Visual Resume

Knowing the difference between professional and visual resume has become essential for candidates looking to make an impression in the eyes of potential employers and land the preferred job.

A resume is the most important tool for a candidate to have in their arsenal - especially in the job search process. They are of different types and formats, each catering to specific needs of the candidates. In this post, we are going to discuss two types of formats - namely, professional and visual resume.

Professional Resume:

Professional resumes represent the commonly used format used in today's corporate world. It represents a polished format, allowing ease of reading and being specific to the job being applied for. Recruiters spend less than 30 seconds while reading through a resume. And hence, an improperly formatted one, riddled with typing errors, excessive jargon, and unrelated information is damming for a candidate. While professional resumes make for a good representation of the candidate's credentials and experience, they also have their shortcomings.

Pros:

  • Tried and tested format
  • Good use of space

Cons:

  • Dull and not visually appealing
  • Redundant

Visual Resume:

"The internet has changed the way we communicate with each other, the way we learn about the world and the way we conduct business" - Ron Wyden 

In this age of social media, communication and interactions have become more visual than ever before. And this has also changed the way resumes are written. Using a visual resume to map out the educational background, work experience, and skill set in a crisp and aesthetically pleasing way has now become an appealing way for applicants to catch the attention of potential employers when applying for a job.

Pros:

  • Visually appealing
  • Differentiates from crowd

Cons:

  • Risky as recruiters may or may not like it
  • Not the most standard use of the format
  • Usage of space is poor

Different formats thus have their own pros and cons. Recruiters and candidates alike prefer professional resumes. But they have become dull and commonplace from being used by almost every other candidate applying for a job. And as such, visual resumes have become a breath of fresh air, providing a dynamic and aesthetic look to the overall resume. But all that depends on the applicant and the specifications of the job being applied for.

Image Credit: Freepik