Many people can’t imagine changing their résumé and consequently prepare them as a one-size-fits-all communication vehicle. Résumés for today’s job market are designed to be a personal marketing advertisement that is used to win an interview in head-to-head competition with other highly qualified job candidates. People seem to think their résumés should list all of the important things they’ve done in their career. Unfortunately, prospective employers aren’t really interested in your personal work history the same way you are.

When potential clients call and ask about creating a résumé, one of the first questions I ask is, “what is your career goal in terms of your next position?” I tell clients that the best résumés are the ones that you customize for the job you are applying for. In other words, generic résumés are not very effective at getting employers to invite you for a job interview.

Hiring managers are looking for someone who can solve their problems along with understand their company, industry, and competitive environment. It’s a lot more work to thoroughly research a prospective employer than it is to create a generic résumé. As a result, somehow the goal of efficiency seems to be more important than the goal of effectiveness.

If you are looking to make a career transition in the next six months, the summer is a perfect time to start the process of reevaluating your background in terms of creating a more focused résumé and restructuring it to be specifically geared towards prospective employers.

Don’t marry your résumé … it’s not a marriage that will last in today’s job market!