Should You Use Word or Canva for Your Resume?
The battle between Canva resumes and the standard Word doc resume seems never-ending at this point.
In today's job market, standing out is more important than ever. And, let's not forget that your resume is often the first impression you make. While traditional Word document resumes have been the go-to for years, more visually appealing options, like those created in Canva or Adobe, are gaining popularity. These design-focused resumes can showcase your personality, creativity, and could score you your dream role.
But are Canva resumes the right choice for you, or should you stick to Word? That depends on your industry, the role you're applying for, and a few additional factors. Let's get to the pros and cons of each resume format.
Canva Resumes
Resumes that are more designed-focused such as those made in Canva or Adobe can be a fun way to create your resume, that showcases your skills. Here are the pros and cons of Canva resumes:
Pros:
Stands Out - This could be exactly the thing that makes your resume stand out in terms of visuals. My favorite case studies are people who form their resume around the company they are applying for and use their branding to craft theirs, and score the role because of their attention to detail!
Showcase your skills - If you are applying for a role that is design or creatively focused, this could be a great way to showcase your design talent right inside your resume.
Shows your personality - Your personality is a big factor in the hiring process, in addition to your technical skills. So, a resume that showcases both of these can be amazing to give them a well-rounded perspective of who you are.
Cons:
Relevance - Some roles don't match well with a designed Canva resume, especially more traditional fields. For example, if you are applying for an accounting position, they likely don't want to see your design skills, they want to focus on your technical skills and systems.
Readability - Who doesn't love a fun font?! Well, sometimes the person reading them. Some designed templates can be challenging to read due to format or font issues. It's important to keep all the basic principles of graphic design in mind while crafting yours.
Compatibility - LOTS of tools are integrating AI and new systems into the application process, which could mean that it might not quite read your resume correctly. Or, those who are using an accessibility feature, this could lead to challenges for their systems to read it correctly.
Word Document Resumes
Pros:
Easy to read - Most standard Word resumes follow a similar structure, so it's easy to follow and read all your information without having to search for it on the page, because this is what most are use to seeing.
Fits a lot of information - Without design elements cutting into your writing space, this leaves you with a lot of space to work with to fill up with copy.
Software Compatible - ATS software, or applicant tracking system software, is used to sort and organize resumes and applicant information. Word Documents are standardly used for years, so these systems can work well with them!
Cons:
Difficult to stand out - For visual learners who might be looking at your resume, you have to bank on the fact that your skills stand out and make you memorable.
Need other documents to showcase skills - You likely are going to be submitting your portfolio or cover letter regardless, but in some cases that's not always an option either. This can be a challenge to get them to see your work!
So, which one should you choose? Here are our solutions...
If you're in a traditional field (finance, healthcare, education, etc.) stick to Word, vs if you are in a creative industry (design, marketing, media, etc.), consider a Canva template.
Submit BOTH if allowed! Submit both versions of your resume as a "just in case."
Use Word for your resume, and Canva for your cover letter and/or portfolio instead. This way you can still showcase your design skills, yet still have a compatible Word resume.
Regardless of which option you choose, make sure out are taking the time to tailor each resume to the job. You should be editing your resume each time and ensuring that you are highlighting your skills that match the job description. At the end of the day, the content inside your resume matching with the role is the most important part for ensuring that you are the best fit.
