As we all know, the traditional resume is an important and essential part of the job search process — a way to efficiently and effectively represent and communicate your career history on a page or two.

But after a hiring manager or recruiter has sorted through thousands of resumes and interviewed hundreds of candidates, your text-based, bulletpoint-filled black and white resume can easily get lost in the shuffle and buried in the pile (e.g., “I forget… which one was the guy who used to work for Disney and CBS?”).

This is why I recommend that you consider something new and innovative: a visual bio!

What is it? Put most simply, it's a colorful, visual version of your text resume.

Of course, it doesn't take the place of your traditional resume. But it is a great way to supplement it. It's a personal branding and marketing piece that you can take along on your interview to use as a visual roadmap while telling your story, and then leave behind as a powerful, colorful, visual reminder of who you are -- and why you're the right person for the job.

Not only will it assist you in clearly articulating your career history but -- as a picture is worth (at least) a thousand words -- it will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your creativity -- and enable you stand out from the crowd.