Customizing Resumes and Cover Letters
With the tight state of the job market, a cookie cutter all-purpose resume just won't cut it anymore. The key to increasing your chances of scoring an interview is taking the time to customize your resume and cover letter every time you apply for a position. Yes, it is more time consuming but if you don't take this extra step, you're likely wasting your time since an all-purpose resume will just get lost in the sea of all the other applicants all-purpose resumes!
The main goal of the customized resume and cover letter is three-fold: to clearly show how your qualifications meet the job's requirements; to choose words that persuade the hiring manager to want to interview you; and to highlight your strengths and downplay your weaknesses.
The following is a how-to guide on customizing your resume and cover letter:
RESUME
While there are certain characteristics that must be included on every resume, there are many opportunities to customize your resume to the position for which you are applying.
First, begin by creating the basics for your resume, starting with your name and complete contact information.
Next, create a targeted and specific objective statement. This will be one of the main places on your resume where you can effectively customize and tailor the statement to reflect the specific position for which you are applying. For example, say you are applying for a sales position in the medical or pharmaceutical industry and you're just a few years out of college. A good objective statement might read something like this: "Seeking to employ my sales and marketing experience within the medical industry in conjunction with my education in mass communications and public relations to obtain a sales position in a medical or pharmaceutical based organization to develop and maintain profitable relationships, foster enthusiastic customer relationships and gain further experience in consultative sales practices in the medical industry". This one statement summarizes the applicant's experience, ideal position and major skills areas as they apply to the position.
Following the objective statement, you may want to add a career summary section where you can list applicable achievements that show why you're the best candidate for the job. This section could include sales records, awards, being named employee of the year or anything special that sets you apart from other applicants and is relevant to the job you are applying for.
Listing your career experience is next and you should list job responsibilities and achievements for each of your previous positions that again are most applicable to the position for which you are applying. Certain job skills are desirable in any position, so those may stay the same across the board. Focus on providing hard facts and figures for how you excelled in your previous positions versus simply listing your job responsibilities. The former will reflect more on how well you met and exceeded your employers' expectations. (Tip: When listing your career experience, begin with your most recent position and work backwards. Always list the month and year when disclosing the dates you were employed in each position. Just listing the year signals the employer that you may be trying to hide gaps in employment. It is better to be upfront and be prepared to provide good explanations for gaps in employment than to omit information).
Then create a section on programs and skills. Here you will list the computer programs you are proficient in and a summary of your major skills areas. While listing these items, keep in mind the requirements of the job you are applying for and show how you meet those requirements with your qualifications.
Finally, list your education at the end of the resume. Unless you have just graduated college, job experience begins to take precedence over your education, so this is why education should be listed at the end of your resume.
COVER LETTER
The easiest way to show you how to create a customizable cover letter is to provide you with a template. As a professional resume writer, I always create a customizable cover letter for each of my clients and stress how important it is to customize the letter each time you apply for a position.
[Name][Address][City, State Zip][Phone][Email]
[Date]
[Company Name]Re: [Title of position you are applying for]
Dear Sir/Ms. [add the hiring manager's name if it all possible],
My professional experience and [____ background-use the industry that is most appropriate for position you are applying for, for example "sales" or "educational" background] background make me a great candidate for the [title of position you are applying for] position for which you are seeking to fill.
Highlights of reasons why I will be a great asset to your organization are:[Provide a bulleted list of reasons here. You may be able to use the list of achievements you created in your resume and highlight them here].
As my resume reveals, I have taken on ever-increasing levels of responsibility in [list applicable industry or industries here] since beginning my career. Consistently meeting and exceeding my employers' expectations has prepared me for the [title of position] position.
[You may want to add a few customized details here each time you apply to a position explaining how you meet the qualifications they are seeking with most companies list in the help wanted ad].
I look forward to the opportunity of meeting with you to discuss my credentials and qualification in greater detail, since this letter only briefly highlights my experience. I will contact you next week to do so. I appreciate your time and consideration.
Thank you,[Your Name]
The bottom line is to customize your resume and cover letter each and every time you apply for a position for the best chance at scoring an interview.
