Packaging and positioning critical to résumé success

Dear Sam: I enjoy reading your weekly resume advice columns; you provide some very useful insights. In a recent column, you mentioned that the job seeker should create a targeted resume for the specific position. Could you provide an example to illustrate your point? – John

Dear John: I don’t want you to think you have to develop an entirely new résumé for each job posting, what I am saying however is a one-size-fits-all résumé is rarely effective as the information provided to each hiring manager is diluted and doesn’t “speak their language.” A one-size-fits-all résumé is a document that does not position the candidate for one type of opportunity; more so highlights soft skills and a person’s ability to perform a multitude of jobs. While this might in fact be true, a résumé has to be a more strategic document that positions the candidate for what they want to do. Think of a résumé as a brochure for a product, it should clearly position the product (you!) as appealing to the buyer (the hiring manager), touting the features and benefits (your experience and skills) that are of interest to your target audience (the hiring authorities in the industry/field you are interested in). It is only when you have an idea of what you want to do that you can develop and effective positioning strategy to attract the “right” interest in your candidacy. This doesn’t mean you have to develop an entirely new résumé for each posting, it just means you have to be a little more targeted about your communication.

I’ve presented an example here to illustrate that you can leave your options open while still developing quite a targeted marketing piece. Charlotte was interested in opportunities aligned with her experience (retail management) in addition to possibly branching out into a merchandising role, so her résumé was developed with both objectives in mind. You’ll notice I split the qualifications summary between the two objectives, highlighted merchandising related achievements first, and used a creative design to engage the hiring manger and reinforce Charlotte’s orientation towards design. As her objectives were in the same general field, one résumé could accomplish these objectives effectively; however, for a candidate with more diverse objectives, two distinct resumes would be more effective.

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Dear Sam: I am back in the job market after a seven month stint in medical sales. The bulk of my career has been in the mortgage industry and most likely that is where I will find my next job. Although I did learn quite a bit in my most recent position, I was wondering if I should include it on my résumé given the short amount of time I worked with the company and that I am looking to get back to more familiar territory? – Andrew

Dear Andrew: I’d probably lean towards including the most recent experience so you don’t show your last position ending in 2007 versus 2008. I’d likely use a combination format where you would pull out your mortgage industry achievements/highlights first, then move to a professional experience section where your experience would be presented in reverse-chronological order. Engaging this strategy would allow the dates of your experience to fall to the end of page one or even page two, your related experiences and achievements to be highlighted up front, and your segue from the industry to play a much lesser role in the 7-10 second screening process.