Latest / The Resume Room with Fexingo: Resume Writing, Cover Letters, and Application Strategy / How to Write a Resume That Explains a Lateral Transfer
Transcript
- Lucas: If you've ever made a lateral transfer within a company — moved from one role to another at the same level — you know the resume challenge. It looks like you stayed in place, but in reality, you took on a completely different set of responsibilities. Luna: Right, and the fear is that a recruiter glances at it and thinks 'stuck' or 'no promotion'. Lucas: Exactly. So today we're going to walk through a real example: a marketing manager who transferred from brand marketing to product marketing at the same company. Same title, different job. Luna: And I think this is actually a great case because it's so common in marketing, but it applies across industries — think an engineer moving from backend to frontend, or a finance analyst moving from FP&A to treasury. Lucas: Absolutely. So let's start with the core problem. On paper, you have two entries that look identical in title and level. The first instinct is to just list them chronologically, but that can backfire if the recruiter doesn't read carefully. Luna: What's the alternative? Some people combine them into one entry with a note like 'transferred within company'. Lucas: That's actually a solid approach, but you have to be strategic. I've seen candidates try to merge them into a single role with two sets of bullet points under one title. That confuses recruiters because they can't tell which responsibility belongs to which period. Luna: So you're saying separate entries, but with a clear 'transfer summary' line? Lucas: Yes. In this case, our marketing manager listed her first role — Brand Marketing Manager, 2022 to 2024 — with four bullet points on brand campaigns. Then she listed her second role — Product Marketing Manager, 2024 to Present — with four bullet points on product launches. And right above the second entry, she added a single line: 'Transferred internally from brand marketing to product marketing to lead go to market strategy for new SaaS product.' That line does two things: it signals intent, and it explains why the title is the same. Luna: I like that because it frames the move as proactive, not passive. It says 'I chose this.' Lucas: Exactly. And that's the key with lateral transfers — you want to communicate that it was a strategic decision, not a reassignment or a way to avoid a performance issue. Luna: Speaking of which, should you mention if the transfer was part of a company restructuring? Like if the entire brand team was disbanded? Lucas: Great question. If the transfer was forced by restructuring, you can still frame it positively. Instead of saying 'restructured into product marketing,' you say 'selected for new product marketing team following company reorganization.' Still highlights that you were chosen. But I'd only include that context if the gap between roles or the change is obvious — otherwise, just the transfer line suffices. Luna: What about overlapping dates? If the transfer happened over a few weeks where you were doing both roles? Lucas: That's a nuance a lot of people trip over. If you had a transition period, don't overlap the dates. Pick the month when your primary duties shifted. If you were ramping down brand work while ramping up product work, list the end date of the first role as the month you stopped being the primary brand person. Recruiters don't need to see a two-week overlap — it just looks messy. Luna: So clean break. That makes sense. But what about the title — should you ever change the title to reflect the new function? Like 'Product Marketing Manager' instead of 'Marketing Manager'? Lucas: If your official title didn't change, never fabricate a new one. But if your internal title changed — even if the level stayed the same — use the new title. The key is accuracy. In our example, the company had separate title tracks for brand and product, so her title actually changed. She used both correctly. Luna: Let me ask you about a listener question we got. Sarah writes: 'I've had three lateral moves in five years at the same company. Should I list all of them, or just the most recent one?' Lucas: Great question. If all three are lateral, you risk looking like you can't decide or you're bouncing around. I'd recommend listing only the most recent two, unless the earlier moves are relevant to your current career direction. If the first lateral move was from sales to marketing, and the next two were within marketing, you might include the sales to marketing pivot to show breadth. But if all three are in the same function, pick the two most impactful ones and summarize the earlier roles in a line like 'Prior roles in marketing include X and Y at this company.' Luna: That's smart. It keeps the resume focused and avoids clutter. Lucas: And one more tip: if you've had multiple lateral moves, consider adding a 'Career Summary' section at the top that explicitly says 'Marketing professional with experience across brand, product, and demand generation — including three internal transfers that expanded my skill set.' That primes the recruiter to see the pattern as growth, not indecision. Luna: I want to circle back to the cover letter. Should you explain a lateral transfer in the cover letter too, or is the resume enough? Lucas: I'd say cover letter optional, but if you do, keep it to one sentence. Something like: 'After two years in brand marketing, I transferred internally to product marketing to deepen my go to market expertise.' That's it. Don't rehash the resume. Luna: You know, it's funny — we spend so much time talking about how to explain gaps or negative events, but lateral transfers are actually a positive story. You're showing versatility. Lucas: It really is a positive, and yet so many candidates undervalue it. They worry it looks like they weren't promoted. But in many companies, lateral moves are the only path to gaining cross-functional experience, especially in flat organizations. Luna: If listeners are getting value from episodes like this, and want to help us keep the show ad-free and independent, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Even a couple of dollars a month genuinely makes a difference in keeping these episodes coming. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate that. And now back to the topic — one more nuance: what if your lateral transfer also came with a change in location? Like you moved to a different office or region? Luna: That adds a layer. Should you mention the location change on the resume? Lucas: Yes, absolutely. If the location changed, include the new city in the role header. That helps explain why you might have taken a lateral move — maybe you relocated for family reasons, and the company accommodated you. But again, frame it as a transfer, not a demotion. Luna: I think the overarching takeaway is: treat a lateral transfer like a mini-promotion in terms of how you present it. You gained new skills, new responsibilities, and you were trusted to handle a different function. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're ever in an interview and they ask 'Why did you move laterally?', your answer should be about growth, not about escaping something. 'I wanted to develop expertise in product marketing because I saw it as the future of our industry.' That's a narrative that works. Luna: Alright, let's wrap with a quick checklist for anyone updating their resume after a lateral move. Lucas, what are the top three things to do? Lucas: One: separate the roles with clear dates and a transfer summary line. Two: use the official title if it changed, but never invent one. Three: highlight the new responsibilities as distinctly as if it were a new job at a new company — because in essence, it was. Luna: And if you've never had a lateral move but are considering one, this framework applies just as well to how you'd position it in a future application. Lucas: Absolutely. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.