Here is a mistake I see again and again. A student prepares one resume, makes fifty copies and sends it to every company. He thinks he is being efficient. In truth he is being careless.
In my book I say it clearly. Never send the same resume to all prospective employers. The facts can be the same, but depending on the job you apply for, different parts of your qualification and experience have to be emphasised. Sometimes you may have to play down a few features. In rare cases you may even omit something.
Step into the recruiter's shoes
Before you write or change anything, ask yourself what special abilities the person doing the hiring would want. Read the job advertisement again and again till you understand what each line really means.
Better still, if you know someone in that company, ask him about the job and what sort of people they want. Even if you know no one, you can call the HR department and ask what their actual needs are. Do not guess.
Use their words
Look for the key words in the job advertisement. Use the same words in your resume wherever they are true. Your qualification will then appear to fit the company's need.
This is useful for another reason. In the book I note that many employers use sorting software, which searches for key words. If your resume does not carry them, it may never be read. Do not take the risk.
For technical jobs, the book suggests a separate keyword line just after the career objective. For example, a technical writer could list HTML, XML, FrameMaker and MS-Office. Use the proper short designations for your earlier jobs too. It helps the search.
Highlight with skill
Skilful highlighting is the secret of a successful resume. My example is this. If you are applying for a job through a sports quota, mention every athletic achievement in detail. But if you are applying for a software engineer's job, there is no need to talk about hurdles you have jumped all your life.
The same goes for prizes. Do not clutter the page. Choose the best ones, and the ones related to the job. A debating prize may be important for a fresh law graduate. For an engineer with three years of work, it is not.
What if you lack a skill?
Suppose the job needs good communication skills and you are weak in them. Should you leave it out? The book says that you may list a skill you do not yet have, only if you are confident of acquiring it before the interview. Take a crash course. Practise. Because if you do not, you will be proved wrong in the interview room.
And this brings me to the golden rule.
Never lie
Everything above is about presentation. Choosing what to show first, what to shorten, what to leave out because it does not help. All of that is allowed. But you can never add a qualification you do not have, or invent a job you never did. Nobody wants to hire a liar.
Also, do not apply for a job that clearly does not suit your aptitude and experience. You can twist and turn the resume only so much. Remember, you cannot fool everybody all the time.
Do this today
- Pick one real job advertisement that interests you.
- Underline six or seven key words, such as skills, tools and responsibilities.
- Check your resume. Which words are already there? Which are true for you but missing? Add those.
- Move the most relevant item, an internship or a project, to the top of its section.
- Save the file with a clear name that carries your name and the job. Not "resume final 2.doc".
This takes thirty minutes. But the resume that reaches the recruiter will look like it was written for him. Because it was.
This is one chapter from my book Get That Dream Job.
