Targeting Your Resume in Five Steps

You may have heard that targeting/tailoring/focusing your resume to a specific job is the key to landing an interview. But what does "targeting" really mean? And how can it be achieved?

Think about it this way: if you were applying to a Chinese-speaking position in Beijing, China, the hiring manager would expect your resume to be written in Chinese, right? If you applied using an English-language resume--even if it accurately described your capabilities, achievements and experiences--your application would probably be dismissed.



When applying to jobs, you need to speak the hiring manager's language. Every industry and business has its own "language"--the way industry insiders talk about the work that they do. Your targeted resume needs to be written in that language.

How can this be achieved? Follow the five steps below to get started.

1. Start with organization. The exceptional resume in any industry must be clean, concise and information-rich. Ensure that your information is formatted in a way that's easy to read (clearly labeled sections, streamlined fonts and tasteful, useful bolding/italicizing/underlining).
    
   When organizing the resume, be sure to make the most interesting content immediately accessible. For the critical top third of your document, include a dynamic personal value statement, summary of qualifications or career objective (Google these terms to learn more about them). Then, list your degree or experience. Experience can be broken up into sections of more and less relevance (i.e. when applying for government jobs, begin with a section titled "Government & Nonprofit Experience" that lists only those positions, with an "Other Experience" section below).
2. Read the job description (and then another, and another...). To learn the lingo of your employer and his/her industry, read multiple job descriptions--not just the one to which you're applying. As you read more job listings, you'll start noticing key words, skills and experiences that are common across job descriptions. Positions in education, for example, might focus on interpersonal skills, mentoring, lesson-planning, public speaking and teaching. Positions in media might focus on teamwork, writing/editing skills, published work and social media experience. And the list goes on. Studying the language makes you ready for step #3...
3. Rewrite your resume in the language of your industry. Translate that baby into Chinese! Take the keywords, skills and experiences contained within the desired job descriptions and incorporate them into your resume. Don't lie about or misrepresent your experience, but do highlight relevant experience by listing it in its own section or listing it as the first bullet point under a given position.
   
   You should also frame other experience so that it fits into the industry mold. Do this by focusing on transferable skills like teamwork, communication, analyzing information, managing projects or teams, etc.
4. Focus on achievements. Achievement is achievement, regardless of the industry in which you've attained it. Make sure that your resume tells the story of what you've accomplished, not just what you've done. If you've gotten five raises since you started your food service job, mention it! If you took on the work of two full-time staff while your co-worker was absent, mention it!
   
   Any time you've saved time or money, assisted a customer by going above and beyond or showed initiative to streamline a process, create a new system or build a new project--mention it on your resume. If you're having trouble determining what, exactly, you've accomplished, call up your supervisor or coworkers and ask them for insight.
5. Get an industry insider to read it. Of course Career Services can help, but finding someone working within your target industry to critique your resume gives you the insider's look at your document.
   
   If you don't have an inside contact handy, simply remove any indication of the job to which you're applying (like an objective that mentions the title by name) from the resume and ask a friend to look at it. Not knowing the types of jobs you're seeking, your friend should be able to identify at least the career family your resume is geared toward. If they say the resume reads "tech" when it should read "media", you know you'll need to go back to the drawing board.

This process isn't the easiest, so don't worry if it goes slowly at the beginning. But once you've tackled this key aspect of the job search, you'll be well on your way to job search success!

For more assistance with retooling and targeting your resume, visit the resume page of our website or contact Career Services at 512.245.2645.