I hate to use the term “trend”; after all, I’m only one recruiter, but I can say with confidence that my experience is revealing a new hiring pattern for executive-level marketing positions— namely, the practice of melding together old job descriptions resulting in newly-created, first-ever roles.

The latest job descriptions appear to be following The Rule of Three, with one example being:

• 1/3 Marketing— channel, customer insight, advertising.

• 1/3 Public Relations— from traditional media relations to building a following on Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and the like.

• 1/3 Strategy— tying marketing back to the business mission.

At face value, everyone is excited. The new positions are more efficient (less financial burden on the company), and more streamlined (multiple responsibilities now reside with one person). There's only one problem. When it comes time to begin recruiting, the question often arises... "Wait a minute, who are they looking for?" Here's the challenge. Many of these newly-created positions and the combination of required skills and experiences are new to the marketing world. So, it's unlikely that your resume, as it is, will mirror the experience the hiring companies are looking for. This doesn’t mean you’re not the right person for the job. It just means you have to be more diligent about crafting your resume to reflect your experiences that are relevant to the position. And yes, this means you might have to adjust your resume for every job for which you apply. If you have a specific position you are chasing and want one recruiter’s opinion on how to get the right info on your resume – feel free to contact me on LinkedIn - http://tinyurl.com/2dv9r52  I’d be happy to help.