Interview Infographic

Infographics have become a bit of a trend recently and are increasingly being used on careers websites. Here's an example of one I found on the subject of interviews. As it's a bit small to read properly here, you might want to take a look at the original on mint.com:

The basic principle is to convey a lot of information in very few words and the use of the various graphics makes the key messages stand out in a way that appeals to the imagination (right side of the brain, Tony Buzan, etc).

One obvious drawback is you have no means of checking the validity of the information provided. Who for example says that 26% of 'warm source' interviews come from company websites?  How do we define a warm or cold source anyway?

Well suffice it to say that this is a pretty good introduction to the wonderful world of job interviews for candidates.  The only comments I would add are:

• Length of ideal interview answer probably varies from person to person.  Not everyone 'drones on' - a lot of people answer too briefly.
• A couple of feared questions that could have been added are: "Where do you see yourself in five years' time?" and "What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"

It's also apparent that infographics are multiplying like rabbits.  You can even use them to write your CV!

New Trends in CV Writing

A paper for careers professionals produced by a group calling itself the Career Thought Leaders Consortium has suggested amongst many other things some new developing trends in the use of CVs.

Apart from some interesting comments indicating for example that 50% of hiring managers no longer read covering letters and have an "almost-universal dislike" of functional CVs, there are some interesting tips that you may find useful when compiling your CV:

• It is still vital for the CV to make a strong impression "above the fold" i.e. in the first half page 
• 'Hybrid resumes that combine an amplified profile (the “functional” component) with abbreviated reverse-chronological detail on jobs can work for those with less experience, employment gaps, or other challenges.' Translated into more normal English, this basically means: Skills-based CVs can still work for the groupings mentioned.

• For online CVs it is becoming important to ensure a good match of keywords between any person specification and the CV text, e.g. by using software like Wordle
• It can be useful to include endorsements in the form of brief testimonial statements. LinkedIn recommendations can provide a useful source of quotes for testimonials.

If you are looking to try some more innovative approaches to CV writing, there are some emerging ideas suggested in the full report. You could look at producing a CV in a series of ten 140 character tweets as a #twesume on Twitter, an infographic CV in the form of a diagram, a popup CV that appears on your website, or a pocket resume that you can leave at networking meetings and careers fairs on the back of a business card.

Perhaps what needs to be added at this point is that many of the Career Thought Leaders Consortium are US-based and it may take some time for the likes of twesumes to establish themselves this side of the pond.  But in a situation where candidates are routinely urged to put out large numbers of CVs, it is easy to see that there may be a need to go for more innovative approaches.

Please let us know whether you have heard of any of them being used in the UK (and with what result) by adding a comment below.