3 Key Tips to Customize Your Resume
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In an era in which you can send off 100 resumes in just a few minutes, I’m always getting the question, “Do I have to customize my resume to each job application?” Sorry folks, but the answer is yes. Here are three ways to customize your resume each and every time.



Hiring managers get so many resumes that they will easily discard the resumes that don’t meet their specifications exactly. Fortunately, though, you don’t have to reinvent the resume wheel every time you apply for a new position. Follow these simple tips for a perfectly targeted resume.



#1: Match the language in the job description



Pluck out the keywords in the job description such as “initiative,” “teamwork,” and “creativity,” and intersperse these throughout a new version of your resume. The hiring organization’s applicant tracking system will zero in on your resume because it contains the words and phrases the system was instructed to look for.



#2: Remove irrelevant experience



If you are lucky enough to have a wealth of work experience and/or a long career, pick and choose the jobs you include in your customized resume. Your first job as a waiter, for instance, may not apply to a potential new role as an engineer—even if it taught you critical transferable skills. Remember, you want the hiring manager to be able to assess, in a few seconds, why you are a natural fit for the job based on your trajectory thus far.



#3: Put the requested skills front and center



Look again at the job description. What skills does the company say are must haves? Work your Microsoft Word magic and move your information around until those exact skills—and the results achieved through application of those skills—are listed first on your resume. This is especially important if you are seeking a new role that isn’t exactly like your last one, and a chronological presentation of your prior experience doesn’t make as much sense. (For instance, it’s in a different industry or type of organization.)