RESUMES: Multiple Use Resumes
| It happens nearly every day. At least one client mentions altering his/her resume for every job applied to. It's usually casually mentioned, and sometimes a nod and a knowing smile will accompany the statement. They're shocked when I try to steer them away from the practice. They tell me they're just following popular wisdom - that they were told this was the best way to go. They're even more shocked when I encourage them to have multiple use resumes - the kinds they can submit without changes over and over. Until I explain why: Efficiency. Many job seekers submit 20 or more resumes every day. Digging up that many new leads takes an enormous amount of time. Let's say you clock two hours online every day and consistently find 10 - 15 jobs. Let's also say it takes just five minutes to alter each individual resume. On the low end, you're spending an additional 50 minutes, and on the high end 75. If you're at the high end, you've tacked on more than six hours of work per week you could have spent networking or digging up more leads! |
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Focus. Many clients tell me that after two months of changing their resume for every job, they wind up applying for positions they never thought they would. Of course, it doesn't happen in one day - they make a couple minor changes, then a couple minor changes to that changed resume, then changes to the previously changed which was previously changed. As a result, they re-write themselves out of their chosen fields.
Tracking. Some clients tell me they get calls from employers but can't remember what resume they sent, even though they use a spreadsheet to keep track of their work search. This isn't surprising, consider the number of resumes sent. Since most of us don't have photographic memories or carry our spreadsheets around with us, tailoring resumes for every job is a losing proposition.
IN THE CARAVAN: Altering resumes for every position wastes time, can change your focus and lead to confusion.
NEXT MONDAY: Multiple Use Resumes II: How to Write
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