How to Deal with Overlapping Jobs on a Resume
Kent R.
As startup companies grow and established companies continue to look for ways to cut costs and maximize productivity, it is common for employees to hold multiple roles at once. This increasingly common reality can make it very challenging to effectively capture your experience on a resume or LinkedIn.
Here is an example: I recently worked with a client who joined a startup as an HR Manager. Within a year, she was tasked with leading the PR team, but she continued to serve as HR Manager. To further complicate things, she was essentially pulled out of both roles for a period of time to support a round of fundraising. Essentially, this client had 3 different roles that she wanted to honor on her resume but was completely stumped by how to accomplish that.
I’ll tell you what I told her.
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When it comes right down to it, you only ever really hold one position at a time. Yes, that position may evolve, new responsibilities may be added, and you may be pulled away to support special projects, but you don’t technically have multiple jobs. Just the one (complex) job.
With that resolved, you still need to find a way to honor the complexity of the role and shifting scope without complicating things. Here are two quick tips:
If, for example, you started as an HR Manager and your role was expanded (but your title didn’t change), then your title is still HR Manager. Use a brief position overview to communicate the scope of your role. Also, consider listing your added responsibilities as an achievement.
When you are pulled out of your current position to participate in a special project, that is a great accomplishment to list under your title. It isn’t, however, a new position that should be listed separately.
A best practice when developing your resume or LinkedIn is to keep things simple and easy for readers to grasp. You can always provide greater detail during the interview, which you are more likely to get because your resume was so clear and compelling.