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Can I Get A “Generic” Résumé?

By September 16, 2018February 4th, 2019Career Tips, Resumes

Unfortunately, it is not possible to create an effective “generic” résumé that will be truly effective in helping you land your dream job. A résumé that is not tailored towards a specific type of position is a “career obituary” and tells the story of the past — not the potential you have to offer to a prospective employer and how your specific experience, education, and skills can benefit the company or organization.

An interview-winning résumé spells out the specific value that you have to offer the prospective employer without including additional, irrelevant experience. To create such a document, it is important to understand the specific needs of that particular role — and, in many cases, tailoring the résumé for the needs of a specific company.

With this in mind, it is important for you to identify a specific job title that you are pursuing, and even more helpful to collect 3-5 job postings for this type of position, even if these job postings are no longer active and even if you do not wish to apply to this specific company. Being able to incorporate relevant keywords while describing current and past work experience is one way to demonstrate value to a prospective employer. An analysis of relevant job postings helps make this possible.

Note, however, that you can craft multiple versions of your résumé in order to target different types of job postings — assuming, however, that your relevant experience and education is transferable to the different types of positions being pursued. In contrast, however, please note that you are limited to a single LinkedIn account, so it may be necessary for your LinkedIn profile to be a bit more “generic” than a customized résumé used to target a specific job type.

Need help? At Total Resumes, we create brand-driven, achievement-focused documents for executives and aspiring leaders worldwide. With a 98% client interview-winning success rate, we are well-placed to help with your career advancement. Check some of our work here: https://www.totalresumes.com.au/samples-of-our-award-winning-work/

Author Carolyn Whitfield

6X TORI-Winning, Multi-Certified Resume Master & Coach ★ 12+ Yrs Expertise ★ 98% Client Interview-Winning Success Rate. As an executive resume expert who has carved a strong reputation in the resume industry, I’ve helped thousands of rising stars and executives worldwide ascend to the next step on the career ladder.

More posts by Carolyn Whitfield

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