Your resume is your first impression on any recruiter. But different recruiters and job profiles have different requirements. So, how many resumes should have? Let’s explore!
1. How many resumes do you need
2. Why do you need different resumes?
3. Where can you customize your resume?
As a job seeker, often the odds are stacked against you! Every lucrative career or job opportunity gets 250 or more job applications. Less than 5% of the applicants get an interview call. And finally, just 1 or 2 candidates are selected!
So, it is extremely important that you are one of those 5 % applicants who get an interview call! Your resume plays the biggest role here.
If you are a job seeker, you will be looking at creating a powerful resume first. If so, you have multiple articles to help you in our career coaching section.
However, once you have a good resume ready, you will face 2 important questions.
- How many pages should my resume have? – For this, you can read – How a 2-Page Resume increases your interview calls by 130%
- How many resumes or versions of your resume should you have?
In this article, we will explore this second question in detail.
How many resumes do you need? Should you have more than one resume?
Studies show that on an average job seekers have only 1 resume!
This is a very interesting situation if you consider the variety of companies and job opportunities that any job seeker applies for.
They differ in so many ways that, just the idea of candidates sending 1 single resume to all of them, can get you thinking about 3 major aspects of this situation –
- The inefficiency of this process
- lack of much-needed effort on their part
- And companies rejecting them even before any interview as an obvious outcome!
Now think of this.
63% of the recruiters like resumes that are carefully crafted for the job opportunity at hand!
It goes without saying that you will need 2 or more versions of your resume if you want to dramatically increase your chances of getting interview calls!
But the buck does not stop just here! You want to ensure that whichever resume you choose, will be further tailored for the job opportunity you are applying for.
So, let us understand this – When and why will you need different versions of resumes?
Why do you need different resumes? When do you need different resumes?
During your career, there are various phases and reasons which will trigger the need to have a different resume. Let us go over them.
7 Situations that make you create Multiple Resumes
1. When your career goal changes
Many of us start with one inspiring vision that guides our career choices and career paths. However, there are times when you start rethinking your vision and goals.
This can happen because of changes in your personal life, family life, and the industry itself.
But because your resumes to date were geared towards your current career goals, such a change will trigger the need to craft a different resume altogether.
2. When you want to change your career path
As industries are changing at a rapid rate, many of us need to adjust our career paths every 2 to 3 years. This means, going back to the drawing board to craft a brand new version of your resume.
Since you may get many options for your future career path, you will need many versions of your resume.
Just take a look how marketing has changed in the last 2 decades and you will see so many career paths that never existed before.
3. When you want to change your job role
You may get tired or bored of the monotony that your current job profile brings. You may have done variations of the same role in many other companies.
But you get to a point when you desperately need a change in your job role! You may see multiple options in the same industry for the same. This naturally triggers you to craft multiple resumes.
4. When you want to change the industry
During your stints with various companies in the industry you work in, you may have built multiple transferable skills.
When your current industry starts becoming stagnant or boring from your perspective, you will look for other industries where your career can flourish!
This will naturally get you write different resumes for different industries that you may want to explore.
5. When you are a fresher and looking for your first job
Freshers are many times unsure of their career goals. There is hardly any chance of a compelling career vision.
The industry gives them multiple options for career paths. These days many paths are extremely lucrative.
It makes sense if a fresher is exploring his or her opportunities in different fields at the same time. The age and stage of life is set for experimentation and gaining experience. So at this starting point of career, he or she can be flexible about choosing the best opportunity available.
In this situation, it makes total sense to have multiple versions of your resume geared toward different industries and fields for entry-level positions!
6. When you are looking to widen your career options
This is more of an exploratory phase. This is when you have not even planned to apply for any different department in your company or a different job profile in any other organization.
You simply want to imagine our possibilities, especially for middle or higher-level roles with your current experience and skillset.
This is when brainstorming about different resumes can help you think more clearly about how you may fit into various career options that you may not even have imagined till date!
7. When you are re-entering the professional world after a long career break
Many professionals, especially women, tend to take long career breaks, especially for their families.
But after this break, it can be challenging to re-enter the workforce and get a good career break.
This is when you need to be more flexible and explore different industries, career paths, and job opportunities that may come your way.
Naturally, crafting multiple resumes tailored toward those options is a good first step.
Where can you customize your resume?
Every resume provides ample opportunities to sell yourself. Let us look at the places where you can tailor your resume for your next job opportunities!
10 Things You can Customize in Your Resume
- Career Objective
- About me section
- Resume Headline
- Resume Summary
- Your skills and strengths
- Your Achievements
- The examples of your experience
- Resume Keywords
- Project Descriptions
- Your hobbies
The central idea behind the need of customizing your resume for each job application is that – Each job is different in its own way. So you need to approach it few simple but delicate changes in your resume.
This will dramatically increase the number of interview calls that you will get!
So, how many resumes should you have?
As you can see, it depends on the reasons and situations that you are in.
But do not be in a hurry to craft multiple versions of your resume, until you have crafted 1 smart resume.
Here are a few articles which will help you do just that!
1. 101 Strong Resume Headline Examples and How to write them impactfully
2. How to write eye-catching Resume Summary
3. About me in Resume – How to write it Smartly
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In case, you already have a few interview calls for interesting job opportunities, it is time to prepare well! Use our “Fresher Interview Questions and Answers” section to your advantage.
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