CUSTOMIZING RESUME

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

CUSTOMIZING RESUME
FREQUENT MISTAKES IN CUSTOMIZING
RESUMES
LAYOUT – UNDERSTANDI NG DIFFERENT
COMPANY’S REQUIREMEN T
DIGITIZING CAREER PO RTFOLIO

INTRODUCTION
When job-seeking, most people seek out
opportunities in one or two general areas of
employment consisting of hundreds of
different job titles. Customizing your
resume as if you were speaking to the
specific reader will increase your chances of
scoring initially in interview.
Customizing your resume for each
opportunity is not optional for most
professional jobs in the current job market.
Resume customization is becoming
important now because these are usually
stored in an employer’s resume database or
applicant tracking system (“ATS”).
In addition, several recent studies have
indicated that the human reviewer —
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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

if/when they do see your resume — will

spend fewer than 10 seconds looking at it
before deciding whether you are qualified
for the opportunity.

CUSTOMIZING RESUME –
OVERVIEW

• Your resume will pass the critical

keyword test: Do the right customization
(adding the appropriate keywords) so that
the employer’s ATS recognizes that you
are a fit with the job’s requirements. With
the right keywords for the opportunity
included in your resume, the ATS should
make your resume visible to the people
doing the resume screening.
• Your resume will impress the human
reviewer: This may be the biggest
challenge in the whole process, so far.
Once your resume passes through the
ATS and is seen by a human being, it
needs to show the human reviewer — in a
10 second scan — that you are qualified
for the job and deserve further
consideration.

FREQUENT MISTAKES IN CUSTOMIZING

RESUMES
CUSTOMIZATION IMPORTANCE

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

Many job seekers expend significant time

and energy fine-polishing their resumes,
wordsmithing the document until it is
“perfect.” They then make a huge mistake by
using that exact same resume for each job
application. Your resume is a living, fluid
document that should be customized for
each job application. Resume listing
specific needs, requirements makes the
best resume for a job application
The best resumes are built around the
specific needs, requirements and hiring
practices of the job at-hand.
● Customization helps you focus on the
employer’s specific needs
● Customization helps you pass applicant
tracking systems
● Customization shows you’re invested in
the opportunity

STEPS TO CUSTOMIZE A
RESUME

Customizing Resume according to Function

/ Job Role: Customizing your resume in 5
Quick Steps is as follows: -
1. Analyse the job description: Carefully
read the job description. Make note of:
• The job title used in the description
• The duties and responsibilities
• The specific requirements
• The location
Don’t waste your time applying if you don’t
meet at least 50 percent of the job’s
requirements.
Customize your resume “Target Job Title” or
“Objective” to match the job title in each
job description: Resume expert and author
Martin Yate recommends using a “Target Job

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

Title” at the top of your resume, below the

standard name and contact information. If
you want to be more traditional, you could
call it “Objective,” just do NOT use an old -
fashioned, meaningless, and keyword-less
objective
2. Customize your skills, as appropriate,
to match the terms used in the job
description: Job description: Advanced
knowledge of Microsoft applications
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required.
Ideally, assuming you do have t he skills
required, you would be smart to match the
reference in your resume with the terms used
in the job description.
Let’s assume that your resume currently
describes your Microsoft Office skills like
this:
Original resume: Proven expert in the use
of the entire Microsoft Office suite of
products.
Notice that the original resume lacks
important keywords which are included in
the job description. This could result in the
resume remaining in the ATS, never to be
seen by a human being. Recognizing this
problem, you could adjust your resume to
match the description:
3. Submitted resume: Advanced knowledge
of Microsoft Office applications - Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher,
OneNote, and Outlook.
This matches the language in your resume
with the language used in the description
and should help your resume pass the
keyword-matching requirements.
4. Highlight your matching skills in a
special section at the top of the
resume: Resume expert Martin Yate
recommends capturing the human
reviewer’s attention by clearly lining up
your experience with the requirements in
the job description in a section at the top
of your resume, below your contact
information and the “Target Job Titl e” or
“Objective,” labelled “Performance
Summary.” Other resume experts
recommend naming the section,
“Summary of Qualifications” or simply
“Summary.”

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

In that section, which needs to have only 3

to 5 bullets for most jobs, pick your
experiences or achievements that seem to
best match the most important requirements
in the job description. Or, the relevant
achievements you have that are most
impressive.
5. Confirm your location: The top of your
resume should indicate your location,
generally. Don’t publish your home or
work addresses on your resume but do
include a city, county, or other regional
term that fit with the job’s location. Use
your current location or, if you are trying
to relocate, your future location.
By including a location that fits with the
employer’s requirements, you are confirming
that you could be a good match. Employers
are usually sensitive to the location of the
job candidate in relation to the location of
the job. They prefer to hire someone who is
located near the job’s location.

COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID

IN A RESUME AND ITS FIX

1. Not Customizing Your Resume

When you’re applying to multiple jobs, it’s
tempting to use a generic, cookie -cutter
resume and blast it out everywhere you’re
applying to. But that strategy may end up
preventing your resume from getting in a
recruiter’s hands at all. “Most resumes are
reviewed electronically before a human sees
them,” shares career coach Jeanne Patti, and
if your resume doesn’t have the keywords
specified in the job description, it will likely
be overlooked by the software.

The Fix: It may be a pain to create a

customized resume for each company, but if

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

you’re truly interested in a position, it’s

worth it.

2. Focusing on Job Functions Over

Results
If your resume reads like the orig inal job
description you saw when you applied, it’s
time to spice it up.

The Fix: Instead of talking about the day -

to-day, describe the big picture impact you
had.

3. Including an Objective
If your college career counsellor ever told
you to put an objective like “Find an entry-
level position in marketing” at the top of
your resume, we’re giving you full
permission to disregard them.

The Fix: Don’t just say you want a job —

show recruiters why they should hire you for
the job with a professional summar y. “Think
of a professional summary as an
introduction to the novel about yourself. It
should allure the reader and entice him/her
with information that will make him/her
want to continue on reading to learn more.”

4. Poor Writing
When it comes to your re sume, your
experience and career accomplishments are
the most important, but how you present
that information comes in at a close second.
Spelling mistakes, clichés, and complex,
industry-specific jargon will all count
against you.

The Fix: “The easiest way to improve your

choice of words is to read your resume out
loud to yourself. This can catch many of the
potential issues before anyone else sees it.
Then, ask a friend or family member who
works in another industry to read it. If they
find your resume to be confusing, consider
updating the wording, so that it’s clearer.”

5. Leaving Out Social Media Links

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

“Many people aren’t using the presence of

social media to their advantage and use their
resume as a stand-alone document”. But in a
constantly connected world where being
transparent and informed is critical at every
stage of the hiring process, it only makes
sense to add links to your professional social
media profiles.

The Fix: Give another layer of depth to your

resume by linking to relevant, profess ional
social media links.

6. Telling Instead of Showing

It’s an age-old adage in writing: show, don’t
tell. When job seekers simply state how great
they are without providing any evidence,
they lose credibility in recruiters’ eyes. One
common way job seekers do this is by “using
buzzwords”.

The Fix: One common approach is the

STAR method — provide the situation, task,
action, and result of different initiatives you
have been involved in, making sure to
include specific information like metrics as
relevant.

LAYOUT – UNDERSTANDI NG DIFFERENT

COMPANY’S REQUIREMEN T
INDUSTRIES SPECIFIC RESUME
– OVERVIEW

All companies and all industries develop

unique priorities, language, and "ways of
doing things" as a natural response to the
challenges presented by the services they
provide or products they deliver.
Consequently, when you want to change your
industry sector as part of a strategic career
move, you and your resume should reflect an
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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

understanding of the new target industry's

issues and challenges

TACTICS TO IMPROVE RESUME

PERFORMANCE
(INDUSTRY SECIFIC)

Here are five important tactics that improve

resume performance:
• You must have a job-targeted resume
A resume describing all you have done is too
unfocused, especially for transition to a new
industry, and it won't get pulled from the
databases. Your resume must demonstrate a
clear match between your skills and
employers' stated needs for a specific job.
When your resume focuses on a single target
job and tells the story that best qualifies you
for that job, you directly respond to
employers' needs and your resume will
become a more productive marketing tool.

• Always use a Target Job Title

A clear Target Job Title, coming right after
your contact information, helps resume
performance in database searches and gives
the reader immediate focus: "Ah, this fits
the need I'm trying to fill."

• Replace Career Objective with a

Performance Profile
Replace what you want with the skills you
bring to your Target Job Title. Whenever
possible, use words and phrases common to
job postings from the target industry.

• Add a Professional Skills section

This is a list of keywords that describe your
hard skills. It makes your resume
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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

discoverable in database searches and tells a

recruiter that, "This person understands,
and has the tools, to do this job." This
section also tells you the keywords that need
to be repeated in the body of your resume to
put them in context and, of course, to
maximize database performance.

• The first page must tell the complete

story
A Target Job Title, followed by a
Performance Profile that addresses the
abilities employers in the new targe t
industry seek, followed by a Professional
Skills section, make a powerful first
impression and tell the reader that you can
do this job well before the details of your
industry experience are discussed.

DIGITIZING CAREER PO RTFOLIO

DIGITIZING RESUME –
OVERVIEW

The trickiest part of putting together your

digital resume is deciding how much
personal information you want to post on
the Internet. You need to present your work
history in a professional way, but you don’t
want to give identity thieves or spammers
too much personal information.
Here are a few pointers:

• Don’t include your physical address:

Consider spelling out your email address
(example: “yourname at domain.com”
instead of yourname@domain.com).
• Keep to the basics for your job listings:
company, job title and tenure. Long job
descriptions are distracting.
• Delete your “personal interest” section.
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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

• Try adding a "skills" section to highlig ht

your technological experience.
• Post the content of resume directly on
blog in an "About Me" section. Many
writers use these sections instead of a
traditional resume because potential
employers can quickly view their work
history without opening or downl oading
a new document.
• Before you start designing your digital
resume, take a few minutes to search the
Web for examples of what other writers
have done.

DO’S AND DON’TS IN A RESUME

You hear all the time about what you should

and shouldn’t do with your resume.
Customizing your resume is a great way to
show off your specific skills and talents.
Here are some do’s and don’ts for
customizing that resume.

1. DO tailor your resume to each job you

are applying to.
Be sure to really read the job des cription for
the job you are applying to. Don’t just send
the same generic resume to job after job.
Taking the time to tailor your resume to the
specific requirements of each job will help
your resume stand out from the pile.

2. DO showcase your talents and skills as

they relate to the job keywords.
Suzanne Lucas, in an article for CBS News,
makes a great point that, when customizing
your resume, “make your language match.”
This means make sure the language within
your resume matches the main keywords
from the job description. As Lucas notes,
“This is not lying. This is about careful word
choice.” This will help show the employer

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 CUSTOMIZING RESUME

you have the specific skills and work

experience they are looking for.

3. DO highlight your time in the armed

forces.
Be sure to highlight your time in the armed
forces on your resume but include how that
experience translates to what the employer
is looking for. Does the job require strong
leadership skills? Then showcase how your
time in the armed forces translates to strong
leadership skills.

4. DON’T fake credentials.

Faking credentials or lying on a resume is a
big-time don’t. The best course of action is
honesty. Your experience will speak for
itself.

5. DON’T send that resume on bright

neon green paper.
Customization is a great thing, but it can go
too far. Don’t send your resume on bright
neon green paper. Think professional,
sharp-looking and error-free. That will keep
your resume on the top of the stack.

6. DON’T rely on gimmicks.

Gimmicky resumes often turn off employer s.
Things such as crazy font sizes and weird
formatting will more than likely get your
resume tossed. Employers are looking for
easy-to-read, professional and to -the-point
resumes. Customizing your resume is a must
do when applying to jobs. Keep the
customization to highlighting your talents
and experience and away from the bright
neon paper in your printer.

MAKE SURE YOU REVISE

✓ TACTICS TO IMPROVE RESUME
PERFORMANCE
✓ DO’S AND DON’TS IN A RESUME
✓ STEPS FOR CUSTOMIZING RESUME

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