Build Once, Tailor Many
Most people keep eleven resumes and cannot remember which one they sent.
Edit the source. Generate the rest.
One source, edited once
Improvements to the master file benefit every future application. Improvements to resume_v7_final.docx benefit exactly one.
Outputs are disposable
A tailored resume belongs to one role. Treat it as an artefact of that application, not as a document to maintain.
The first hour pays for the rest
Getting the source properly right once turns every later application from an evening of rewriting into a few minutes of cutting.
Before
resume_final.docx · resume_final_v2.docx · resume_product_roles.docx · resume_2024_new.docx
After
master-cv.docx, plus one dated output per application, kept with the role it went to.
In the first folder, a fix to your Zeta Labs bullet has to be made four times or it drifts. In the second, it is made once and every future cut inherits it.
Do this before moving on
Find every resume file you have. Pick the one with the most true detail, make it the master, and put the rest in an archive folder you never open again.
Check yourself
You improve how you describe your biggest project. Where does that edit belong?