Eli Neumann hadn’t looked for a job in 20 years.
Understanding the mind-boggling changes to the executive job search landscape over just the past few years, he chose an innovative approach to introduce himself to recruiters and hiring decision makers. He created a multi-media rich VisualCV and emailed a link to select search firms and contacts.
An interview on ReadWriteWeb briefly chronicled Eli’s experiences using his VisualCV.
He found that even though he sent each of the companies his VisualCV and his text resume, almost all of his meetings were conducted using the VisualCV.
Eli knows that the use of a VisualCV instead of a paper resume had a tremendous impact on their perception of him before any meetings started. He said that after viewing his VisualCV “folks start the conversation with a far better understanding of my background on the business and personal level.”
Along with career history, his VisualCV includes a chart, an audio podcast about his sales strategy, a collection of the maps of all the countries in which he’d done business, and photos of his hobby – underwater photography.
When asked if he thought these added features moved the needle compared to a LinkedIn profile or a PDF, his answer was,
Absolutely! It created enthusiasm in different ways. Some people started off asking me about underwater photography and of course shark feeding, and rapport was created, something that rarely happens with a text resume. There were a number of people that had obviously opened up the metrics deck and were clearly impressed with the approach I take in leading and measuring organizations.
Summing up how to leverage using a VisualCV in executive job search, he said:
Prepare your CV with all those assets that help explain all facets of your personality, innovative and creative sides. Build this with content that amplifies your successful professional work model.
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