The advertising industry is pretty competitive with 22 percent of respondents identifying it as one of the industries that attract and retain the best talents in the region. In this highly competitive market, recruiters have to go through hundreds of CVs on a daily basis in order to source the best candidates for their job openings. This can get tedious, and the sad reality is if your CV is the traditional one-page of text, it will most probably be ignored. The good news is that there are many ways to present your CV; if you’re truly creative and want to stand out, then you have to make your job application shine.

Design an infographic CV

Data visualization is here to stay, so why don’t you use it to your advantage? Infographics are a concise and creative way to tell a story using data. Your story in this case would be your work experience and the data would be the things you have accomplished in previous companies. Infographic CVs are also a great way for you to show your copy and design skills to the employer firsthand. Have a look at these infographics for inspiration!

Create a personal brand

Personal branding has never been more important. Advertising employers want someone who is not only creative, but who also has a great personality and can fit in the company’s culture. A great way to develop your own brand is by creating a personal website or blog. Use your website to showcase your portfolio, blog about your life, and give interesting tidbits about your work and personality. Another great way to create your online personal brand is by engaging with other advertising professionals and share knowledge and expertise on professional networking platforms.

Have a product-based CV

Presenting a CV in the form of a tangible item is not only super-creative, but is also hard to forget. It could be anything really; it just has to show your skills and innovative capabilities. For example, you could print your entire CV on a customized chocolate bar or use gamification by converting your CV into a jigsaw puzzle. You could also create a magazine-like booklet of all the ads you have created, articles you have written, and anything else that you want to exhibit. The possibilities are endless but the results are sure to be impressive.

Work on the design

If you don’t have the budget to go extremely over-the-top, do what you can with the resources at hand. Take inspiration from daily life. If you’re applying to an ad agency, design your CV to look like an advertisement with your very own tagline. Applying for a social media job? Make your CV look like a social media profile; with comments, shares, followers, and everything else. Do you like drawing/doodling? Use these illustrations to compliment your work experience. Even if your CV is a single-page sheet, it will be one that pops out for recruiters.

Create a video CV

Client testimonials play an important part in your career as an advertising/marketing professional, and a great way to communicate these testimonials is in the form of a video. In fact, a video is a great addition to your CV. 28 percent of employers seem to appreciate videos; they love it when candidates include a video CV to their job application. If your clients are truly happy with your work, they probably wouldn’t mind saying it on camera. In addition to client testimonials, your video CV can include creative snippets from your portfolio, meaningful numbers and percentages to show how effective your marketing campaigns have been, and a little bit about yourself and your career aspirations.

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