#4 – Be Transparent & Forthcoming. Recruiters and hiring managers are hound dogs. They can smell a résumé that is hiding something. Your jujitsu Résumé Slayer move is to disarm their suspicion by complete—and confident—honesty. Few people have “perfect” career records. Come clean but do not over explain or over justify. Here’s an example: “Took one-year position as a prep cook while researching graduate programs in biology.” Here’s another: “While transitioning to a career in nursing, worked for two-year period in several short-term office management positions.” How about this one: “Traveled throughout the world for three years exploring the cultures of 15 different countries.” Wow – suddenly you’ll have the reader jealous and wanting to meet such an interesting person!
#5 – Lumping. Lumping is a good solution for freelance or contract workers. Your résumé might visually “lump” projects under ONE heading, which will be your role, such as consultant, project manager, contractor, freelance writer, etc. Just like Strategy #4, the goal is not to hide anything. You want to provide dates for each assignment, or list total length of time. However, these multiple “jobs” will visually be represented—by indenting—as a single entry, ONE role that may contain multiple projects, clients, or engagements. Pretty cool, huh?