7 reasons you need more than one resume

When do you need more than one resume? This question plagues many people and they go back and forth on the answer.

Do you ever need more than one resume?

1. You need more than one resume when you have more than one target.
2. A second resume is needed when you seek jobs in different directions in the same industry: Vice President of Operations or Vice President of Sales. The selling points for those two directions are different. The resume stories should be focused on the goal.
3. You need more than one resume when you are looking in different fields. Perhaps you ran a family business but you also teach music.
4. When you change fields, you need a different resume because you need to realign the resume stories and keywords with the new goal.
5. You need more than one resume when you target a broad field with multiple subsets. Your goal is to show your relevance for the specific job.
6. When you target multiple industries, many fields can use your skills as a Director of Communications. You need to fine-tune your resume to fit the industry. A defense contractor will need different communication skills than a pharmaceutical company or apparel company.
7. You need a second or third resume so you will not confuse the hiring manager or recruiter by dumping everything into your resume.

Should your resume be targeted?

Always. When you are communicating anywhere, you will be more successful when you are targeted.

Make sure you keep copies of alternative resumes. In fact, if you have not set up a resume folder on your computer, this is the first step toward organizing your job search.

By saving your resumes in a folder called Resumes or if it is a family computer, John resumes or Susan resumes to put them in the right place.

Save your cover letters too. I shortened cover letters to CL when saving but that way I know what the target was for that cover letter.

You might be able to re-purpose your resumes or cover letters if you find another target that is similar.

The key is never to use a one-size-fits-all anything in your resume. You need to differentiate to get the job!

Powerful resume writing is the key to winning a new job. Need help?