Do you already have a general resume that you use for everything that you apply for? Are you not sure how you can modify or add to your existing resume for a particular job that you are applying for—maybe your dream job? Well follow these specific tips to contour your resume to the job that you want. Hopefully, it’s a dream job that you can get by following these specific tips.
Do your homework about the job
Do extensive research on the company to which you are applying. Go beyond what anyone else would do and gain something new and insightful that you could not have gotten off of the add they put out for the opening. Find out exactly what the company is like, how it is ran, who is in charge, and what kind of people seem to work there. Pay attention to the background, skils, and qualifications those higher up and those at the ground level. Pay even closer attention to the commonalities between each employee to give you an idea of what kind of people they hire and what kind of people they chose not to. Now go back to your resume and attempt to mimic these qualifications. Do not copy word for word. But modify what you have so that you fit the company’s image as much as you can.
Research Industry Buzz Words and Use them
Every industry and field has “buzz words.” Words that everyone knows and uses within the field. For example, in the field of education buzzwords include: “standardized testing, differentiation, direct instruction, cooperative learning, etc.” Often times these buzz words are just synonyms for words that are used elsewhere. After you have a list of these buzz words at hand, go back to your resume and edit and revise to include these buzz words, or allude to them if including them seems too obvious. For example, if you were applying for a teaching job with experiences of a coach, do not say that you were a “basketball coach for girls ages 5-18” say that you were a “basketball coach for girls of varying ages, abilities, and needs.”
Find out what a typical applicant for the job is and what/she has for qualifications?
This becomes particularly useful for career changers who are applying to a new job against others who likely are already experienced in the field. It is important to see what the competition offers for various reasons. First, by examining the qualifications of your “enemy” you can see what qualifications that you share with them or qualifications that you have that are just like the ones they do. This way you will not lack any basic qualification an employer is looking for. Also, you can use this as an opportunity to separate yourself from the crowd of other applicants. Here, you can show how your experiences are different than other applicants and that you bring something new and fresh to the table that they do not.
