Ask the Resume Expert: Why can't I use a general resume?

 

Questions on resume content, strategy, formatting--or something else? Email them to question@anexpertresume.com to get the inside scoop on what works and what doesn't.

Laura,

I am in the midst of a job hunt, but NOT for just any job. I've built up my experience in marketing, operations management, and sales over the course of nearly 2 decades. 

I've heard that I shouldn't put all of this experience onto 1 resume, but I really want my next employer to understand everything I can do.

Why can't I use a general resume to get this point across?

Well... you CAN, but don't expect good results from it. 

To clarify, employers who are hiring are looking for a solution to a business need. Often, this solution takes the form of SPECIFIC skills, experience, and capabilities.

Yes, it's possible that companies don't realize what else you can do, but look at it from THEIR perspective for a moment. 

If you are pursuing an Operations Director role, and you send a resume that trumpets your skills in marketing and sales in addition to management, you run the risk of confusing the hiring audience.

The other, larger issue is that you'll be competing with hundreds of other job hunters who WILL make their operations management skills clear to the reader.

I recommend that anyone with a wide suite of skills (such as yours) take the following approach:

• Design a separate resume around each job target, in which your main theme is focused on 1 job title or type.
• Add a resume title that clearly shows your career goal.
• Carefully explain your ability to fulfill the main duties required of this position--ignoring the other skills when doing so.
• Add secondary areas of skills emphasis throughout the resume, without making them focal points.

Following this strategy does mean more work at the outset, but there will also be a payoff in more interviews from companies that realize how to use ALL of your skills.

Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC of An Expert Resume is a former recruiter who has attained a 98% success rate landing interviews for executive roles at top corporations. A frequent global award nominee for excellence in resume writing and blogger for Secrets of the Job Hunt, Beyond.com, Jobing.com, ExecutiveAgent.com, and others, her work has been selected for publication in numerous career bestsellers.