Online recruitment agencies and the web in general have made it easier than ever before for the best investment analyst jobs on the market to be discovered and applied for by capable candidates. Of course this is something of a blessing and a curse rolled into one as while it’s never been easier to find the right posts and submit an application, it’s also never been easier for thousands of others to do the same. And what’s more, in the age of the digital CV and job application it is becoming harder by the day to stand out from the crowd as largely every CV and application a business receives looks nigh-on identical.
However, for those with a knack for exploiting opportunities where and when they occur, all of the above actually adds up to a rather fortuitous happenstance. Think of it this way – if it’s a case of 99.9% of all CVs looking the same, then technically all you have to do to stand out in the 0.01% group is to come up with something different. Of course there’s a difference between standing out for all the right reasons and simply making a fool of yourself – chances are you won’t get far using neon-pink paper covered in glitter gel.
But in terms of alternative CV ideas that can and indeed have worked before, there are certain approaches that are both accessible and in one way or another guaranteed to make sure you’re not forgotten in a hurry.
CV With Images
For example, blocks of unbroken text are never the most interesting things on Earth and nor will one ever stand out from the other – regardless of the pretty font you choose. By contrast, a CV that features one or more images of a relevant nature can burst into life in a way no pure-text CV ever could. Of course the key word here is ‘relevant’ which can make it tricky to find the kinds of images that will work for you, but really anything that adds a bit of colour and diversity to the CV might not in fact be such a bad thing.
Infographic CV
One of the very best examples of a creative CV in the modern job-seekers’ landscape is that of the infographic CV. The primary point of the infographic is to get across a bunch of important and memorable facts in a way that’s both easy to digest and attractive. Technically speaking, this is exactly what a CV is for – you want to communicate all there is to know about you in a way that’s simple, attractive, to the point and memorable. So instead of just writing a list of facts and the usual spiel, why not transform the CV into an infographic? There are some outstanding examples on the web right now for anyone needing a little inspiration – a brilliant way of standing out from the crowd.
The ‘Reverse’ CV
The idea of the reverse CV went viral quite some time ago and remains just as impressive today. As the name suggests, the idea in this instance is to essentially create a CV as if it is you yourself that is doing the listing and the companies with the jobs are required to bid for you – rather than the other way around. Instead of saying who you are and what you can do for them, you write it in a manner that shows what they can do for you and what you are looking for in a company and a job. Suffice to say there’s a fine line here between a kind of tongue-in-cheek humorous approach and coming across as a pretentious creep, so it’s important to tread carefully if you go this way.
Video CVs
As for the video CV, the idea has been around for years now and is becoming more and more difficult to pull off in a way that genuinely stands out. The reason being that it’s all been done before, but at the same time this doesn’t mean there aren’t ways of doing it better or more creatively. For example, one popular example of the video CV is to write a witty song selling yourself and your skills. Another is to create an animation, or something of a short role play showing how great you are in general. You’d expect all such CVs to be ignored, but with so many thousands of paper CVs to go through day after day, recruiters often revel in a break from the monotony.