Learning to Customize Your Resume for Different Positions

Sending a generic resume is a sure-fire way to end up in the reject pile. Find out how to tailor your resume to the position.

Tempting though it might be, you shouldn’t start a job search by making hundreds of resume copies at your local print shop. Resumes are not, as they once were, just a bland chronological listing of your every job and qualification. They should be tailored to the particular job you want, with specific information emphasized in order to grab the hiring manager’s attention.

Resumes are like letters. You wouldn't write the same letter to your mother as you would to your girlfriend. So you shouldn’t send the same resume to IBM as you would to Lucent Technologies. They both want different things.”

Use the Job Description as a Guide : 


Students or employees with limited experience in a particular field use a reverse-chronological resume, with most recent jobs at the top and bullet points under each job heading. The bullet points should represent skills used in each position, and should be based on the requirements of the job you are applying for.

A job description will list the most important [responsibility] of the position at the beginning, That should also be your [first] bullet point.” If the job description is vague, research the company and the position to determine what skills the hiring manager is looking for. If you strike out on company research, talk to someone in a comparable position at a similar company.

Prepare Several Resumes for One Job : 
More experienced job seekers should consider using a chronological resume to get an interview, then offer a skills-based resume during the interview. The second version can highlight everything you weren't able to fit on the original resume.

Find Appropriate Keywords : 
Nowadays, a computer is more likely to scan your resume than a human. Many companies and recruiters are using computer-based automated tracking systems to quickly sort hundreds—or even thousands—of online and hard-copy resumes. Loading a resume with relevant keywords increases an applicant’s chances of getting hits, often the first step to obtaining an interview.

Keywords, generally nouns, are specific to each [job]—Java, records management, MBA. Without the powerful keywords, you're digitally dead,  Base your skills on research of the professional niche, industry and company.” However,  Don't claim skills you lack. Even in a wildly successful economy, liars get pink slips.

Remember the Basics : 


Even a perfectly customized resume is useless if the hiring manager can’t read it. Keep in mind that words in special type can change when scanned with optical-character-recognition software.

Try to find out in advance if the company to which you are applying uses such software. If it does, print your resume on white paper and don’t italicize, underline or boldface. “When companies scan resumes into an applicant-tracking system, [anything in special type] merges and looks like mush. Save the pretty version of your resume for the interview.