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By Igor Khayet

You’ve got your resume ready, and it’s set to go out at a moment’s notice. It could probably use a bit tweaking here, maybe a little reformatting there to make room for that recent work accomplishment you just accomplished the hell out of. But for the most part, it’s a good resume. You like your resume. You worked hard on it. Now, can you do that for five more resumes?

That’s right—five more resumes! Look at it this way: There are so many ways for job opportunities to arise. Think about all the time we spend meeting and connecting with new people online, or how easy it is for recruiters to scour sites like LinkedIn. And consider all the instances in which you saw a job posting, met someone on a flight or at a party and wished that you had a different version of your resume more suited to the job opportunity.

Having a few different resumes handy doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?  

LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn Profile is itself a resume. Many jobseekers miss this opportunity by having incomplete information posted. Some employers use LinkedIn exclusively for their recruiting. It is vital that your profile is loaded with specific keywords and experiences to make sure that the recruiting search technology doesn’t pass by your profile. Always have this resume updated with what you are looking for and don’t be shy to use LinkedIn to connect directly with recruiters.

Dream Job Resume

It’s all about preparation. Your dream job might not be as unattainable as you think, especially if you have a solid resume in hand. If you’ve always wanted to work for Facebook, then make sure you have a “Facebook” resume on your computer desktop waiting for the day you meet the right person to hand it to. While you might not be Facebook-ready today, your resume should be a working document that continually takes you closer to your goal. This resume is for that special moment when preparation meets opportunity. You never know, Mark Zuckerberg might be seated next to you on your next flight to Palo Alto. You’ll want to be ready to follow up as soon as you land.

Promotion Resume

Getting a new job doesn’t have to mean leaving your current company. You never know when your supervisor will leave or when a new opportunity for promotion will arise. With this in mind, it’s important to have an updated resume with all your recent accomplishments ready to go. It’s easy to get complacent, but your resume needs to grow with you so that you’re ready to pounce when you see the green light.

Curriculum Vitae

A CV is a complete list of all of your accomplishments. For the purposes of your job search, it should work like a master document from which you pull information when creating each of your targeted resumes. It is generally much longer than your resume and includes all of your previous jobs, education, certifications, continuing education classes, conferences and speaking engagements, published works, etc. When creating a resume for a new job prospect, the CV is the starting point. After reading the qualifications of the position, you can begin to take things from the CV that have the most relevance for the skill-sets outlined in the job description.  

Visual CV

This free online service is a great way to create a visually appealing resume that includes much more than your regular resume. Excellent for designers/developers, anyone in a creative profession, or anyone that simply wants to stand out. You should be no means use this exclusively but rather as a complement to your existing resume. Check them out.

Igor Khayet is the President and Founder of My Resume Shop, a career services company offering assistance with résumés, cover letters, and interview preparation (including Consulting Case Interviews). He is a former Admissions Interviewer for the Yale School of Management and a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches. Contact him at igor@myresumeshop.com

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