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Tailoring your resume for a job applicationEvery employer is different.Every job is different. If a job application and resume are to have the greatest impact on an employer, they need to be tailored for the situation you use it in. To do this well, you need to: a/ Understand the nature of the job you are applying for b/ Make some intelligent assumptions about what the employer will be looking for c/ Make some intelligent assumptions about what your competition will be presenting. Put yourself in the Employers Position Match your characteristics to the essentials and desirables, of the employer. When large numbers of people apply for an advertised job, an employer needs to choose who to interview. If 90% of applicants present resumes that look very similar, and there is only enough time to interview 20% of the applicants, it is likely the employer will look a lot closer at the 10% who look different (provided their presentation is different but still good). Small businesses or organisations may look for different characteristics in a person to what a large organisation would. As such, the resume you send in applying for a government job in a large department may need to be different to what you send for a job in a business that only employs two part time staff. Play up Characteristics that are Relevant to the Job Employers in most industries look for people who show positive characteristics such as initiative, adaptability, creativity, intelligence, communication skill and motivation. The relative importance of characteristics such as these will depend on the nature of the job. A marketing job requires very good communication skills; whereas a graphic artist needs to show imagination and creativity. A job that involves managing or supervising people needs leadership and communication skills. If you are sending a hard copy of your resume, use thicker paper or parchment paper and even colour printing to make an impression. Scented paper might also be relevant in some situations (eg. Applying for a florist position, or to work as a masseuse. Think about Selling Points Beyond the Workplace Often employers are not legally entitled to ask about such things as: do you smoke, what religion are you, have you got a criminal record, are you married, your hobbies, volunteer work you have done, or other personal things. It may be considered either socially, or perhaps even legally wrong. People who volunteer such information though, will in certain situations, put an employer at ease about issues that may concern them. Volunteering this information in a resume can also be a subtle way of showing yourself to be “ethical”, “stable”, “health conscious”, etc. By telling an employer that you have been a scout leader or president of a social club, you will subtly be telling them that you have the ability to be a leader. These things may not be important for some jobs, but they may be for others. Make Decisions for the Situation at Hand Despite what books and career experts tell you; every situation is different. Advice from people who know the employment industry, but don’t know your industry, are only going to be general guidelines. If you have studied and worked in a particular discipline; do not discount the importance of your own intuition and knowledge. If you don’t know the field you are applying to work in, buy some magazines, or surf the net, and spend a few hours getting to know that industry before finalising your resume for a job application. Develop a standard resume: ….then modify it each time you use it, according to the job you are seeking. |
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