Are you looking for a way to build a memorable personal brand with a resume that stands out from the others clamoring for attention?
If you want to brand yourself with personal brand attributes like creativity, confidence, and strong, independent thinking, take a good look at Jocelyn Wallace’s visual resume.
Jocelyn Wallace’s visual resume is a world apart from the typical, boring, text-filled resume.
Her resume does more than simply communicate the facts about her background; it tells an engaging story in pictures about her abilities, experience, and drives.
It reads at a glance. Jocelyn emerges as a unique individual as well as a singularly-accomplished visual thinker and strategist.
Jocelyn’s resume is included in the Lost Chapter that you can download from her website.
The Lost Chapter also tells the story behind Book Yourself Solid Illustrated, the new version of Michael Port’s classic business book about customer acquisition and retention for service firms of all sizes.
The text reversed out of the black background on the cover of the Lost Chapter provides a glimpse into the tone of the illustrated edition. In Jocelyn’s words:
This is the lost chapter to Book Yourself Solid Illustrated. It’s a personal account of how I took an original manuscript of 90,000 words to 800 pictures and visual homework exercises.
Should you use a visual resume?
Visual resumes are powerful tools for today’s business environment that puts a premium on creative thinking, innovation, and fast, easily-understood communications.
Although a brand-building visual resume, like Jocelyn Wallace’s, may set your resume apart from the competition, it might not be appropriate for you.
Here are 6 questions to ask yourself to help you decide whether or not a visual resume makes sense:
- What kind of an image do I want to project? The starting point is to inventory the turning points in your career and analyze the abilities and personality traits that contributed to them.
- Does a visual resume accurately reflect my abilities and personality? It not only takes courage to break with traditional resume formats, you also have to be certain you can naturally live up to the image presented by a visual resume. You shouldn’t have to “grow into” the persona projected by your resume.
- What kind of a job am I looking for? In addition to knowing your own abilities, drives, and strengths, you obviously have to consider the job your’re aiming for. Different positions place varying emphasis upon “safe” traits like discretion, reliability, and stability compared to creativity and innovation.
- What type of company do I want to work for? Different firms are likely to react differently to visual resumes. Some firms may refuse to even acknowledge non-traditional resumes or may require online applications. Others may welcome visual resumes…but only if you present them directly to the individuals with decision-making ability, not the human resources department.
- Do I have the ability to sketch my background? As sketching becomes more and more popular, thanks to books like Michael Rohe’s The Sketchnote Handbook. Although sketching is well within everyone’s reach, satisfying results are unlikely to be achieved on the first try.
- Do I know someone who can help you create a visual resume? Perhaps the best solution would be to sketch a storyboard containing the key events to be included in your visual brand, and then work with an illustrator who can help you revise your sketches and assemble them into a professional visual resume.
To learn more, download and study Jocelyn Wallace’s visual resume. Share your impressions as comments, below. I’d be interested in hearing what you think, especially if you noted additional takeaways from her example. And, if you already have a visual resume, let us know where we can view it online!
Author:
Roger C. Parker is a branding and writing coach who helps you write and publish your way to success at Published & Profitable. Ask Roger a question or suggest a topic for a future post.
