Can Your Resume Have Color

Should We Use Colors On A Resume

Can my resume colors attract employers? If my prospective employer is a traditional one, would he like to have a color scheme on my resume? There is no universal answer to the question of whether you should use color in your resume. But we can answer that in this way.

It all depends on your job, the job industry, the organization you are going to apply for, and the particular companys culture.

Some job industries do not accept resumes that are created by combining different colors because they are so traditional and more conservative. In such industries, the recruiters pay more attention to the content of the resume than the visual presentation of the resume. Therefore its wise to go with a black and white resume color theme if youre planning to apply below jobs.

• Financial Jobs
• Government / Federal Jobs
• Conservative Jobs

But if you are applying for jobs in the tech industry or marketing, media, design, etc. effective use of colors will be genuinely helpful to make your resume stand out. Also, if you apply to a startup, they will even check your designing skills through the appearance of your resume.

Including a color scheme on your resume is completely acceptable and safe if youre applying for these types of careers:

• Graphic Designer
• Game artist
• Animator

Furthermore, the nature of the person inspecting your resume can impact the use of colors on your resume for better or worse. But we can not predict whether your resume will be tested by which type of person.

Content Consumption Trends Have Been Focused On Visual Elements

Recruiter and hiring manager behavior has long followed consumer content consumption trends According to the Social Science Research Network, about 65% of the population are visual learners. When considering this alongside the fact that text with images gets 94% more views and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text, you start to understand how elements like color and infographics can give you an advantage as a job seeker. Recruiters typically give a resume an initial 7-second skim before determining whether or not to read the entire document. If you can capture their attention up-front, your odds for securing an interview increase.

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When Should I Use A Black & White Resume

Its classic, formal and theres no chance of risk. Your skills and accomplishments tell about your professionalism and quality. Theres no need to add color and distract or disappoint hiring managers with the wrong choice of color. If you are a professional with years of experience, applying for non-artistic job position, having color on your resume might help, but brings a risk of presenting your personality as a bit childish and willing to play instead of focusing on work.

Another thing to consider is that many resumes end up being printed, so having color might ruin its readability and end up being messy. The only thing you achieved is having the hiring manager to put your resume on the not to interview pile.

How To Replace A Graphic Resume Design With A Different Format

After taking out logos, special fonts, characters, and art, you may look at your resume and think it’s a little dull. Never fear, as there are ways to make a more creative resume layout without damaging your chances of landing an interview.

First look at your main title. Your name, targeted position, and contact information should be prominently displayed at the top. Play around with the lettering, while keeping the font basic.

You can also:

• Add a border to the outside of the document to help contain the content.

• Format job titles and positions with bold or italics.

• Make sure each section should have a header.

• Use borders and shading to make those areas more attractive.

Just remember too much will confuse the ATS and hiring manager.

In the end, be consistent with your formatting treatments and don’t overdo it. In the case of your resume’s design, less truly is more. You want to advertise yourself without actually appearing to advertise yourself.

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Dont Lie On Your Resume

Many people try to hide employment gaps by changing their accurate employment dates, or they add false educational degrees on their resumes. Before the internet age background checks were more challenging to perform, and many companies did not put a reasonable effort into a detail background check. Today with the internet and many companies who offer and specialize in background check services, most companies hiring do background checks. If you lie you risk that job offer nobody wants a dishonest person working on their team.

Refer To Resume Samples For The Same Position

No need to panic when it comes to professional resume colors.

The Internet has a wide range of information and knowledge for job seekers like you – where you can find great resume examples online. By looking up other samples and templates created by either resume experts or applicants, you can get a sense of the best color combinations for your resume.

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The Verdict: Mind Over Matter:

The significance of colored resumes in the hiring process is of little significance. Recruiters dont want to see how fashionable you are, they want to know if appointing you on the job will bring some value to their company. So your skills, qualification, and experience are unarguably the most determining facets of your candidacy.

If you are still confused, just simply ask yourself is resume color even remotely associated with the job you are applying for? You will get an honest answer.

To Make Your Candidacy Stand Out

Of all the job applications, your resume must be outstanding if the hiring manager wants to select you for the relevant position. This means that you will only get a call for an interview if your resume stands out. Its not a hard thing to make your candidacy stand out for the relevant position, if youre able to use colors on your resume consistently.

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What To Know About Applicant Tracking Systems

• Correct: They are used to organize resumes and candidate information.
• Incorrect: They filter resumes.

In 2021 and 2022, the majority of job applications will be made through LinkedIn, email, or recommendations. Applicant tracking systems are only sometimes used to keep and monitor your resume. Most major companies utilize the information supplied by these systems to screen candidates.

In today’s world, resumes are used in a totally different way. There’s also no need to “defeat” the ATS.

Should You Use Color On Your Resume Context

There is no universal answer as to whether resumes should have color. Everything depends on the industry, the particular companys culture, and the vacancy.

Some industries are more conservative than others and do not welcome such frivolities as resumes with color. If youre applying for a vacancy in finance or law, opt for a black and white color scheme. Any attempt to make your visual presentation more vivid can mark your candidacy as too immature and unreliable, which can ultimately hamper your job search. When looking for a governmental job, keep your resume black and white also.

Contrastingly, high tech, marketing, media, and design rarely frown upon the use of color on a resume. That is where strategic splashes of color can genuinely help your application stand out from other applicants. Startups, in particular, are very liberal in terms of appearance and visual representations.

The age of recruiters and hiring managers also plays a role. It looks like older generations are less enthusiastic about colors on application documents because usually, they come together with other frivolities. As Wall Street Journal aptly remarks,Résumés are starting to look like Instagramand sometimes even Tinder.

Not all job seekers go through the trouble to find a recruiters name, let alone determine what generation they can be classified. That is why your safe bet is to dial down any flare you intended to put on your application documents and play it safely.

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Does Having Color On My Resume Affect My Chance Of Getting Hired

Recruiters take a short six seconds to screen your resume.

Resumes are, therefore, sorted with quick first impressions in mind. Does this look like the right candidate? Are there appropriate skills on the page? These are all things the recruiter thinks about when your resume comes across their desk.

Where does color come into the conversation?

Well

Recruiters tend to favor resumes that show a level of creativity that matches their role. Your resume color can help you stand out, show culture fit, and direct attention.

But that can backfire at any time

Used poorly, color on your resume can look gimmicky and throw the recruiter off.

See the benefits and drawbacks of using color on your resume, along with the best strategy to get hired.

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What Are The Main Drawbacks Of Color On A Resume

Although there are many benefits to choosing to use colors on your resume, there are downsides to consider as well. Reasons you may opt not to use color include:

• Some hiring managers may find it off-putting. While acceptance of the use of color on resumes is on the rise, it is not unanimous. Any time you opt to add color to your resume, there is a chance you will be creating a negative impression with the hiring professional responsible for screening or reviewing your application. This is of greater concern in less expressive fields than it is in creative ones.

• It can decrease readability. A simple black-and-white approach to your resume has the benefit of ensuring that everything you write has clear contrast on the page or screen. When introducing color, if you are not careful to choose colors with appropriate levels of contrast your resume can become harder to read.

• It may be seen as a gimmick. For more traditional hiring professionals, a resume that uses color to draw attention to sections or stand out may be seen as a placing style over substance. If viewed this way, you will need to show more qualifications on your resume to get the same consideration in order to cancel out the bias that comes from the hiring professionals’ first impression of you.

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Should I Put Colors On My Resume

Some companies utilize Applicant Tracking Systems , which scan and analyze your resume to arrange candidate information automatically. This is especially useful for organizations like Fortune 500 corporations who receive and analyze a huge quantity of resumes.

However, it’s a frequent fallacy that if a resume fails an ATS check, it’ll be automatically discarded. In truth, the capacity of technology to scan and analyze a resume is rarely used on the road to an interview.

Many employers do not want to risk an excellent candidate’s CV being filtered out by a bot. Software engineers and product designers, for example, are hard to come by in the IT business. Many of these firms’ recruiting staff manually scrutinize every résumé that comes their way.

How To Use Color In Resumes

I actually get a little happy when I open up a resume that has color on it, possibly because I’ve spent too many hours staring at plain black and white type and it all starts to run together after a while.

Color also indicates to me that I’m looking at the resume of a self-confident job seeker, and that’s a good thing. HR and recruiter types aren’t necessarily looking for wall flowers we want people confident in their particular skill set. Color can be an avenue to express that kind of confidence.

Regardless, I do need to clarify that color is acceptable in small doses. You can use between one and three different colors in things like:

• borders

• or a graphic* of some kind

*Please dont go overboard using pictures in resumes it can go seriously wrong.

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Should You Use Color In Resumes

Whether or not you should use color in a resume has been the subject of much debate. Some argue that color is a crucial part of creating an appealing design. Others would say that opting for black and white or grayscale makes the resume look more professional. Finding a balance between a design that is visually interesting and professional is an important consideration for anyone creating a resume. Your goal as an applicant should be to design a document that helps you stand out from other candidates. However, it should also help you make a positive impression as a serious applicant.

The decision to add color to your resume should be based on your own taste and personality. It also depends on your industry and the job title you are pursuing. If you can use color in a way that is tasteful, skillful and appealing, you can create a resume that is one of a kind. If you are unsure about your ability to use color well, you can also design an attention-getting document in black and white. Both options can be equally effective when used well.

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Ways Your Resume Is Screaming Unprofessional

5 Ways Your Resume is Screaming “Unprofessional”

Monster Contributing WriterYou Didnt Get All the Typos OutYou Have a Ridiculous Email AddressIt Stands Out — But Not in a Good WayIt Lacks SubstanceIts a Solid Wall of Text

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Emphasize Your Contact Information

Color on a resume is great to highlight your contact information. Contact information should be readily available and accessible to hiring managers, preferably in a prominent header format and color that contrasts or complements the dominant color scheme of your resume. You want hiring managers and recruiters to know how to contact you without having to look too hard.

When Showing Creativity

How much creativity you should show when designing your resume depends primarily on the job you are applying for and the industry. For instance, if you are pursuing a career as a graphic designer, artist, elementary school teacher, interior decorator or marketing director, your skill with color could be relevant to your ability to do your job.

However, if you are interested in getting a job in finance, politics, business or law, your proficiency with color schemes is less crucial. Typically, the amount of creativity you show on a resume should be equal to the amount of creativity you would use in your new role.

If the job you are pursuing requires creative skills, it is beneficial to find out exactly what your potential employer is looking for. For instance, if the position would require you to use a specific program such as InDesign, you could create your resume using that software. If the company always uses a specific color palette as a part of its brand, you could find ways to incorporate it into your resume.

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Create A Standard Black

If youre at all unsure whether you want to use color on your resume or wonder if some employers might not be impressed by color, it is a simple process to create multiple versions of your resume with different color schemes, including a black-and-white version.

You can show these versions to trusted friends and family, to solicit their opinions on the colored versions vs the more traditional black-and-white version. And, if you are applying for a job at a company with a very conservative culture and you think the basic black-and-white version will be best, youll have it ready.

Your Professional Brand Is More Memorable In Color

According to Forbes, color improves brand recognition by up to 80%. A study in the Malays Journal of Medical Science also found that color can improve memory performance, including attention and information retrieval. By using the same design and colors across all of your candidate documents, you can leave a lasting impression with the hiring authority.

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