Resume tip: Ask most any professional resume writer and they will tell you, the more targeted your resume is for the goal, the more likely you are to win the interview. But in real life, most people do not want to limit their options. After all, when the mortgage and car note needs to be paid, income becomes more important than “best match”. So when you decide to have your resume have and targeting multiple positions, it is not necessarily impossible. But there are a few guidelines you should adhere to and a few strategies you should put into place.
Resume Tip #1: Ensure Your Job Targets Do Not Clash
Would you want to sit through a movie about an Elizabethan poet locked in an intergalactic space battle with river dancing troupe planning a road trip to a city full of zombies. (Wait, I may actually want to watch that! Bad example.) What you have to remember is that the person reading your resume he was like someone watching a movie or reading a book. If the subject matter bounces around too much, you will lose them. These professionals are looking for someone who appears to be a match not only for the position in question, but in career path. If you attempt to blend targets that do not use similar skill sets and knowledge base, it will cause your reader to scratch their heads. You will come across as unfocused, ruining your chance for further consideration.
Resume Tip #2: Watch The Use Of Industry-Specific Language
Usually, when a job seeker is looking to remain open to several opportunities, they are considering different Industries as well. If your old resume contained a good deal of Industry specific verbiage, you will want to identify every opportunity to it pull back. When the language is heavy on a specific industry, you run the risk of your reader seeing you only in that light. So, if you have been a pharmaceutical sales professional in the past, but you would like to keep your options open for a non-healthcare account manager position, keep the resume content focused on the skill set. Outside of the pharmaceutical industry, most have no idea what a formulary is, so no need giving them that level of detail.
Resume Tip #3: Stay Away From the Broad Brushstrokes
When trying to appeal to the widest audience, it gets very tempting to go into soliloquies on soft skills that, quite honestly, hiring managers don’t care about. When your resume is littered with references to teamwork, multitasking and unsubstantiated leadership, this becomes a snore fest for the reader. Mixing and blending relevant core strength for more than one position is not necessarily an easy thing, but it is possible. And if you wish to be taken seriously for any of these goals, you need to take the time to do this right. Look for common elements in the positions you are seeking and focus the resume writing there. But again, ensure that it is the hard stuff, so to speak. The fluff Style entries may sound good to your friends who are proving it for you, but hiring managers that see dozens of resumes daily won’t reward you for it.
