It’s a common question. Do I need multiple versions of my resume?
This is an important issue to discuss because a lot of professionals tend to develop a background in at least three, or even more, thematic work areas as time and their careers progress. In this article, we show both sides of the equation and the reasoning behind them.
Spoiler alert: The short answer is no but let’s discuss all angles.
In modern business practices, job seekers develop a wide range of skills and experiences. It is competitive out there and staying ahead of the game requires diversification. For example, some job applicants have worked in human resources, communications, and event planning.
“The quote I got from XYZ Resume Writers which says I need 3 different resumes and to focus on one specialization to keep the resume simple. Do I really need multiple versions of my resume?”
This perspective and business model is, more times than not, a reflection of the individual writer’s underdeveloped skill set. It takes finesse to really shape the context of a work history into a professional format with high success rates.
So, can HR, Communications, and Event Planning all be covered in a single resume?
We believe in a resounding YES. A professional resume writer with extensive years of experience can formulate diverse history into a keyword-rich resume that exceeds expectations.
It’s not what you’ve done in the past, but rather the direction you plan to go next.
There are always transferable skills that help ease the transition and bridge roles.
A written format that highlights all the skills acquired in these roles and draws a bigger picture directed towards the roles you are aiming for.
Without the resume reading as cluttered and indigestible to the reader’s eye.
It’s about streamlining without losing focus on keywords. It’s about representing your assets with varying themes and keeping it tidy.
Plus, it is time-consuming to keep modifying a major chunk of your resume just to highlight focus. Why pay a writer to create a product which you then have to babysit and micro manage?
All this is assuming you are maintaining your current career path.
Now, if you’re jumping entire industries or career fields then, yes, perhaps it may be necessary to have more than one resume in your toolkit.
For example, you started out as a roofer and then became a builder and later moved into sales of roofing products. As part of your role, you were very involved in a new software implementation and you’ve decided to go into IT. That sort of transition requires a finely-tuned eye to keep the right content, and minimize or eliminate the (less) valuable content…. relating directly to how the resume performs for you.
Additionally, If there’s too much going on it can be difficult for recruiters to judge whether you are actually good at the role they want you to perform. Again, a really strong resume writer will help direct the keywords and content to be heavy in the direction you want to go.
That being said, if you are looking to change career paths, Power Writers USA is here to help reshape your resume for success across your entire search. Feel free to connect with us for a free consultation and resume review.
Remember, the name of the game is algorithms and ATS filters, which is everybody’s challenge right now. The past few years, formatting styles have changed and with that in mind, we’d love to take a look at what specifics points our team can do to improve the impact your resume makes across all your ideal job prospects.