If you find it challenging to distinguish what to leave out and what to include in your resume, here are some tips to help you.
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Have you ever read a job post and discovered that you have so much experience and skill to do it but you don’t know how to tailor it to the needs of the recruiter?
This is true for people who have advanced in their careers and are looking to make a move for various reasons. Often when successful people move from their flourishing career to take on another challenge, it’s because they are seeking growth.
Hitting a plateau on one’s growth curve is easy if you keep doing the same thing routinely. Therefore, a new environment, new team, and new challenges force you out of your comfort zone. And new challenges come with revitalized inspiration and motivation.
There are different people I know who have a lot to give because they have been posting impressive results. But I hear them say that they don’t know how to package it for potential employers. The challenge usually is distinguishing what to leave out and what to include. Here are some tips you can employ:
Solve the employer’s needs
Every time a company posts a vacancy, there is a problem that they want the next hire to help them solve. It is prudent for you as a job seeker therefore to read that job description and see beyond the position that this employer intends to fill.
One of the most important things you can do is to research the company even before you apply. Look at their website keenly, their social media channels, their products, and their clientele.
With that background information, you’ll be able to get the context of that vacancy. For instance, it might be a sales position. But in the grand scheme of things, the company is looking to expand into a different market and you as a sales professional will boost sales in these new markets.
Trim your knowledge and skills
Even if you have a wealth of experience, how can you tailor your knowledge and skills to meet the needs that the employer has? That is why career experts at Learn How to Become say that you don’t need to include everything you’ve done in a resume.
Only take the relevant skills you have and include them in the CV because it will go through different checks. One of those checks will be the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
The ATS software is used by hiring managers to sift out resumes that don’t meet the criteria or have the appropriate requirements for the job. That is why you need to be very job-specific and accurate in your application. You’ll be penalized for being general. It behooves you therefore to study a job vacancy slowly and get the meat of what your next employer wants.
Some experts also advise that you study similar job posts in other industries and furnish your mind with key details. It takes time, yes, but getting it right needs an intentional investment in effort and time.
One of the things that you need to pay close attention to is the keywords that feature prominently in the job posting. The right use of keywords can help you get past ATS. ATS is a sieve used to save time and the arduous task of pairing resumes with job descriptions.
In light of this, there are important things that you should note.
Format your resume properly and have enough keywords for it to make it to a human recruiter. Keyword deficit could cost you more than a mediocre creative design. Remember, the software doesn’t appreciate creative or graphic design therefore no matter how beautiful your resume is, keywords are king.
According to Johnson, many ATS systems delete over 75% of resumes due to formatting errors and/or lack of keywords.
How to identify keywords
Pay attention to skill sets and industry knowledge
Look out for descriptions such as team player, self-driven, leader, and others which you can include in your application. There are industry-related skills like backend developers, database managers, User Experience, etc. Add this to your description at the beginning of your resume.
Don’t staff keywords to beat the software
For example, when it comes to Search Engine Optimization, writers think that they can outsmart the Google algorithm by having too many keywords that aren’t even congruent with the grammar. What happens is that these algorithms have been developed to be smart enough to read and understand the context.
In your description, you need to be sensitive to basics such as grammar and flow. Because even if you manage to go past the ATS, your resume will still land in the hands of a human recruiter and they will dismiss you based on grammar.
Therefore, figure out the most appropriate words that will fit your context in a seamless yet beautiful way.
Understand the recruiter’s mindset
If you pass the ATS hurdle, your resume will be reviewed by the hiring manager who probably wrote that job description. These recruiters usually have an in-depth understanding of the requirements for the job. Even if they didn’t write the description, they could have been part of the team that came up with that posting.
That means you should be able to outshine other applicants because you have much more to offer. As much as you should maintain fidelity to the job description, you can also show how you will go above and beyond.
It’s all about standing out as the best fit candidate for the job. Therefore, you shouldn’t hold back on suggesting better ways of handling the tasks by even citing examples.
But most importantly, when you analyze the job description and you realize that they are stressing certain aspects, tailor your resume to that. If they want a team lead who is also a team player, cite examples in your experience where you showed leadership and also thrived as a team player.
Experts advise that you research the company and look if they have a company-wide initiative that relates to something you have ever done in the course of your career. Additionally, if the company has a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive that they engage in, show how you volunteered in your resume.
Not every job is yours
I once had a conversation with a friend of mine who’s been working in the talent industry. He was looking for a job and I gave him a couple of suggestions. He surprised me when he said that he is not applying for every job there is on the internet. He was very specific about the kind of job he wanted.
Eventually, though it took time, he did get a very good job that fit him like a fitting suit. One of the principles that successful freelancers always know is that you should not apply for every job on the freelancer platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr.
You always need to sort through the many vacancies and only apply for the ones that best fit your skills, personality, and experience. Always prioritize quality over quantity. If it does take time, don’t give up because once your opportunity finds you, it will be the best of the best. They say good things come to those who wait.
In conclusion
One of the ways you can tailor your resume to the needs of an employer while factoring in keywords is by adding some sections to your resume. For example, you can fuse them nicely in your introduction or summary. Another thing that resume experts advise is having a skills or core qualification section.
The essence of having an introduction that has the right keywords is showing that you understand the job description. Secondly, having a core skills section creates space for you to marry your experience and skills with the needs an employer has.
In such circumstances be strategic and apply the less is more principle. Don’t include everything you’ve done but only what the employer needs. Your extra will act as a bonus when you land an interview.
