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VisualCV Helps You Stand Out

by Willy Franzen on November 12, 2008

VisualCV Logo

Maybe it’s because of this post or maybe it’s the economy, but I’m getting a lot more e-mails asking specific questions about job search. This is great, because I love hearing what job searchers are having the most difficulty with. The two questions that I get asked most often are: “How do you find all of the jobs that you post about?” and “How do I stand out when my resume is one of hundreds or even thousands?”

We’ve done a lot of answering of the first question, but how the heck are you going to stand out from the crowd? Since we tend to focus more on finding jobs than getting jobs here, we’ve teamed up with VisualCV to give you some help when it comes to standing out.

One of the only ways that you can differentiate yourself from other applicants is your resume. VisualCV is an online resume service that not only makes building a great looking resume easy, but it also makes it a breeze to share your resume with the world. Whether you’re linking to it from a Facebook ad that you targeted to an employer or exporting it as a PDF to e-mail to a recruiter that you met a career fair, a VisualCV is an awesome way to share your accomplishments with employers.

Usually we’d give you a list of tips to get started with VisualCV, but since we’re trying to make job search more social, we’re going to try something new. We want a lot of participation, so take a few minutes to follow the steps below, and start on your way to standing out.

1. Sign up for VisualCV. Use this link so that you get the special sign up page for One Day, One Job readers.

2. Post a link to your VisualCV in the comments section of this post. I’ll be the first example, so go look.

3. Take a look at other One Day, One Job readers’ VisualCVs and offer tips and suggestions on how they can improve their online resumes. Be nice, but constructive criticism will be appreciated by everyone. Also, feel free to ask questions.

This should be fun! I know that we have a few resume experts out there who read One Day, One Job regularly, so I hope that they’ll chime in and offer a little free resume consulting to some of the first few participants.

{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }

Willy Franzen November 12, 2008 at 3:31 pm

Here’s my VisualCV – http://www.visualcv.com/willyfranzen

Steve Boese November 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm

I recently did some training of our ATS system to a search committee.
The very first resume I selected to review for the committee was
a VisualCV. It was so much more impressive looking than all
the other typical, boring resumes we reviewed that day. I urged
the committee to give this candidate extra points for
creativity and style.

Monica November 12, 2008 at 8:40 pm

I just spent valuable homework time creating this – http://www.visualcv.com/monicasendor
Here’s hoping that this becomes one less time suck I have to worry about in the future.
Any and all feedback will be appreciated!

Megan November 13, 2008 at 10:19 am

http://www.visualcv.com/meglit

I’d love the feedback

Veronica November 13, 2008 at 10:24 am

Wow, I’m impressed by how powerful VisualCV can be. From my perspective (and as you can probably guess from the CV I put together), its biggest advantage is the ability to upload content like writing samples and images.

http://www.visualcv.com/veronicaerb

So, my response to Monica:
The Teacher Development Workshop sounds important–do you have any work samples (like the “materials and information packets” you mention) providing evidence for your work? Since you claim significant experience in three languages besides English, do you have any writing samples to post for that? Or, since VisualCV seems to support audio/video, how about posting a recording of you speaking these languages? (Cool!)

Willy Franzen November 13, 2008 at 9:34 pm

Hey Megan,

The link to your VisualCV isn’t working for me. Have you made your VisualCV public?

Veronica, great feedback for Monica. You’ve done an awesome job with yours.

Jessica November 13, 2008 at 10:28 pm

Here is mine: http://www.visualcv.com/jessicalewis

I don’t include details about each job because I’ve basically done the same things at every job (and those would already be known to someone looking to hire an editor) and don’t have the type of career that has measurable goals and achievements. My VisualCV is no different from my resume, really; maybe it isn’t useful for what I do.

Megan November 14, 2008 at 9:46 am

Hi I just changed my visualcv login. Sorry about that.

It’s now http://www.visualcv.com/megangawlik

TimWoods December 12, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Jane January 14, 2009 at 2:08 pm

Hi; I’ve just signed up for visual cv however I have a question about uploading pdf files. I’m wondering is there a way to have pdf files on my cv that are viewable without having the recipient being forced to download the file first?

Not sure if I’m articulating my dilemma correctly but hopefully someone might know how to help.

Thanks!

Jane January 15, 2009 at 2:01 am

NM on my previous post – I have made my own visual cv and would love feedback on it :

http://www.visualcv.com/janedoku

Katrina January 16, 2009 at 7:43 am

GREAT VisualCV!!

Jane January 16, 2009 at 1:40 pm

Thanks for the feedback! (although this is assuming you were refering to my CV… ^_^)

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