October 6, 2012

Interactive PDF resumes


In times in which jobs are becoming more scarce by the day, applying for a position becomes a task that requires a lot of thought to increase the chance to be successful. One of the first instances of contact between an employer and the person who is applying for a position is the exchange of the resume. As we all know, first impressions are important. It contributes a major factor to the decision of the human resource department people who are responsible for hiring a person or not.

Adding Interactive Tabs to your resume makes it appealing and orderly

The average resume consists of one or a few sheets of paper on which a list is printed with personal data, education and work experience. Not the type of document a common person enjoys reading in his or her spare time. The same information molded into a form that is appealing to the reader, can nevertheless take some of the aggravation that comes with the job away and perhaps make the human resource employee actually interested in continuing to read.

I recall installing a Mac-style application launcher on the bottom of the desktop of my PC the first time. The animated icons that popped up when I moved the mouse pointer over them, intrigued me. I played with them, moving my mouse pointer over the icons from left to right and back without even planning to open an application. It was just visually pleasing to do. I assume at the human resource department people have no time to play such silly games, but such matters remain appealing nevertheless. When no one is looking they may be tempted to play with creatively constructed resumes anyway...


Resume - data blanked out


So this is why I decided to make interactive PDF's - the standard format readable on PC's, Macs and Linux machines - that have some of the above mentioned visual appeal, without turning them into extravagant game hall applications. Please view an example of what I tried to describe here by clicking here. This is just one possible lay-out; many others can be imagined and made. Do not hesitate to contact me, if you are about to apply for a job and want your resume to stand out between those of the competition.