In this blog I’m going to be talking about creative CV’s and whether you should get on the hype or not. To start off with I should start by giving some background as to what a creative cv actually is, in the most simplest of descriptions it is a way to show your potential employers your wide variety of creative skills whether that be as a video, hand drawn picture or anything your imagination can provide. Now because for the majority of jobs there is a fairly standardized process for applying it’s worth weighing the pro’s and con’s to make sure you're providing exactly what they want to see. Generally the jobs that will want to see your creative side the most will be of the arts, presenting ideas/data and marketing.

So now we know what a creative cv is, it's time to work out whether it's worth using when you are applying for a new job. One main positive of using a creative cv is the opportunity it gives you to show your employers more of your personality and how you can use it to provide new and innovative ideas.

In a world where nearly every idea you can think of has been developed there is a serious need for those with fresh and new ideas to stand up and lead society to the next step and employers are desperate to recruit them. Another real positive of non-traditional cvs for an individual is if you have a very short work history it gives you the opportunity to sell yourself through more than just references from others you have worked for, not every job is right for every person therefore I am a firm believer that employers will want the right person rather than the best candidate and this could be your way of showing them that you are the right person.

Developing from the last point a bit in marketing the most successful campaigns are those that engage the audience on a personal level and when applying for a job this rule should still apply and by creating a unique way of selling yourself you will be ticking off that box. Probably the most important strength of using this method is how memorable it is, Put yourself in an employers shoes for a second you’ve just listed a job on the internet for a position at your company, imagine how boring it must be to read through 50 CV’s that all virtually look the same (i'm probably selling that short) but then you get to a fresh, colorful and inventive portfolio that jumps off the page, I think we all can imagine how the story ends from there...£££’s.

Right so we’ve had the positives so I guess it’s time to take a look at drawbacks. A key negative to this idea is that it isn’t appropriate for every industry such as healthcare, banking etc. This is mainly due to the role they will be looking to fill is going to need someone who is very serious about it and by sending in artistic cv’s isn’t going to give them that vibe about you.

Another negative can be trying to be over ambitious with your CV, as much as you want to set yourself apart from the crowd you still want the employer to be able to clearly see who you are and what you have done or there really isn't much point in sending a CV in anyway. In the same way you don't also want to distract your reader to much from the key points as well, always remember you're still selling yourself.

Finally the last negative I will discuss is not to get to carried away with your ideas too much, as much as you are showing the employer what you can do, you are still applying for a role and you need to concentrate on how you can show your employer that you're the best person for that role, not how you can be the head marketer in 10 years time because you've got more ideas in your head than Mcdonalds has restaurants.

So to conclude this blog I would suggest before every application thoroughly read through what the brief is asking for and judge whether you feel your employer might want to see how creative and different you can be but at the same time there will always be an interview and it may be worth holding your cards close to your chest until the time is right to throw it all on the table and walk away with the pot. Each application will be unique so it is down to yourselves to judge this accordingly, all I can say is trust your judgement and good luck.

Daniel Chamberlain is a StudentJob blogger, and is currently studying Events Management at Bournemouth University with the hopes of progressing into the marketing industry. Check out his LinkedIn profile here!