Not Customizing Your Resume? You're Sabotaging Your Job Search

John Krautzel
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Don't destroy your chances at securing new job by failing to customize your resume. Customizing your resume shows that you put in genuine effort to get the job. Consider how you can tailor your resume to claim the position you seek.

Create a Different Resume For Each Position

If you create a basic resume to send to every company you apply to, you are likely to sabotage your job search. Prime job candidates understand the importance of having an original resume with each application, and they are often rewarded with employment offers. Create a unique resume for each position to make the best impression. Every employer has different requirements, qualifications and company values; the information you place on one resume to stand out may be trivial to another employer.

Make a Targeted Objective Statement

Adding a general objective statement does nothing to help your stand out as the perfect candidate for the job. If you want to customize your resume effectively, use a targeted objective statement to sell yourself for the position. Clearly state the job opportunity you are applying for with the company. Describe your work style using adjectives, and share how you can contribute to the workforce.

Highlight Your Best Immediately

Many hiring managers look at each resume for less than 10 seconds, so it is important to find a way to stand out quickly. The introductory portion of your resume is likely to be read first, so customize your resume by highlight your best skills, highest achievements and most relevant experience at the top of your resume. Use bullet points to list specific skills and achievements of importance in an organized, easy-to-read format. Share information that shows how you are a good fit for the position, and the hiring manager may feel compelled to read on and learn more about you in-person.

Include Compatible Keywords

In an age of mass technology, employers are using applicant tracking systems to avoid poor job candidates. Job seekers who fail to include compatible keywords on their resume often find themselves at the bottom of the hiring list. When you customize your resume to include keywords and phrases, you give your resume an excellent chance of sailing through the clutches of the applicant tracking system and getting noticed by a hiring manager. Examine the job description and company website to devise the best keywords to optimize your resume.

Do not complicate your employment efforts by offering a humdrum resume to companies of interest. Research the company to reveal clues about what the company's human resource division is seeking in an ideal employee. Ask an academic professional to review your work for errors so you can better customize your resume. If you dedicate the time to customize your resume, you can improve your chances at making a solid impression with any type of employer.


Photo courtesy of Orange Resume at Flickr.com

 
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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Clay thanks for following up. It may seem outrageous to you that companies post dummy jobs just to get resumes but they have been doing this for years - nothing new here. Personally it has worked in my favor in the past where I applied for a dummy position and they had my resume on file when they needed someone with my background and skills. So it works both way. It is unfortunate that ATS took off as well as it did and more and more companies are using it. All I can recommend is that you do the best you can to identify the specific keywords and use them as much as possible within context of course. From a company standpoint, the ATS makes sense because they want someone who has really taken the time to read the job posting and is applying based upon that posting because this is who the company is seeking. So many applicants just apply for anything and everything - finding a job is all they are thinking. Unfortunately that does not help them as they will be disqualified - waste of time. As job seekers we spend a lot of time researching and reviewing job postings so why not make every second count by sending an applicable resume. We get thank yous every day from job seekers who have found a job through our site. So please keep the faith.

  • Clay Kline
    Clay Kline •

    Nancy, I appreciate all your comments but there is definitely something amiss with the hiring process of today. I don't know what the solution is but I know that for job seekers the ATS deck is stacked against them. Also I think it is outrageous to post jobs just to "build up their resumes on file.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Craig and @Clay thanks for your comments. Many times a company will "post a job" just to build up their bank of resumes - no actual job is available. This way, when a position does open, they have resumes to pull up and they can cut their hiring time. Actually this does work as I am one of those people who got the "we will keep your resume on file" message but was contacted a few months later. Of course companies take a chance on whether the best applicant will still be available. So yes it does work. It is true that although technology is great, the human aspect of the job hunt can't be replaced. It is truly unfortunate that most companies today use ATS. However, put yourself in their shoes. They post one job for say a general clerk and they receive thousands of resumes a day for this position. In that cache of resumes you will have people with PhDs looking for a job - willing to do anything. @Craig, the typical timeframe for keeping your resume on file is 6 months. As for the rest of your remark, unfortunately, people still do not know about using the right keywords and their role. You would be amazed at some of the resumes that are input by job seekers. Remember, you can always respond back to the company and ask how long they will keep your resume on file. One word of caution here - don't inundate a company with many resumes. One resume is enough. Sending more than one will just have them discard all of your attempts. That is why we stress keeping good records of the jobs you have applied for so that you can follow up and also so that you can make sure that you are not duplicating your efforts. Best of luck in your job search!

  • Clay Kline
    Clay Kline •

    The "We will keep your resume on file" shtick has never landed me a job. If ATS didn't like me the first time (that it didn't read me), why would it keep me in mind for another job? Technology is great but sometimes being human just can't be replaced.

  • Craig K.
    Craig K. •

    Re - your 9/4 comment - I would say that "countless plus" individuals never again hear from a company that has said "we will keep your resume on file". No longer do most of them say how long "on file" means. People know about key words and their role

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    Thanks everyone for your enlightening comments. First of all, please take note that Beyond is not an agency nor are we recruiters. We simply post jobs for you to review and then apply for, if qualified. Secondly it is true that your resume only has a few seconds to make that good impression. Most companies today use applicant tracking software to "review" the resume. If your resume does not have the keywords in it that were contained within the posting, then it does not get before a hiring manager. Even though the economy is starting to recover, hiring managers are still inundated with resumes. They simply do not have the time to review a thousand resumes a day for one position which is why they use ATS. I know it doesn't seem fair that you spend all of that time reviewing companies and making sure that you have the best resume only to have it reviewed by a software program. However, it's not all a waste. Most companies will keep your resume on file for at least six months so that if another position opens up, they already have your information. We have heard from countless job seekers who say that they got a job based upon a resume that they sent months ago. So never give up hope!

  • WILLIAM R.
    WILLIAM R. •

    "The introductory portion of your resume is likely to be read first, so customize your resume by highlight your best skills, highest achievements and most relevant experience at the top of your resume." - Grammatical errors and spelling mistakes on a resume will almost certainly preclude your candidacy when seeking employment as a professional. If you, Mr. Krautzel, would be bold enough to offer career advice to professionals, please proofread and edit your own work to ensure that the advice you give would pass the test we all must pass when submitting a resume. Perhaps then, professionals will heed some of the good advice you have to offer.

  • Eddie B.
    Eddie B. •

    "Do not complicate your employment efforts by offering a humdrum resume to companies of interest." But you speak to spending hours to create tailored resumes for temp jobs? Clearly you are the one that asks for a resume, when the reason you called was because you saw a posted resume and dare us to figure out which one you saw so you and people like you can spend 10 seconds then call your frat bro and offer them a job. You need help pulling the broom stick out!

  • Confidential U.
    Confidential U. •

    Vincent P
    10 seconds to look at a resume? These individuals are in the position to determine an adult's livlihood and they cannot read a resume? I understand the crafting of a resume but if they are only going to look at it for 10 seconds, what's the point? I have been a manager in charge of hiring individuals and I have been in Sourcing and I would NEVER disrespect a potential employee by not spending the TIME to review their credentials! No wonder so many people are dropping out of the job market... they are frustrated and tired of the lack of professionalism. I promised myself that I will report what is going on in the job market to someone who can actually use their platform to expose what these "gatekeepers" and "hiring managers" are doing to make people frustrated, feel like they do not have any skills, and bring more hardtimes and despair to families around the country. THIS IS NOT RIGHT! An agency suppose to represent both the employer and potential employee and work with them in regards to their resume, make suggestions on skills they need to acquire for specific positions, and other assistance. Not, "...send me your resume" and someone looks at the document for 10 seconds and toss it!

  • Troy A.
    Troy A. •

    Wow, Mr. Cline. If all you got is a seasonal position after all that trouble, what are the chances for the rest of us? Don't feel too bad, all I could get and keep was a real part time position at a banquet hall, frequently going for a month or more with no work!

  • Clay Kline
    Clay Kline •

    All that being said and out of 150 positions I have applied for I've had about 5 interviews and secured 1 seasonal position (I want a full-time year-round job). My conclusion...Basically they like you and your credentials are they don't

  • Clay Kline
    Clay Kline •

    Here's what I have done:I have labored for hours doing research, customizing for each position, created traditional resumes that tout my accomplishments and show statistics, created human-voiced resumes that really show my personality, along with my accomplishments, snail mailed resumes directly to the hiring manager instead of the HR "black hole"

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Caroline thanks for the advice. Obviously you work in HR and we certainly appreciate the feedback. On the issue of photos - I still think that is an individual call. In today's world, if you want to see what a job seeker looks like, you can find them on Facebook or Twitter or other social media sites so it's kind of hard to hide it now. I do agree with the copy/paste though. We try to emphasize that all of the time. @Craig thanks for your comments. We are working on the option to allow more than one resume as well as adding more than one cover letter. This way you would have the opportunity to tailor the resume and cover letter for the position. Stay tuned.

  • Carolina W.
    Carolina W. •

    Please do not include photos, unless you are applying for a Modeling job or are in the creative advertising arena. Photos are more commonly used in european countries, not in the west. Specially if the photo was not done by a professional photograper. To me it doesn't elevate the resume any further by seeing a photo that might of been taken 10 years ago.

  • Carolina W.
    Carolina W. •

    As a former Corporate Recruiter, resumes that looked like they were copied and pasted from a template is definitely a turn off/disservice to you and the potential employer. Those would automatically will go in my "not pursuing pile". The resume should be strong enough, concise to make the employer want to make that initial call to discuss skills and qualifications further.

  • Frederick N.
    Frederick N. •

    The majority of resumes a company receives are tailored to the position. So, the advantage of tailoring a resume is somewhat moot.

  • Craig K.
    Craig K. •

    I take it this means that places like Beyond will stop asking for resumes on their site since tailored resumes are important? If you apply for multiple jobs at the same company, does this mean going onsite, deleting the older resume, and putting in the current one? Can't the cover letter (devil's advocate question) be where you tailor the differentiators?

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Marta the question of whether to include a photo or not is a personal one. However, in today's social media world, it's hard not to have a photo of you somewhere - Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn and so on. So, unless you are living under a rock, the employer is going to see what you look like. I would prefer that they see a professional photo of me rather than one a friend took at a party and plastered all over the Internet! But it's an individual choice and there's no right or wrong. @John, it can be difficult to maintain more than one resume but trying to submit a generic one is not a good idea. The reason that you want to customize your resume per job is because you want to capture as many keywords as you can from the job posting and input them into your resume. Not doing this means that you are not getting past the company's ATS. From experience, a good way to keep track is to create the resume and then name it Company ABCRoleJohn Cerny. This way, when you get the call from Company ABC, it will be easy to find the resume and be on the same page when you are talking with them. @Rebecca, the objective statement is a personal decision. Some companies still request it but most feel the same way that you do that it's not necessary any longer. Using a headline and a quick summary is probably more common in today's job market. But I would never tell a prospective job seeker not to use an objective statement if they so choose. Thanks for all of the great comments and we wish you the best.

  • REBECCA C.
    REBECCA C. •

    Do people really have Objective Statements these days? When I was in a hiring role and reviewed resumes the Objective Statements did nothing to enhance a persons chances at being hired. As far as I'm concerned, and from what I have been reading for years, Objective statements should be eliminated from resumes all-together. Include a Headline, summary of your accomplishments, and use the cover letter to get a bit more into the specific job and how you fit. Resumes have limited space and you need to capture the attention of the reader - an Objective Statement takes away from your opportunity to do so.

  • John Cerny
    John Cerny •

    Thanks for writing this article. However, I'm sure you realize that having multiple resumes is contrary to what many other career professionals have told me. Customizing seems very hard to keep organized, i.e. what if you sent one resume to person A and a different resume to person B, and those two spoke with each other, since HR gets involved. If you have two different resumes, it makes you look like you are desperate for a position

  • Marta A.
    Marta A. •

    Interesting to know.... I have asked several individuals regarding adding a photo to the resume and their answer was... "this is not a good idea". It does make sense that Recruiters will visit LinkedIn for a candidates profile for additional information. I welcome other comments and recommendations. Thank you.

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