Before we begin, let me introduce you to...well...you.  This green circle represents your professional skill set.  And, to keep things easy, you are, for the sake of argument, an executive chef.

As an executive chef, you (the green circle) know pretty much everything that goes on in a restaraunt kitchen.   You've done pretty much everything in the kitchen, too.  And, as your title suggests, you run the show in the kitchen.

Now, however, you're without a job in your chosen profession and (again, for the sake of argument) let's say there are no executive chef positions open.  You will find one at some point, but for now, you need income.  So let's say you decide to apply for a sous chef position. 

You could write a new resume, but the return on investment of time and effort (see last week's post) may not be worth it.  If, however, your resume was  designed for multiple use, you'd be set to apply.  Why?  Because a sous chef's responsibilities (in red) call upon many of your skills - there's overlap between the two positions (represented by the orange).

Now that you've opened yourself to applying to sous chef positions, you're probably looking at other sub-sets of your skills.  After all, you're a whiz at deserts, plating, and managing the kitchen chaos.  Thinking along these lines, by the way, will help keep your career moving along.

Let's say you've also decided to look at pastry chef positions (in blue), in addition to sous chef gigs, until another executive chef position pops up.  Now you have not just one overlapping areas, but two; one in orange and one in purple.

Now your original skills, when written in a multiple purpose resume, allow you the flexibility to apply for not one, but three positions.  You'll notice in the last diagram, however, that the red and blue circles don't come close to touching.

Your multiple use resume will prove even more useful (allowing you to apply to more positions) when the red and blue circles come closer and even overlap.  If, for instance, the sous chef and/or pastry chef positions contain strong management aspects, then they will creep further into your core skills.  The most effective use of your multiple purpose resume, as you could surmise, is where the sous - and pastry - chef's responsibilities overlap (in yellow).

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