If you’re on the job market, you’ve probably heard the importance of tailoring your resume for each specific job you are applying for. Tailoring your resume is important for a number of reasons. It highlights that you are qualified for the position and that your skills and experience align with the job requirements; it also shows that you are invested and interested in the role since you took the time to learn more about the position and tailored your resume accordingly. In today’s blog, we’ll provide some examples of ways you can customize your resume so you can stand out from the sea of other applicants and land an interview.
Have a Master Resume and Go from There
When starting out, it’s a good idea to have one master resume template with bullet points of all your previous job responsibilities and duties. This is a resume just for you and that no one else will see. After you have all your previous experiences written out in detail, for each job you’re applying for, you can pick and choose the bullet points that correspond and are relevant to the specific job. When tailoring your resume, you may not want to list all your previous jobs, depending on how many years you’ve been working. If a previous job isn’t relevant to the job you’re applying for now, don’t list it. Next, you’ll want to go through the job description and pick and choose your relevant skills and experience that align with the role. You may want to rearrange and reorder your experience and skills to highlight the ones that the company is looking for by putting the most relevant skills at the top and adding in any additional bullet points if applicable.
Match Your Resume to the Job Description
Making even small tweaks to your resume wording can make a big impact. Hiring managers may be sorting through hundreds of resumes and are looking for applicants that have qualifications relevant to the job including specific keywords and phrases. Switching to the wording and language that’s listed on the job description will help you stand out. It can be helpful to print off the job description and highlight the responsibilities that are listed first, and the themes or keywords repeated throughout the job description. It’s important to see what the company wants and show that you will be able to perform the job duties from day one.
Review Thoroughly
Once you have the above completed, the final step is to thoroughly review and go over your tailored resume to make sure everything fits and makes sense. Print off your resume and lay it next to the job description. Go over it line by line and look at it through the eyes of the hiring manager. Will they be able to see why you’re interested in the role and what would make you the ideal candidate? You want to make it very clear that you have the skills and experience necessary for the job, so the hiring manager doesn’t second guess if you’d be a good fit. This will also help should you land an interview. You’ll have done a lot of the homework ahead of time and will be able to go into the interview with a clear understanding of the role and why you’d be a great fit.