When putting your résumé together, it can be difficult to determine how to organize each of the positions you’ve held in a way that is clear and easy to interpret. This is especially true if you have held jobs in the past in which you have been promoted within the same company, have been deployed to multiple companies through a contract role, or if the organization you had been working for was acquired. The above video shares three real-world examples about how to shape your résumé for maximum clarity.
The above video shares three real-world examples about how to shape your résumé for maximum clarity.
Example 1: Let’s say that you have worked with a company for nine years, but during that time, you have been promoted twice. This means that you have actually held three different positions with that one company. How would you represent this on a résumé?
My advice is to represent that nine-year block of time as one header. Underneath that header, you would place three sub-headers that go into more detail about each position that was held during your tenure with that company. You can see an example of this in the video.
The benefit of structuring your résumé this way is that nobody would be able to miss the fact that you have had a progressive, long tenure with one company. To employers, this is very impressive.
Example 2: Let’s say that you are an employee that has been working with an outsource company like TMAC for a number of years. If, during that time, you have been deployed to three different clients, how would you show this on your résumé?
I would suggest organizing this part of your résumé in much the same way that I did above, with the larger company as one big header and the deployments as separate sub-headers. The benefit of structuring it this way is that nobody looking at this résumé would be unclear that these were separate deployments, not proactive job changes.
Example 3: Let’s say that you’re an employee who has worked with one company in the same job for two years, and then that organization is acquired by another company. If your job title and duties are the same, how should you express this on your résumé?
I would suggest writing both companies under one large header, along with the time that you held that position. Underneath that large header, show that the former company was acquired and that you survived that acquisition.
Even if a hiring manager or HR professional quickly glanced at this section of your résumé, they would not misunderstand that you survived this acquisition and have been carrying on the same duties and responsibilities for a solitary block of time.
If you organize your résumé in a way that’s clear and easy for potential employers to understand, nobody should have any issues interpreting your job experience correctly. If you have any other questions about organizing your résumé, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Give me a call or send me an email and I’d be happy to discuss it with you anytime!
