‘What do I do’ is an interesting question you should be asking yourself when you are writing a resume. Let us begin with the following idea:


If you do not know, how is a recruiter going to know?


You may find it amusing that I mention this; however it is not uncommon for me (and many others within the industry) to read the resume of a candidate and come out if it wondering what this person actually does. This person is one who has many skills and tries to convey them all in one shot.


HOW DO I TACKLE THIS PROBLEM?


I can offer two suggestions. The first being that if you feel the need to put all of your skills (Project Management, Business Analyst, Technical, etc) into one resume then your resume should demonstrate your work experience and what you were doing for each position. You should then create a separate section within your resume to highlight your skills in each of the areas you wish to showcase. Adding multiple job titles or varied responsibilities tends to leave the reader wondering what your actual job was.



The second, and the better idea of the two, is to create separate resumes that highlight one specific skill set. As I have mentioned before, recruiters are looking for past experience relative to the current position they are searching for. Meaning, we are looking for ten years of project management experience rather then ten years of experience where some of it was project management. If you create separate resumes for each skill set, this will strengthen your position within that skill set.


Remember that a recruiter is looking for ‘the’ candidate; so increase your odds of being that candidate and give your resume the best chance of making the impression you need it to. Marketing yourself as a ‘firefighter’ – someone who goes from problem to problem – is a skill set that is valuable within your company because the company knows you. It is not valuable for someone looking for a specific level of expertise because it is hard to nail down where your specific skill set is.


In conclusion, if you are interested in a position as a business analyst, make sure your resume says ‘my objective is to be a business analyst and here is where I have done business analyses’. This is going to be your best bet in separating your resume from the other candidates who all want the same position.

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