Have you ever applied for jobs, attended interviews and nothing panned out? You probably know that by now you should tailor your resume to a specific job description that is advertised.
I know, you think listing all the things you have done since you started working is a good idea. Yes I know you want to look impressive; but guess what? You actually don’t and that ‘give them all’ strategy does not work.
Employers look for people who fit in the job position they are offering, not people that have done a million things that are not relevant to the job.
So do not say much, say what is needed. And this is how you pimp your resume
Mirror your resume to the needs of the company
A job description tells you what the company needs and then tailor your resume to that. Whether it be the skills that you possess and what you have done previously that can mirror their need and fill the gap.
Look at the responsibilities mentioned, requirements and qualifications and point out how you are qualified to fill those.
Match your resume content with the job description
Now that you understand a bit about what the company wants, look at your resume.
You want to tailor your resume to the job description, starting by matching the most important things on the job description with the most visible areas on your resume.
Make the first few bullet points under each previous job on your resume as relevant as possible. Your resume employment history is one of the first places recruiters and hiring managers look at, so it’s one of the most important areas to tailor!
If the job description emphasized leadership, don’t talk about all your individual accomplishments first. Instead, put a bullet point that mentions any leading you’ve done… taking the lead on projects, training, supervising others. No matter how small, find a way to demonstrate leadership!
Provide compelling evidence
You have to highlight the evidence that shows you are fit for the job, this can be done by showing what you have done that is similar.
