The end of the standard CV or resume is near (Seth Godin post). The classic A4 CV full of woolly language/blurb is similar to the infamous “Executive Summary” of an investor pitch, or the 2-page “fact sheet” of a software product: people do not absorb any information from them.
Why not use a presentation to present yourself to a potential employer?.
- The number of pages is a useless restriction: it is the time it takes to digest them that counts. A 5 page presentation with attractive graphics provides more info and is faster to read than a dense A4 sheet.
- It makes you stand out. If the potential employer does not appreciate you deviating from the standard practice, it might not be the right place to work.
- Data charts and timelines enables you to visualize things that are hard to capture in writing: i.e., the length you stayed with one company versus another
- Images can convey passions and interests that are hard to capture in words
I wrote about using a PowerPoint presentation for an MBA application in an earlier post. My suggestions would be similar for a presentation CV. My own (slightly outdated) introduction presentation gives some examples of a graphical representation of a career timeline, and using data charts to quantify and visualize your experience.