Do I Need Multiple Versions Of My Resume?

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Everyone has a different career history, which is immutable, as well as future goals that have yet to be realized. It is realistic to believe that at some point your career history and your future goals will diverge and a significant revision of your resume will be necessary. In fact, there are already such inflection points built into the system that everyone will face, such as landing your first job after college or graduate school.

However, your resume should already be an ever-evolving document to which you are making periodic updates as well as surgical revisions when you are actively applying for jobs and want to align your experience with a job posting’s requirements in order to get noticed.

But do you really need to have multiple, entirely different versions of your resume? These are important practices, but still do not rise to the level of multiple versions. To make that determination, consider the following scenarios:

1. Are you applying to jobs similar in scope to your current position? The resume you have should suffice as long as it’s up to date, even if you are switching fields (and, once again, it’s always recommended to tweak your resume for each job posting if possible). For example, let’s say you are a Human Resources Director for a small company that makes and distributes imported floor tiles. You decide to switch lanes and seek out HR positions in the technology sector. Even though your background is commodities, which is fixed, and your future goal is to move into tech, it’s still Human Resources and your core skill sets are applicable. This isn’t a divergence that requires a new version of your resume.

2. Are you applying to jobs that are substantially different in role and responsibility than you have traditionally performed in the past? You may need a new version of your resume. If employers are searching for candidates with a specific background and your resume is in a completely unrelated field, they aren’t going to find you to be a fit – such as an automotive mechanic looking to transition into becoming a computer programmer; these are different disciplines, requiring different approaches.

3. Are you applying to jobs that are similar to ones you’ve done in the past, but are different than the position you currently have? Let’s say you worked as a water engineer for a private company but were forced to pivot to teaching due to a global financial downturn several years back when your job was eliminated; now, you want to return to the field, but you’ve been out of that discipline long enough to be behind the curve. You’ll be better served by finding a way to bridge your past experience to your future goals, effectively “leap-frogging” over your current position to get to the meat of your relevant expertise. Either way, a different approach is called for.

Here are some additional tips and considerations as you think about whether to build a second version of your resume:

• Figure out where you fit. Do you truly need multiple versions? 

• If you determine you do not need a major rewrite, remember each job to which you apply is unique and you should always try and tweak your resume to align it with the posting. With that said, “tweak” does not mean embellish. Everything on your resume should be truthful.

• Know when to let go of experiences that do not apply to or support your future goals. Sometimes it is easy to become attached to a certain job or achievement from the past that consumes valuable real estate on your resume but detracts from what you want to achieve in the present. Cut it.

•  Keep accomplishments/skills on your resume that are transferrable between companies and fields. The physical or technical skills may change, but soft skills are useful everywhere.

• Bear in mind your audience not only includes recruiters and hiring managers, but also applicant tracking system (HR system) algorithms. Update the skills section of your resume and keywords throughout specific to the job types you pursue.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

I Want To Change Careers, But I Don’t Know What I Want To Do. Where Do I Go From Here?

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Changing careers is difficult. Sometimes, you can be at the top of a profession but must begin at the bottom of a new path. Are you prepared to wind back the clock and start over?

And, by the way, that’s if you have a clear vision of what you want to do. Many people, however, are only certain about the internal events that are driving their desire for a change – they are unhappy with their current course but aren’t sure about the next step.

If you are thinking about switching careers, here are some steps to help you along on the journey.

Work with a Career Counselor. Changing vocations is an important decision, and it may be a good investment to invest in a qualified career counselor. A career counselor holds advanced degrees in social work, counseling, or other related disciplines, and helps navigate potential options and identify a career path. They have the expertise to conduct career assessments, and spend the necessary time to learn and to understand your passions and competencies.

Tap your college career counseling center. Being a student is a career. When you graduate you are making your first, and perhaps only, career switch. If you are a recent graduate, your school is bound to have a career counseling center that may be able to help you choose the appropriate direction for your next career. Many colleges allow alumni to access their student career services as well. They see what employers are looking for in the job market, and can potentially navigate you in the right director

Follow the news. Your new career may be something you don’t even know about. If you make time to learn about emerging businesses and trends, you may have a “Eureka” moment. For example, scope out the “surge industries,”  new careers emerging that will become part of our economy for the foreseeable future.

Research your opportunities. If you have an interest in a new field, you have unprecedented methods to seek out an expert in that field. Through LinkedIn, it is easy to search for people in any profession. Be proactive and reach out to leaders in their fields and ask them if they might willing to hold an informational interview with you; many professionals are happy to provide guidance and insight on their vocation, if approached in an appropriate and respectful manner.

Research can also be learning. Check out the many sites that provide courses in every imaginable subject to learn more about a potential new career. The more well-rounded your understanding of a new pursuit, the easier it will be to transition and meet your expectations. If you independently study a subject and follow it up with a “informational interview” with an expert in that subject, you will gain more from that interview and ultimately have a deeper understanding of what it’s like to work in travel, or digital marketing, or making widgets, or whatever it is you decide to be.

Get the data. Once again, online you have unprecedented access to information about any potential new career. Sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn have salary information, company profiles, and reviews. Career resources, like this blog, always have helpful information, and many people work very hard with only one goal – to help you get to where you want to go. There is an almost endless well of actionable information about potential vocations.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

Andrew Luck Walked Away From His Dream Career To Pursue A New Path. Can You?

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Life is unpredictable. We set out on our path, carving out a life and career that’s been many years in the planning and execution.

But what happens when it all goes off the rails?

Exhibit 1: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement at the end of August. At the age of 29, the franchise QB with a pretty bright future ahead of him decided to walk away from a massive contract to move onto the next stage of his life – whatever that may be.

To put this into perspective – It’s not unusual for a high-performing quarterback to play into his late 30s or early 40s. Tom Brady is 42, and he’s still starting for the Patriots.

In all likelihood, Luck stepped down less than halfway into his career, and entering his prime earning years. He cited the wear and tear of the never-ending cycle of injury and rehabilitation.

I get it, Andrew Luck isn’t your average Joe – he’s probably sitting on a huge nest egg, and has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford to boot, so he’s not going to starve. And yet, don’t underestimate the life transformation this will cause. He has approximately more than 30 years of productive career time ahead of him, and is basically starting over.

Most of us spend our lives preparing for and pursuing a career path. Consider all the time we invest in making ourselves who we are, between choosing a career path, pursuing a specific college degree (or even a graduate degree), and internships, even before starting in our line of work. The years progress, we build upon that experience, and become specialists in our chosen discipline. Next thing you know, we’re essentially stuck because it’s what we know how to do, and we’re good at it.

People change careers all the time, and injury is just one cause. These can include burnout, promotion, demotion, layoff, job elimination, or relocation. And I’ve encountered countless people (self included) who at some point in their career said they were good at their jobs, but their jobs weren’t good for them.

Being pushed into a career change is scary. For most of us, this frequently involves developing new skills and competencies in order to even think about moving forward toward a new path. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employee stays with their employer for 4.2 years. Be prepared for change, whether you’re ready for it or not.

If there’s any lesson to be taken from Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement, it’s best to be proactive in managing your career. That means performing an honest assessment of both your professional landscape, and where you stand in it. Do you enjoy doing what you do? If you do in fact enjoy what you’re doing, can you do it at another company or is your employer the only game in town, so to speak?

If it’s clear that your career is reaching the end of its shelf life, build your exit strategy before you find yourself without options. Decide on a direction with an understanding of what you’d like to do, and what you’d rather avoid.

Research what the marketplace wants and invest in your skills to match it. Create an individual development plan that documents your goals, and how you intend to get there. And most importantly, always be training – any formal training, certification, or program is an asset, and some of what you learn will be transferable skills you will use no matter where you go or what you do. And it may not require going back to school for another degree, as an easy-to acquire certification may do the trick.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.