How To Tailor Your Resume To Impress Employers

Your resume says a lot about your previous work experience, which is why it’s vital to your job search. A common frustration among job seekers is the inability to get their resumes to pass through the applicant tracking system or ATS. This software program scans resumes to determine which applicants are the best fit for the job. One way to get past ATS is to use an ATS-friendly resume template. It also helps to use keywords that relate to the position you’re applying for. Here are more ways to tailor your resume to impress employers.

Show Results in Your Resume

Tailor your resume in such a way that you show results from your previous positions. It’s not enough to include adjectives about what kind of worker you are. Employers need to see the success you achieved. Stay away from passive language and use action words. Include numbers and data when discussing your achievements. You can write “Implemented a new social media strategy that increased engagement by 45% in three months.”

Tailor Your Resume To The Position You’re Applying For

Some job seekers create the same resume for all positions but this is a mistake. Create a different resume for each position you apply for. If you’re applying for a social media manager position, don’t send them the same resume you used when you applied for an administrative assistant position. Match your resume with the requirements of the position you’re applying for.

Highlight Your Uniqueness

Think about your achievements and strengths to come up with a profile that makes you different from other applicants. Maybe you can mention key technical skills and certifications such as CompTIA, data analysis, and cybersecurity. If you published scholarly articles that led to new medical discoveries, this would work well if you’re applying for a job as a nursing professor at a medical school.

Add Transferrable Skills

But what if this is your first job out of college or if you’re changing careers? Then you’ll need to include transferrable skills and work experience that relates to the job you’re applying for. If you worked in the customer service industry but want to work in sales, look for experiences and skills that transfer well into sales. Talk about the skills you gained in customer service such as upselling and cross-selling, customer relationship management, and conflict resolution with customers.

You can also include internships and volunteer work on your resume if you don’t have a lot of experience in the industry you want to work in. If you’re applying for a job as a TV station production assistant, include your internships at different radio and TV stations while in college. If you volunteered to help a local nonprofit create and maintain its’ Youtube channel, this should be on the resume too.

Include Leadership Roles

When you tailor your resume, include leadership roles you held since this is something that many employers look for in applicants. If you’re applying for a project management position, discuss how you successfully led a team of 10 writers, social media assistants, and editors to deliver ad campaigns for high-profile clients across various sectors. Talk about how you managed projects within budget and any awards or recognition you received as a result.

Don’t Forget About Soft Skills

Employers also value employees who have solid soft skills because these create a more harmonious and effective work environment. Communication, creativity, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and time management all matter when employees need to do their best on the job. Include examples of soft skills on your resume. Here are some examples of this:

• Collaborated with other department managers to deliver project updates and problems to the head project manager.
• Identified and solved software issues independently and quickly, reducing downtime by 50% and improving website performance
• Developed new marketing campaigns that increased revenue by 35% over the past month.

What About Employment Gaps?

It is possible to secure employment even with gaps in your resume. You’ll need to tailor your resume to factor in the years you weren’t working. One way to do this is to create a functional resume that explains these gaps. Be transparent about why you left the workforce. If you were out of work because you received certification training, mention this in the cover letter and also discuss ways you’re currently using these skills even if it’s not paid work. If you started a blog after getting certification in digital marketing, include this on your resume.

Improve Your Online Presence

Your resume isn’t just the one you type on Microsoft Word. You should also have an online presence to be noticed by recruiters and there are several ways to do it. Start by setting up a LinkedIn account and optimizing it. Use a professional image and a headline that emphasizes your professional identity and expertise. Use keywords that relate to the industry you work in and write a detailed summary of your work experience, certifications, and education. Another way to improve your online presence is to create a portfolio website of your work and content that highlights your industry expertise. Leave a link to this website on your LinkedIn profile.

Tap Into Your Network

If you’ve worked for many years and need assistance with your resume, tap into your network. These could be former managers, mentors, coworkers, relatives, and close friends who work in a similar industry as yourself. Tell them what you plan to do next and have them review your resume to see if it still looks great. Be open to their feedback. This feedback will help you tailor your resume better.

I’m Going From Self-Employed to Employed. What Do I Do?

If you were self-employed for a few years and are returning to a traditional job, here is how to tailor your resume to include your entrepreneurial experience. Focus on the skills and achievements from entrepreneurship that would transfer well to the position you’re applying for. How you would include self-employment on your resume is similar to how you would include your previous employment from traditional employment.

The job market isn’t the best right now, and it’s discouraging to apply for jobs and experience rejections. But with these tips, you’ll have a solid resume that can get you the right job.