How to Tell a Compelling Career Story When You’ve Done a Little Bit of Everythin

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1. Reformat Your Resume

You know the top of your resume, where people keep telling you not to add an "objective" section? Well, that's typically true, but you can put a "qualifications" section that highlights the specific skills you have that match with the job you want. This way, you own your story, and you demonstrate to the hiring manager that you've thought about the way your various experiences align with the position.

Another option is a skills-based resume rather than a chronological one. Is this the right option for you? It's hard to say because many employers have different preferences. The best you can do at the end of the day is remember the purpose of this document: to get your foot in the door.

So make sure that whatever format you choose, you're emphasizing why you're the best fit. And you can do this by keeping your bullet points concise, quantified, and tailored to the job description.



2. Emphasize the Continuities

Most job experiences have some common threads. I remember when I was in college, every semester taking a wide variety of classes. And every term those classes magically starting to connect to one another, and I was always surprised by how much continuity there was in what I thought were completely disconnected things. Our brains are wired to want to make connections. It may seem like there is no connection between being a lifeguard, a salesperson, a social media intern, and a psychology major, but those are all things that emphasize paying close attention to what people think, how they behave, and how best to serve them. Spend time thinking broadly about your jobs. Have they all involved customer service? Critical thinking and analysis? Using new technologies or creative problem solving?

If nothing comes to mind, ask a friend to give it a look. Sometimes, especially when you've been belaboring over a resume for a long time, it can be difficult to see the connections among all of your varied work experiences. Bringing in an objective reader to give it a close read and locate relationships between your roles will give you a new perspective and hopefully will enable you to see the ties that clearly exist.


Source: https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-tell-a-compelling-career-story-when-youve-done-a-little-bit-of-everything