If you’ve been searching for jobs for a while now, you’ve probably heard the advice that you should make your application stand out. Maybe you’ve scrolled through examples of creative CV’s and résumés online that are one-of-a-kind, and you want yours to be just as unique. However, just because you’ve got the amazing graphic design or coding skills and could easily produce an innovative CV doesn’t necessarily mean you always should send it in with a job application. While it’s great to stand out from the crowd, you don’t want to do so for all the wrong reasons. Believe it or not, not all companies might appreciate (or even see!) your completely awesome application. If you’re wondering whether an untraditional application would suit a particular role that you’re applying for, keep these following guidelines in mind.
Make sure it’s appropriate for the company you’re applying to
You should always do research into the company you’re applying to, regardless of the role. In doing so, you’ll get a good sense of the company culture, which will probably help you guess whether or not the HR manager at that particular organization would actually appreciate an out-of-the-box application. If the company website is very formal and business-like, then chances are they’re probably looking for more “serious” applications. However, if, for instance, their site has bright colors and there are short, funny bios for each employee, then they’re probably the kind of company that will appreciate a more inventive application. Do your research, and make a judgment call as to whether your application will depict you as creative or reckless.
Keep in mind that your application might not be initially scanned by a real human
While most companies in Myanmar do still have human HR managers scanning applications, that might change soon. A lot of companies abroad actually have a program scan through applications for keywords before any of them land in front of an actual person. If that’s the case, then that totally brilliant and one-of-a-kind application of yours might actually be tossed out before anyone gets a chance to fully appreciate it. For instance, if your CV is in the form of an interactive website and that’s all you list on the actual application, a program that’s scanning your application might discard it since all it will have is your website link and no actual CV with the programmed keywords. Remember that chances are, the bigger the company, the more likely they have a machine doing the initial vetting stage.
Don’t get carried away
We all know that feeling of getting started on something exciting and suddenly thinking of the million different ways that you could take it and starting to go a bit crazy with the colors and fonts and images and so on. Of course job applications should be fun and dynamic, especially if it’s a role you really want in your dream industry. However, remember that at the end of the day, this is still a job application. You want to be creative and unique, but still convey to the HR manager that you’re great at what you do and would be a perfect fit for this role. Make sure that your application isn’t so crazy that it detracts from your message, which is that you’re a great candidate for this opening. At every point in your application, ask yourself if what you’re doing will help convey that message. If the answer is yes, then go ahead and include it, and if the answer is no, well, leave it out.