The Resume Version Myth By Alesia Benedict Are you a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker? It's very rare to be one of those people who are equally qualified in numerous, vastly different professions. If you are one of these uncommon folks, you'll certainly need more than one version of your resume. You're an unusual bird with experience all over the map.
But chances are, you -- along with the rest of us in the human race -- need just one resume. We All Have Just One Past! Let's face it -- we all have just one history. Sure, we may have different goals in mind, but no one has Life A, Life B, and Life C running concurrently. Most people have had different types of jobs and have worked in different industries, but can distill their resume into just one "past". In the same vein, we have just one future. And the next step in your career is finite -- you can only take one step at a time, right? If you tried to take three different steps in three different directions at once, you'd end up with tangled feet, an inevitable fall, and a definite loss in time. If you think you need more than one version of your resume, it most likely means you're not fully committed to your next career step. Many people say they are "open to several directions" but, when questioned, they're really uncertain which direction they want to take. While they think they're open to everything, their mindset is closer to "I'll take anything" -- not a smart way to manage your career, especially at the executive level. Defining Your Future So how do you know which step is the right, next step? Simple -- look at your last career step, or maybe your last series of steps. Uncertain job seekers should always look at their past experience and education, since it's this experience that will lead them to the next position. Let me give you an example - say you're a sales management pro, who started out in inside sales. Over time, you've changed employers and worked in different types of sales (B2B, B2C, Retail, Outside Sales, Territory Management, etc.) in different types of industries. Now you're ready to take that next career step into executive management. You test the waters and find several different positions that pique your interest: a national sales director for a technology company, a national business development manager for a specific product line within a luxury consumer product group, and a vice president of sales for a smaller company that is an OEM for a niche product. Do you need three different resumes? No. Why not? Because you have just one background to present to all three employers and the focus is the same for all three jobs -- national sales management. A lot of job seekers in this position would want to create a few "resume versions" by rearranging some content in the summary, changing a few keywords, and calling it a different file name. But here's the thing - most of the time, these different "versions" show minimal and barely detectable changes. They make no real impact on the reader and no difference in terms of winning the interview. In fact, sometimes a different "version" might actually be weaker than the parent resume that solidly presents the qualifications and experience in a focused manner. Using Cover Letters to Target Applications So, how do you attack different positions that have different aspects to them? Easy -- with the cover letter! A cover letter is the marketing tool you should use to zero-in on the position that's advertised and show the reader how your specific qualifications match their specific requirements. Because a cover letter is in a narrative, conversational format, you can "speak" to the reader directly and, in essence, say, "You are looking for someone with experience in the development of sales teams within the heavy equipment industry. I have developed fourteen, record-breaking sales teams in my career and worked in the heavy equipment industry for twelve years for Caterpillar. When can we meet?" A statement like this is so much more effective than just rearranging your resume's core competencies to start with "heavy equipment" or "sales team development". By creating one, strong resume, and using the cover letter to personalize your application, you won't drive yourself crazy trying to keep track of all the variations of your resume and/or trying to remember which version you sent to which potential employer. Job searching is stressful enough - no need to add any more, unnecessary complications! Remember, there's always a logical next step in your career whether that next step is a short, easy one or one that requires one, long stride. Either way, your resume represents where you stand now, the path you have taken to get to your present location, and where you want to go. Use the cover letter to illustrate more specific points about your career, and draw the reader in the right direction. Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC, is the Executive Director of GetInterviews.com. She's also been cited by Jist Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and is published in 20+ career books. Alesia's services come with a guarantee -- interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free! The Power of the Post-Interview Thank You Letter By Jeanne Knight Just as resumes have undergone a dramatic change over the past 20 years, so too have post-interview thank you letters. Twenty years ago, a resume was typically a one page document that briefly listed a candidate's overall work experience and academic credentials. As the employment market changed and became more competitive, so did the resume. Today, they are powerful marketing tools designed to sell a candidate's skills, accomplishments, and expertise in order to give a job seeker a competitive edge over other candidates. The same changes can be said for cover letters. Now, these changes also apply to the post-interview thank you letter. In the past, if such a letter was actually sent, it simply stated, "Thank you for your time; I'm very interested in this position." However, in today's market simply saying thank you is not enough. Candidates need to take this same concept of selling their skills and accomplishments and integrate it into their thank you letters. A well written and convincing thank you letter should be a powerful document designed to continue selling a candidate long after the interview is over. So, how can you create thank you letters that present compelling reasons to further your candidacy? First, in order to create a thank you letter with the most impact, it must be customized to each person with whom you interviewed. It also should focus on the issue that is most significant to that particular person and the company as a whole. What you include in your thank you letter will depend on your specific interview situation and what you discussed with each interviewer. Here is a list of sections you should include in your thank you letters: Reinforce Points from the Interview It's difficult for a hiring manager to remember every detail of every interview they conduct with candidates. So, emphasizing the important points of your background, as they relate to the company and the specific position for which you are applying, will go a long way in distinguishing you from your competition. Even if your specific skills and qualifications were discussed in the interview, take this opportunity to reiterate and further expand upon these experiences as they directly relate to the company's operations, current needs, and future goals. Address Specific Challenges and Problems If the hiring manager shared some of the challenges or problems facing their organization, relate how your experience is tied directly to their needs and the skills you have to help them solve these problems. Suppose he/she indicated that morale is slipping within the department and that it's impacting turnover. Your thank you letter can describe how you led several key initiatives to raise the spirits of the members of your department. Or, perhaps he/she discussed a work flow challenge the department is facing. Share your past experiences designing and implementing workflow changes that have led to greater efficiencies and increased productivity. Communicate New Information Everyone walks out of interviews at one time or another realizing there was something really important about their background or qualifications that wasn't covered during the initial discussion. Perhaps there wasn't enough time, or the interviewer's agenda didn't lend itself to discussing that topic, or you just plain forgot. Here's where the thank you letter comes in. It's precisely the tool to use to bring those achievements, experiences, project highlights, and qualifications to their attention. Respond to Objections from the Interviewer If the hiring manager communicated an objection to hiring you, address it in the thank you letter. For example, let's say the hiring manager was concerned that you've never worked in Atlanta, and therefore, don't have any professional contacts in that area. Use the thank you letter to explain how you previously entered new markets and immediately developed strong networks. That's one of the reasons you've been so successful in your previous positions. Using the thank you letter as a competitive marketing tool means that they might sometimes be longer than one page. That's perfectly ok! There are no "thank you letter" rules that dictate these documents must be just one page long. What should dictate their length is the amount of valuable information you want to include. If the company has already extended you the opportunity for an interview, they're already interested in you. And, in most cases, they will carefully read any and all material you subsequently forward to them -- including a powerful, well-worded, and compelling post-interview thank you letter! Jeanne Knight is a certified Career Coach/Resume Expert who helps individuals navigate career transitions. She offers career and job search coaching as well as resume writing services.
