Use more than one job resume to get hired

By Diane King
Have you been having a hard time getting recruiters to call you for interviews? When you submit a job resume to hiring managers does it feel as if your resumes went into a dark hole, never to be found again?

Your job resume tells recruiters what to focus on
To understand what may be happening, consider two points. Number one – unless you’re sending your job resume to someone you know personally at a company, your resume has likely gone into a database alongside dozens, maybe hundreds, of other resumes. It’s no different than the way it was years ago when your resume went into a tall pile of hard copy resumes cluttering a recruiter’s office floor.


Number two – projects and assignments highlighted on your resume don’t align with the requirements of the job you’re applying for. This can happen whether your skills are below or above the requirements of the job you’re going after.

You can get around this by creating two or more resumes. Let’s say you’ve spent 10 years working as a project manager, but now you’re only looking to work a part-time gig that calls for much less leadership and management skills. To get a less stressful gig, take larger project management work off your resume.

There’s no reason to have only one job resume
Keep this information on another job resume, one you use when applying for more senior roles (if you still want to work senior level roles). Why do this? It can keep you from appearing “overly qualified” for certain jobs you want.

To grab hiring managers’ and recruiters’ attention when applying for more senior roles, focus on the highest levels of work you’ve completed. Talk these high level projects up during interviews. Be open and honest. Don’t sell yourself during interviews, but make sure hiring managers and recruiters know you have solid experience working at high levels.


More important than either of these steps is having a connection with a prominent client or employee at a company you want to work for. Ask the client or employee to put in a good word for you with recruiters and hiring managers. This good word, combined with the right job resume, could make the difference between whether or not you get hired.