Customize your resume to get the job: 5/19/15

KUSI Newsroom,
Posted:

KUSI Newsroom

(Susan P Joyce, LINKEDIN.COM) – Customizing your resume – or application – to each opportunity is NOT as big an obstacle as it sounds, especially if you’re not sending out hundreds of resumes a week (don’t!). And, these days, submitting an un-customized resume is usually a waste of your time.

Take a few minutes to analyze the keywords used in the job description, and include those specific words and phrases in your resume or application.

Look at the requirements in the job description:

  • What are the exact words are used to describe the requirements?
  • Do you meet those requirements or come close to meeting them?
  • If the terms are appropriate for you, add those terms to your resume.
  • Include the experience or qualifications that are relevant to the job (not your whole work history).

Don’t worry if your resume goes from one page to two pages, or from two pages to three pages. Few resumes are printed these days (very few!), so it doesn’t really matter now.

In our example in # 3 above, the job seeker could have added the term, “including LinkedIn Groups” to the statement about “social media communities” in the resume that was submitted. Then, the resume would have been found in a search of the ATS on the term “LinkedIn Groups.”

Without those words added, the resume submission was a waste of time because the resume would not be seen.

For details, read:

When possible, avoid the online application process, at least as your first approach to a hiring manager. Yes, this means “networking” (preferably being referred by an existing employee) or approaching the employer differently, perhaps offline. 

Categories: Job Tips with Phil Blair