Everyone says you should tailor your resume to increase your chances of getting a job interview. But rarely does anyone explain HOW to actually tailor your resume. I’m a career coach and a writer — and I’m here to change that!
The goals for tailoring your resume
The first thing to know is that a resume is not the story of your life. It’s a strategic marketing tool to share just enough information to get an employer to want to interview you. This means you must shift your mindset from centering yourself (i.e. look at me and all the awesome things I’ve done) to centering the employer (i.e. here’s how you’ll benefit from these awesome things about me).
Your goals when tailoring your resume are to:
- Give an employer the information they want to know, and
- Do it in a way that’s easy to pick out and understand
So what do employers want to know? At this early stage of the hiring process, they want to know if you meet the basic requirements of the job and if it’s worth their time to book you in for an interview. More in-depth conversations will happen at later stages. For now, focus on creating a standout resume by tailoring it to the job description.
Two important steps before you can tailor your resume
Tailoring your resume means clearly showing how you can deliver on the requirements of a job. Accordingly, you need to have a clear understanding of what the requirements of the job are, and what you bring to a role.
On the job requirements side, carefully analyze the job description and look for things like:
- Common keywords that are repeated throughout the job description
- The difference between required skills/qualities versus nice-to-have ones
- People or teams that the role would interact with
- How the role fits into what the company does
- The company’s mission, vision, and values
On the personal side, take time to capture your past accomplishments and reflect on what you want moving forward. It doesn’t matter if you scribble thoughts in a notebook or organize information in a fancy electronic system. The main thing is to have a strong understanding of yourself.
TIP: Need help figuring your path forward? Go through the reflection questions in my free Job Search Assessment Workbook. Many people have shared that the workbook helped them expand their view of their current situations and clarify their job search goals.
Once you have the knowledge of what a job is looking for and what you offer, it’s time to actually tailor your resume.
Understanding resume screening
Speed is key for employers because every job opening receives dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of applications. To save time, many employers use Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software to pick out the resumes that will be reviewed more thoroughly. Even if a recruiter does this first pass, they’ll only scan each resume briefly before deciding which gets extra attention.
Whether it’s a robot or a human doing the screening, the goal is the same: to assess how well a resume matches a job description. To break it down even more, they scan resumes looking for important words and phrases from the job description.
Your goal as a job seeker is to show that match as obviously as possible, and that’s what everyone calls “tailoring your resume.”
How to actually tailor your resume with content and formatting
Here’s how to tailor the content of your resume:
- Insert keywords from the job description throughout your resume
- Describe past accomplishments that match the objectives of the new role
- Outline transferrable skills that prepare you for the responsibilities of the position
- Share examples of how you’ve worked in a similar team environment or work culture
- Highlight specific skills, tools, and specialized knowledge that are required for the role
- Include a summary section that describes your most unique selling points for the position
- Communicate a genuine interest in what the company does and showcase your values alignment
Content aside, formatting is also very important. When your resume is uncluttered, easy to skim, and pleasing to look at, you make life easier for busy hiring teams. This ease translates to a higher likelihood of them taking time to read everything you’ve written.
Here’s how to improve the formatting of your resume:
- Don’t use too many fonts, colors, and styles
- Keep formatting consistent throughout
- Place important information higher up
- Bold important keywords
- Use white space wisely
- Don’t repeat information
Ideally, your resume would be 1 to 2 pages long, unless you’re applying for a senior or academic position. Writing a short and efficient resume is highly doable when you learn to only focus on what employers want to know. By being purposeful about your content, and smart about your formatting, you’ll have a tailored resume that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd.
See resume tailoring in action
It’s easier to understand how resume content and formatting work together when you can see resume tailoring in action. That’s why I created the How to Tailor Your Resume course!
Learn how to:
- Analyze a job description to know what’s important to an employer
- Identify your most relevant experiences to include in your resume
- Organize information in a way that’s appealing to ATS and recruiters
- Use eye-catching details and intentional language to grab an employer’s attention
- Save time when you’re tailoring your resume for every job application
The course includes tangible examples, resume writing resources, and advice for leveraging technology to support your job search. It’s not as hard as you might think to start tailoring your resume and getting more interviews!
Consider additional strategies to maximize your chances of an interview
Tailoring your resume is very important, but it’s not the only thing that matters in your job search. Here are a few other things to consider:
- Are you applying to the roles that you are most suited for?
- Are you tailoring your cover letter?
- Are you effectively leveraging informational interviews and networking?
- Are you moving into a new field and need special strategies to get started?
- Are you asking for help?
Job searching is about much more than just your resume. The process can be challenging and lonely, but with the right data, strategy, mindset, and support, it’s only a matter of time before you find a fulfilling role.
I’m always here to support you on this journey. Combining my coaching and writing skills, I’ve helped hundreds of job seekers craft compelling job applications and progress their careers. Learn more about my career coaching service.
Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash
Crystal Lee, MPH, CPCC is a holistic career coach who helps mid-career professionals transform their work and life with clarity, confidence, and kindness. Let her know if you have a career question and join her newsletter to get the answer!
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