ONE Resume for Each Search Strategy
I bet you’ve been told to tweak your resume to match each job you apply for. This is an unnecessary waste of your valuable time.
Read Losing Your Job & Finding Yourself to learn how to write resumes that land on top of the “YES” pile for interviews.
An effective resume tells a strong story about what you’ve accomplished, combined with creative, credible, and well-constructed positioning for what you want to do next. Your single resume can be both compelling and general enough to position you well for many opportunities.
Others might urge you to tweak words to match job postings and increase the odds of getting through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Assuming ATS algorithms include many related search terms, this is a waste of time. For example, you don’t need to change talent management to human capital to match the job posting. The ATS will include both terms.
Customize Cover Letters. Not Resumes.
Put the time you save by using the same resume into tailoring your cover letters for each opportunity.
Use a Headline and Tag Line to Sell Your Unique Value
When you use one resume for each search strategy, there is a single element you can change to match the titles of jobs you apply for. Everything else stays the same.
Your top headline should include or match the title of the position you are applying for. Even if you never had the exact title in any of your jobs—as long as it’s a credible description of work you’ve done—this is an accurate and acceptable representation of your experience.
The Piece de Resistance … Your Tag Line
In fewer than seven words, what’s your unique value proposition? It’s not your previous or target titles. It’s what you do for people and companies through your work that makes you especially valuable. Be creative. Make it memorable. Once you create it, use it as your LinkedIn headline too!
Exception: Multiple Search Strategies. Multiple Resumes
The only exception to having a single resume is if you pursue two or more distinct career directions. For example, I had two resumes: one for chief of staff and special assistant to CEO roles and another for writing, editing, and proofreading roles. These career directions were distinct enough to warrant a different emphasis when describing my experience and capabilities.
When you create different resumes for different search strategies, it’s a matter of featuring the roles and accomplishments that match each direction. The content in each resume stays the same for each application within a specific search strategy.
More on Resumes that Land in the “YES” Pile
Read Losing Your Job & Finding Yourself: Memoir, Myths, and Methods for Inventive Career Transitions to learn more about how to write resumes that land on top of the “YES” pile for interviews.