How *Exactly* Do I Customize My Resume?

You have likely seen the advice that you need to customize your resume for every job application.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you are seeing it now. Every. Single. Application.

It may seem like an incredible chore, but it is actually not all that bad, and it can be very empowering.

Your goal? Show recruiters and hiring managers that you have the right stuff to hit the ground running and make immediate contributions to their specific job.

Recruiters want to hire you, but they are very busy. You DON’T want to make them work too hard to see your value. And they DON’T want a resume stuffed with random keywords with no context. Customizing and providing context is how you make recruiters happy. Here is what one funny and generous recruiter has to say about keywords:

See below for the exact steps for how to optimize YOUR resume.

Is this just for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)?

No. The popularity of Applicant Tracking Systems jumpstarted a conversation about resume keywords and their importance, but recruiters now are pretty vocal about the fact that most resumes are reviewed by actual human beings, not just robots.

Here’s the thing…

Humans respond to keyword optimization too. Recruiters know what keywords they are looking for (they wrote the job posting!), and they want to see them quickly and easily. Help them!

Expand Your Document to Include ALL Relevant Resume Keywords

To make it easy to customize for a specific job, you need a Base Resume that has everything on there you have ever done, which will encompass a wide variety of resume keywords.

This is like having a closet full of clothes that you can pick and choose from to make the perfect outfit for a specific occasion.

You’ll want to include everything. By everything, I mean EVERYTHING:

• Every (even somewhat) relevant job.
• Everything you did in those jobs, with each bullet point focused on one function/task/accomplishment. As an example, I mean one bullet point on press releases, one bullet point on blog posts, and yet another on impression tracking.
• Every project, whether personal or from a job, if it is related to your profession.
• Every accomplishment from those experiences, no matter how “small.” If you have ever exceeded a goal, or gone above or beyond, employers want to know:

What have you achieved in the past few years that you would talk about in an interview?

What projects are you most proud of?

Where have you exceeded expectations?

How have you made an impact on your organization?

Take stock of your accomplishments, and don’t self-edit. Many women don’t even recognize their accomplishments because they were “just doing their job.” Women have a tough time articulating their achievements, but if you don’t, no one is going to do it for you. If you have access to past performance reviews, check them out. Think about how your workplace will be different after you are gone.

Once you have a list, provide detail for each achievement. You want the recruiter to understand YOUR  contribution. See the difference in the two statements below?

• Helped to increase the number of new donors vs. prior year (WEAK)
• Grew donor base by 20% and donations by 25% by implementing a cross-platform social media strategy highlighting our client success stories with user-generated content (UGC). (POWERFUL)

Make a point to track your future accomplishments. Also start saving those emails you get telling you what a great job you’ve done! Call it your Mood Booster file.   

• Every educational achievement (degrees, other training, online or in-person, all of it). If you have a Bachelor’s degree, include the full phrase “Bachelor of Arts in…” or Bachelor of Science in…” rather than BA or BS.
• Minors and concentrations.
• Educational awards and distinctions.
• Title of your thesis, if applicable.
• Relevant coursework if not obvious from your degree (e.g., you took coursework in Business Strategy although you were a Philosophy major).
• Every certification, again with the full title.
• Every licensure with the license number if applicable.

• Every concept or category you have developed skills in, such as digital marketing. These are what people call competencies (more broad than specific skills).
• Every specific skill, such as e-mail list management.
• Every software or technical tool, such as Mailchimp.
• Don’t forget to include MS Office and other skills you assume everyone has.

• If you are early in your career, you may have academic projects that are highly relevant.
• If you have done personal projects or side gigs that are relevant, include these as well.

• You may not state these explicitly on your resume, but take time to note professional skills (a.k.a. “soft” skills) and personal qualities that make you a strong applicant.
• Do you have a strong work ethic? Are you a persuasive communicator? Good at resolving conflict? Just note them here as a reminder to try to include them somewhere.
• They can be incorporated into a Summary or Profile section at the top, and woven in elsewhere.

Don’t worry about length, or formatting, for any of the above. You will never send this version of your resume to anyone, but you will use it to craft your laser-focused application for a specific job.

Reframe Your Concept of What a Resume Is

You might be thinking about this all wrong…

A resume is a billboard, not an obituary. It’s a marketing document to get an interview for a specific job, not a list of everything you have ever done. I have many clients that have trouble downplaying something on a resume because they are proud of that degree or that accomplishment. It’s understandable-those can represent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

But, if an experience is not relevant to the job you are applying for, it’s just getting in the way. You can still feel proud, but you are trying to make it EASY on the recruiter. You might include it, but leave off the details.

Figure Out Which Resume Keywords to Focus On

When creating advertising, companies first need to figure out what their consumer wants. No ad will be successful unless it resonates with the audience.

Fortunately, employers provide lots of clues in their job postings. A careful read is a MUST. I recommend going old-school, printing it out, and using a highlighter to capture words and phrases that seem important. This is also helpful because job postings can disappear overnight, and you’ll need to refer to it later when you LAND THAT INTERVIEW!

The words and phrases you’ve highlighted are the resume keywords you MUST incorporate.

If you know anything about SEO (search engine optimization), you’ll understand the concept of keyword matching. If an employer is looking for a public relations assistant, but your resume focuses primarily on your blog writing capabilities, they may not immediately see that you can write press releases just as well as blog posts.

If you have an inside contact you can get even better information about what they are really seeking, and raise your chances of getting an interview tremendously. Here are some other sources to explore to identify keywords.

In your Experience bullet points, provide examples, tell stories, and include keywords in context. A random list of keywords doesn’t let recruiters visualize how you might actually use those skills.

And don’t, under any circumstances, include keywords in white text at the bottom of your resume. It will only hurt you, big time.

Now that you KNOW what they want, how do you give it to them?

1. Open your Base Resume document. Save it under a new file name that incorporates your name and the company name (not just Resume2.docx!)
2. Review your Experiences. Do you have some that are related to the job, and others that are not very related? Consider splitting your Experience section into two sections, Related Experience and Additional Experience.
3. Start with your most recent related Experience. Delete any bullet points that are truly not relevant. Re-order the remaining bullet points in order of importance to the employer.
4. Do the same for other related Experiences.
5. Edit your Additional Experience section. You could include just the employer, your title, and dates.
6. Review your Skills section. Emphasize the important ones by moving to the top, bolding, or otherwise highlighting.
7. Review your Education section. Probably not many changes needed here.
8. Lastly, zoom back to the top and complete a Profile or Summary section. Think of the 2 or 3 key things you want this employer to know about your experience and capabilities. This is the place to really hit hard. In the example below, the applicant has other skills but highlighted the ones the employer expressly is seeking. Her work experiences detail how she has used her skills.

SUMMARY

• 4+ years of Digital Marketing experience across a wide range of clients from Fortune 100 manufacturers to military contractors.
• Special expertise in blogging, lead capture and management, and e-newsletter creation and management.
• Strong work ethic with a growth mindset; always seeking new professional development opportunities.
• WordPress | Convertkit | Adobe Suite | Trello

Need more help?

Learn more about how to create your Kickass Resume in this 42-page guide, plus get a bonus free resume template!