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If your answer is “one,” then you’re missing out.
Having one resume means that you’re most likely to apply to just one type of job, and going to limit how many open jobs you apply to. Which means you probably won’t find a job as quickly as someone who has four or five.
The reason is obvious: you’ll have more options if you have several different types of skills so you can apply to different types of jobs.
So can you just fire up a word processor and create five different versions of your existing resume? Nope, that would be pointless.
Instead, try to get more experience at your current work. Freelance on the side. Blog. Get “another job” in the sense that you’re still with your current company but you wear different hats and see what you’re good at. You’ll make yourself a more valuable employee and you’ll get the experience you need to open up all kinds of different jobs when you decide to move on.
Take myself, for example. I was hired to do one thing and one thing only.
That was over a year and a half ago and now I’m not even doing that original job. Things have changed and because I was able to wear many different types of hats, I’m now doing several different things. Which is good because my time isn’t spent doing just one thing (a little variety is always nice) and I’m expanding my skill set even further by adding experience.
Right now I could probably create at least four completely unique resumes. Almost like four totally different people.
So I don’t have five or six…but I’m working on it.
Having several resumes is a good way to make sure you’re expanding your skills and it will also help you when you go job hunting. You won’t ever have to feel like you “have” to get a job in just one specific field. You’ll have your choice as long as you have the skills to apply to several different types of jobs.
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Comments
07.29.09
What do you think about creating a new resume each time you apply for a different position?
07.30.09
I disagree. "One" is the right answer. Be yourself and let your skills sell. Employers understand that best employees are adaptive. At some stage in work life, everybody makes a decision - Do I want to be jack of all trades or master of a few? I guess you chose the former.
07.30.09
Jon: That's exactly the right attitude. Your odds will be much higher if you taylor your resume to the job you're applying for.
@Vivek: I wish it were that simple, but with the competition that's out there I'd rather be the person with the best resume for that specific position. And you're right: I'd rather be a jack of all trades. I want to work for a company that hires smart people to do whatever it takes to get things done.
08.09.09
Great post- I agree with the need to customize your resume for the different types of jobs you pursue. One of the reasons I use CareerBuilder is that it allows me to save 5 different active resumes. I list eaxh one under a different titleand adapt itto a different area of my experience. That way, I can attract recruiters to the area of my background most appropriate to their needs.
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