f you like the digital world, automating stuff and making it smart, then you are in the right place. I have tried to use a digital resume made in Notion and it proved to be effective and superior to traditional ones.
In this article, I am going to explain why creating a digital resume has a lot of advantages over a traditional CV and show you how to make yours in Notion.
You can follow along the tutorial and build the resume from scratch or support me and get the whole [notion resume template](https://gum.co/eqJVM).
To automate the process of keeping your CV fresh and up to date, keep your projects in a Notion database that you can always pull in the resume for reference.
It makes your work interactive. A person who reviews your resume can open relevant projects/pages to investigate your experience and skills.
## How to make a digital CV in Notion
### Tools for creating a digital interactive resume
The general principles and advantages of a digital resume are same for different platforms/software.
In this article, I will be explaining how to make one using Notion. If you do not know what it is, you can read [how I use notion here](https://www.maray.ai/posts/notion-in-life-and-work).
Other platforms like Roam Research or even a personal website/CV can be as an alternative, but so far I like what Notion provides. Feel free to try out other different tools.
Let's go through a step-by-step guide and create a resume.
### 1. Create the main page
That's the first page that a visitor sees. Therefore, we'll pay attention to its aesthetic and structure.
The top part will be dedicated to your image or avatar. After, your personal and contact info.
### 2. Fill in the personal and contact information
The personal details should include your name, birth date, e-mail, and phone number. Additionally, you can let people know you via social media or even a personal website.
### 3. Education
Start with high-school and move up to bachelor's, master's, and other degrees or courses you took.
In this section, I usually add [self-education](https://www.maray.ai/posts/self-education-the-definitive-guide) courses that I took during my work.
For instance, I got my last job because I had taken two MIT's Computer Science courses and mentioned that on the resume. The design director saw it as an advantage over other candidates because apart from my main area of interest, I experiment and learn something new.
The unique products live at the intersection of different knowledge domains. That's why it's always valuable to have interests in other domains.
### 4. Professional experience
I always use the inverted pyramid technique to communicate my experience, knowledge, and skills.
I start with the most recent and valuable experience and step back in the timeline. Always skip irrelevant or ordinary things.
Saying that you are proficient with a PC does not add value. Keep it succinct and always ask yourself if the thing you want to write adds something valuable to your image.
At the end of the day, the review wants to know and understand better. He or she needs to be sure that you are a good fit.
Keep it clean and short.
### 5. Software
List the relevant software first and the rest at the end.
Similar to the education section, I always list software that is not necessary for the field but shows that you are a well-rounded person.
For instance, I always include that I know and can use Unreal Engine (it's a real-time gaming engine that can be used for interactive presentations in the architectural world), programming in Python and even Swift now, beginner [iOS development](https://www.maray.ai/posts/swift-as-the-first-programming-language-to-learn), video editing in Final Cut Pro and other stuff.
It all adds up to your personality and makes you stand out from your competition.
As I said earlier, do not list regular skills like MS Outlook or Mac/PC, learn something better than that and you'll have an advantage over others.
### 6. Languages
As a final piece of information, I list the languages I know coupled with a certificate like TOEFL or IELTS.
Don't be shy to mention a language that you are learning. Learning a second or third language [promotes neuroplasticity](https://www.maray.ai/posts/what-is-neuroplasticity) and overall improves the brain's performance. It's something that HRs should take into account.
## 7 advantages for creating a digital resume in 2021
Any idea should have practical reasons behind it to become useful and accepted. While feeling that a digital resume on a platform like Notion is cool, I have to explain why I think so.
Here are 7 solid advantages over traditional PDF or paper CV.
### 1. Interactivity
The awesome thing about a digital resume is that people can interact with it. Open different pages, lurk through interesting data about the projects, click links to read your articles, and so on.
Link the university with your degree or publications that include your work.
List the courses you took that lead to a proper description and of what you learned.
Set up a table that represents your life as a timeline. Every part can be a clickable page that shows your awards, notes and so on.
Link other resources such as Behance, dribble, or other social networks that represent your work.
It's much more fun for the person to judge your proficiency when your CV has hidden places with curious information.
### 2. It is easily shareable and up-to-date
The problem I had with offline resume creation is that InDesign or Illustrator is not interactive and versatile. Once you created a couple of pages of your resume, it's tedious to update it or add new information.
I am not talking about a regular text-only resume typed in Word.
For an aesthetically driven person, it should be well structured, full of important information, but also beautiful.
A resume made in Notion can be sent out with a link and you could always modify and improve. The recipient will always open the latest version. No more regret of typos or mistakes.
For instance, when I was applying for jobs a few years back in Beijing, I noticed that I had a typo and a grammar error. I could not resend another CV as it was a PDF copy that prospective HRs would have already opened.
A digital resume is a single source of truth that you can keep in shape. If you don't want it to be share, when you already found a job, for example, then you can turn off the link and nobody else can view it.
### 3. Digital resume/CV can be nicely integrated into your **digital life system**
One of the biggest advantages is that if you already have a [system](https://www.maray.ai/posts/notion-life-operating-system-overview) built on a platform like Notion, then you can easily integrate and automate the update process.
It's a good practice, to sum up, projects to outline their history, achievements, hurdles, and complexity. A summary then can be listed as part of your experience, whether professional or as a hobby.
For instance, I can easily list my blog and the app I am working on as my personal projects and include a page dedicated to that project where I can list all the tasks I've accomplished, courses that I've taken, and the achievements I've made.
Another possibility is to pull relevant data from Notion tables. I have a database of projects that I work on. I can easily filter necessary projects and showcase them.
### 4. Uniqueness
Let's be honest, 70% of resumes are written in Word and just represent dry facts about the applicant's life. Not fun to go through similar stuff all day long.
An interactive resume can make you stand out from the crowd. If it looks fresh, provides interactivity and hidden secrets, then it automatically outshines all the typical ones.
The more time the reviewers spend reading and investing time in your CV, the higher chances you will be chosen for further rounds and an interview.
Separate page within the resume that explain my project with interesting information.
### 5. Versatility
It's versatile not in the sense of structure and content, but it can also change its form to physical.
For instance, many traditional companies still prefer PDFs or even printed resumes. With Notion or any other tool suitable for making a digital resume you can easily make screenshots or export and print.
You can take a tablet or a laptop to go through your CV during the interview, but it's also possible to make a physical copy if you prefer.
### 6. Cleanliness
Any good resume includes achievements and responsibilities to explain your experience and proficiency to your future employer.
All the detailed descriptions can make your resume too heavy with text. Also, it can stretch to 3-4 papers which is too long for someone to read.
For instance, it was hard to fit all the important information in my old CV.
Now, I can hide the details under a toggle and if it's interesting to someone, he or she can open it and read it.
You can show the main points while hiding secondary information. The result looks clean and easy to digest.
### 7. Portfolio integration
The projects you showcase can include imagery to explain them. In the architectural design world, a portfolio is usually more important as they show the way an applicant thinks and what skills does he or she has.
Usually, these two entities and the ways they represent information about you can and will be merged to make one interactive reflection of your skills and knowledge.
For instance, I can add links to architectural projects that I worked on with links to the official website or to my blog where I explain and lay out the story I want to tell.
Super cool.
## Essential things to remember while creating your resume
### 1. Inverted pyramid rule
One of the most important things to implement is [inverted pyramid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid_(journalism)) principle. Put your most valuable information at the beginning and the least at the bottom.
Reviewers do not have time to read everything. They skim through to find something interesting. If you structure your experience by time, try to invert it, e.g. show your recent experience first and the earlier one later.
### 2. Be specific
The more you are, the easier it to understand your skills.
Instead of saying "I worked on a XXX project", describe what exactly did you do.
For instance, "Delivered a schematic design of XXX project leading a team of 4 and winning the competition." tells more about your actual experience than the former explanation.
Tell the reviewer about your unique experience and the challenges that you overcame to succeed,
### 3. Less is more
[Stay laconic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Less_is_more).
Keep only the most relevant information. It's better to have 3 achievements than 10 activities that do not contribute and make you stand out.
## Final thoughts
An online resume is a step forward in the world of digitalization.
It is easier to maintain, share and make a fun process to review it and stand out.
I hope you learned something new and will create your own digital resume. If you use Notion, you can support me by purchasing the [Notion resume](https://gum.co/eqJVM) I created and based this article on.
I am always open to hearing stories of using a resume created in Notion or any other tool for jobs or education. Feel free to write me a message or share an idea.
