You've probably heard that employers expect to see an exact
match to their skills on your resume, and that you should
be tailoring your resume to each job. But, you might
think—if I do that, I'll be writing forever!
Relax ' there's a point to customizing your resume to meet
the needs of employers. In The Career Champion newsletter,
I regularly cover the fact that a resume needs to deliver a
clear message in order to be effective. However, this
doesn't mean that every resume you send must be a
completely different version.
If you're unsure of the actual breaking point between one
resume and another, here are 3 ways to tell if you'll need
an encore version:
1) Your skills aren't focused on one main career goal.
My clients often find that they can target one particular
job type by showing strengths for that role. If they wish
to pursue a similar position, I recommend that they change
a few words here and there.
However, if they focus on an entirely DIFFERENT job type,
that's another matter. It's hard to convince employers of
your business development skills, for example, if your
resume is centered around your expertise in operations
management.
By the same token, if you see yourself with a "fallback"
option of sales management, but you'd really rather be a
strong individual sales performer, it's best to divide
these goals into two resumes to clarify things for
employers.
2) Your credentials are SO broad that your resume goes on
forever.
If your resume gives hiring authorities too much to read
(especially if there's too many interesting facts that
don't add up to one message), then it's time to narrow your
focus.
Proving your fitness for a particular job is a matter of
tuning the text around WHY you're qualified, and then
backing up your story with achievements and other examples.
3) Tweaking your resume for each job application requires a
major rewrite.
If you can't reasonably dedicate your qualifications
profile or summary to one suite of skills, then you should
separate out your career goals—and your resume
versions.
This may involve extra effort on your part, including
additional keyword research and a different presentation,
but the end results will be worth it.
Remember, recruiters have enough resumes to read without
getting confused by what you want to do! Zeroing in on your
specific, measurable credentials allows you to quickly
convey why you are qualified, eliminates the potential for
confusion, and gets your resume noticed much faster.
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A unique resume authority, Laura Smith-Proulx is the
Executive Director of An Expert Resume
(http://www.anexpertresume.com), a career services company
that caters to technical, sales, and organizational
leaders, from managers poised for growth to senior-level
executives.
Laura has achieved a 98% success rate for thousands of
clients through skilled writing/editing, insightful career
coaching, and positive motivation.
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