A little fact: When you send your resume across to a hiring manager, the first thing he/she wishes to see in your resume are some hints that tell the employer that you get what the role is all about. There should be more to your resume that just your background, accomplishments and hard skills. The employer when looks at your resume should know that the resume belongs to a professional and this person will strive hard to get things done that are required for this position.
Sounds like a lot of work? Doesn’t it?
Well no! It is quite manageable. Here is how you should be going about tailoring your resume.
Read the Job Description Thoroughly of the Job you are applying to
You might think that it is pretty obvious that you will read the job you are applying to before hitting that apply button. Firstly take out a print of the job description and then sit down with a highlighter. Go through and highlight whatever you think is important. Gather keywords and other points that you think you could connect your skills and competencies with.
This is the first step! After all you need to know all the gigs before you start tailoring your resume.
Make the Relevant First Point
Now when you have the knowledge of what the hiring manager is looking for, in your resume look for the experience that would immediately make him/her interested in your profile. Rework and put this experience on top. It could be your present job, or any certifications that you might have done or any freelance or volunteer work. Whatever it is, it should be placed on first position of your resume.
Remember, there is no rule that the most recent should take the first position. Tailoring your resume for a specific job means that finding the most relevant and placing it at a place that it works right for you.
For example, if you are targeting a social media marketing job and have done an internship in the same, you can add a section to your resume as “Social Media Marketing Experience” and putting the rest in the “Additional Experience” section.
Now, Revamp Everything Else
Now that the most relevant experience has taken the top most place, doesn’t mean that everything else should be on hold. It means that now you have to pull out the relevant parts of those experience in bullets.
When you are studying the job description, it is for sure that skills such as ability to work with a team, communication skills and some other skills are also listed. So you might not be able to relate your additional experience directly to the job, but you can always communicate the listed skills using examples from your experience.
Check If Your Resume is making it Clear Why Are You Applying?
Finally it is time to assess quickly if you have tailored your resume successfully or not. You can use a mentor, a friend or someone who is a professional resume writer and ask what can they judge when they read your resume. If you get a positive feedback, go ahead and use the resume to apply for the job. And, if not it is advisable to go through the points again. In case you still have trouble you can use professional resume writing services to make a resume that can easily be tailored according to the need of the job.
At times there is not much you can do. If you are making a career change with no relevant experience in the past, you might want to use an objective statement to make your point clear.
In the End
Tailoring your resume might not be the most important part of your job search but definitely is one of the most important steps. With the competition present in the market, you have to take this effort to stand different from all. It might take some extra effort and time but it is all worth it.
Author Bio
Akansha Arora is a professional writer and blogger who loves to pen down her views on a number of topics that interest a reader. She writes keeping in mind the current scenarios and wishes to keep her readers well informed. You can follow her on google.com/+AkanshaArora2112
