Tailoring Your Resume

For each job you apply for, you need to rock your resume like a well-tailored suite!

I remember my mother had about 10 or more versions of her resume. I would ask, “Why do you need so many versions?” Her response, “I have to target my skills and qualifications to match the job I’m applying for.”

Sounded crazy to me then, but not now. My mother was of the era, where as long as you had a degree, you could get a good job. Even if you didn’t have a degree, you could still get a good job. Boy those were the times…oops, I’m sorry I reminisce like those were my times.

Any who, over the years, my mother collected a Bachelors in Psychology, plenty of customer service experience in the telecommunication industry from customer service representative, trainer and manager, then to a Masters in Instruction and Design and finally pursuing a Doctorial in Education. And some other stuff in between. Lots of jobs and many responsibilities to put on a resume, especially since two pages is pretty much the standard.

To tailor her resume, my mother would restructure her job responsibilities by adding or taking away and even totally changing the responsibilities so they read more like the job description of the position she applied. She would even go so far as to delete parts of her education or employment, if the job didn’t require such education or the prior employment didn’t add value. All so she wouldn’t show herself as being over qualified, but the perfect match.

Since this era lends itself to resume scanning, it is important to use as many key words or buzz words the employer is using in their job description. You may even want to go as far as looking the company up on the web and use terminology used to communicate the company’s mission or vision. You know, make them think you think the same way.

Covering your one year to many years of experience, your resume will need to fit the job, which you are applying. A general resume will get you general results. While a tailored resume will fit you and get you into all the right places.