“Customizing” your resume simply means tailoring it to match a specific job description. Customizing is now a must because most large employers and recruiting companies store resumes in an ATS (applicant tracking system), which uses keywords to retrieve relevant resumes for specific jobs. Once a human reviewer pulls relevant resumes, studies show that they will spend fewer than 10 seconds looking at it before deciding whether or not you are qualified for the opportunity. There are two main reasons to customize:
To ensure your resume passes the critical keyword test.
You’ll add appropriate keywords so that the employer’s ATS recognizes that you are a fit with the job’s requirements. With the right keywords in your resume, the ATS should make your resume visible to the people doing the resume screening. And next, the biggest challenge:
To ensure your customized resume catches the reviewer’s eye.
Once your resume passes through the ATS, it needs to show the human reviewer — in a 10 second scan — that you are qualified for the job and deserve further consideration. But don’t be discouraged! Customizing does NOT mean a complete re-write of your resume. You’re just adding keywords to ensure a 10-second scan catches the employer’s eye.
- Analyze the job description.
In the job description, highlight the job title, the duties and responsibilities, the specific requirements, and the location of the job.
- Confirm your location.
Your name and contact information go at the top of your resume. For location, include a city, county, or a regional term, like “East Bay” or “Metro West,” that fit with the job’s location. Employers prefer to hire local candidates: a local candidate is more likely to stay in the job, to be on time, and won’t need an expensive relocation.
- Customize your resume’s “Target Job Title” or “Objective” to match the job title.
Below your contact information, add “Target Job Title” or “Objective.” Match this to the employer’s job title. Do NOT use a meaningless, keyword-less objective (e.g., “Achievement-driven, highly motivated administrative professional seeking challenging opportunity in a high-growth…”). Remember, you are trying to sail through the ATS keyword test to immediately make it clear to the reviewer that you want THIS job.
- Customize your skills, as appropriate, to match the terms used in the job description.
Match your resume to the terms used in the job description. Example:
Job description skill requirements: “Advanced knowledge of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required.”
Your resume before customization: “Proven expert in the use of the entire Microsoft Office suite of products.” Keywords included in the job description (“applications, Word, Excel, PowerPoint”) are missing. Your resume might not be picked up by the ATS, never to be seen by a human being.
Your customized resume: “Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, and Outlook. You’ve added terms that not only demonstrate your expertise, but also expand and clarify your qualifications. Now your resume will “hook” the ATS.
- Highlight your matching skills in a special section at the top of the resume.
Below the “Target Job Title,” include a section titled “Performance Summary.” (Use “Summary of Qualifications” or just “Summary” if you prefer.) Here, add three to five bullets) for your achievements or experiences that seem to best match the most important requirements in the job description. You can also include the relevant achievements you have that are most impressive.
Voilà!
Assuming that the job is appropriate for you, the rest of your resume probably needs little, if any, customization. The customization you have done for the top of the first page of your resume has probably not taken you very much time, but it should have a good payoff.