To Template, or Not to Template?

It’s hard to know from the get-go exactly what you want your resume to look like: what information should you include? Should you put your entire employment history? Does playing intramural soccer freshman year really matter for this prospective job? Does the scholarship committee really want to know the dates that you worked at Orange Julius?

Many online resume builders have you fill in all of your information: work experience, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities, honors and awards, references, etc. As soon as you click the button, the program pops out your resume in its particular template, leaving absolutely nothing else for you to do.

That seems wonderful, right?

Sure, it can be useful if you want to create a quick, run-of-the-mill document. But in the resume world, how often do you a.) want your resume to look like everyone else’s? and b.) want to use the exact same resume for a variety of different purposes? The answer to both questions is likely “never.”

That’s where an online platform like KudosWall Pro comes in. First, it is extremely user-friendly, and all you need to do is plug in the necessary information; you can do this into preprogrammed categories (work, education, recognitions, volunteer), or you can add your own (extracurriculars, publications, etc.). What’s different, however, is that your resume is completely customizable from there.

For instance, perhaps you want to include your dates of employment: you have had a tremendous work history and want to show your dedication to your field or to a particular company. Great! Keep the dates on your resume. But, maybe you have a gap in your work history, or you do not want your future employer to assume your age prior to your interview. Simply uncheck the “Show Dates” box, and your dates are easily removed from your resume.

Maybe you have vast experience in a certain field (i.e. education) and have detailed descriptions for each of your teaching positions. But, if you are applying for a job outside of that profession (i.e. freelance writing), those bullet points are not necessarily relevant. With KudosWall Pro, you do not have to start a new resume from scratch: uncheck “Show Descriptions,” and now just the position itself is listed.

And perhaps there is a reason that you want to hide your employment history (or your volunteer experience, honors, etc.) altogether: by clicking the eye icon, you can hide entire categories from your resume.

One of the greatest aspects of this customizable (rather than templated) resume-building service is the ability to embed links, images, and videos into your resume rather than directing employers to other documents or websites. If you have an online photography portfolio, select a few images to add to the resume itself. If there is an article about you in the newspaper, include the link in “Recognitions” section rather than just the award name itself.

There are many other features, including highlighting certain elements, moving different sections around, printing in different formats (i.e. resume or portfolio), incorporating social media accounts, and more that are being developed every day.

For now, maybe you want just a run-of-the-mill resume; KudosWall Pro can do that, too. And know that with this customizable resume-builder, you can easily change your mind in the future.