Yesterday, I talked extensively about the dual focus for the entrepreneur. The same thing applies to job seeker.

Like the entrepreneur, they need to watch their channel carefully.  If you advertise yourself on the web (web site, Monster, or other career site), you really only have one brand to deal with: your name.  You cannot defocus your brand by blasting with many different messages on a website. 

For example, you can put multiple active resumes up on Monster, as long as they are related.  If you are a marketing account manager with experience in both marketing and sales, then you could have one resume that talks focuses on a national account manager position and another than focuses on a marketing department manager position.  If asked a question from a prospective employer, hopefully you have found out first what they are seeking, and then you can mold the answer saying for example, “Yes, I have experience as a marketing manager, but I also worked closely on national accounts and at times focused major projects selling into one account.  At Company ABC, I was very successful managing the relationships with our national accounts, and I can do the same thing at your company.”

What does not work is if you are trying two or more very different jobs and advertising in the same place: a photographer and a cook.  Very different skill sets, and different industries.   Maybe you could find positions that would utilize both, food photography or advertising at a restaurant chain?  The idea is still to find a focus and sell yourself along those lines.

You can still search in multiple arenas by carefully picking your channels and focusing that one aspect of yourself in that channel.  On Monster, you advertise yourself as a photographer, and then apply to companies in advertising, photography,  and print and web media needing a photographer.

On specialized sites, you can advertise yourself as the chef. Maybe there is a restaurant employee search firm that needs that kind of person?  

The resume, though will be the challenge.  Have multiple versions. For the targeted industry, the accomplishments can be very specific on the job skills.  For the non-targeted industry, still have accomplishments but focus more on your ability to solve problems, hit the goals, and ultimately, grow the company.  You can rebrand job titles. In the photographer/cook example, what if the person was a head cook in a restaurant (managed the kitchen) but is now looking for a photographer’s position since that is what they studied in school and kept it up, winning awards and developing their skills over time.  Maybe instead of saying they were a head chef, they could say, “Kitchen Manager”, and write more about how they managed people, managed budgets, and helped the operation run smoothly.

A separate resume for chef jobs would focus more on the kitchen duties and could discuss specific successes that would be of interest to a restaurant owner.

Ultimately, the job seeker is responsible for marketing themselves properly in the right channel.  The web presents a difficult problem because a personal website can help or hinder. It helps when there is a focus, and it hinders when there is not.

Re-read yesterdays article, “Duel Focus”. The rules for entrepreneurs advertising and talking to investors apply very well to the job seeker.