3 Key Tips to Customize Your Resume

3 Key Tips to Customize Your Resume3 Key Tips to Customize Your Resume22In an era in which you can send off 100 resumes in just a few minutes, Im always getting the question, Do I have to customize your resume to each job application? Sorry folks, but the answer is yes. Here are three ways to customize your resume each and every time.Hiring managers get so many resumes that they will easily discard the resumes that dont meet their specifications exactly. Fortunately, though, you dont have to reinvent the resume wheel every time you apply for a new position. Follow these simple tips for a perfectly targeted resume.How to customize your resume.1 Match the language in the job descriptionPluck out the keywords in the job description such as initiative, teamwork, and creativity, and intersperse these throughout a new version of your resume. The hiring organizations applicant tracking system will zero in on your resume because it contains the words and phrases the system was instructed to look for.2 Remove irrelevant experienceIf you are lucky enough to have a wealth of work experience and/or a long career, pick and choose the jobs you include in your customized resume. Your first job as a waiter, for instance, may not apply to a potential new role as an engineer- even if it taught you critical transferable skills. Remember, you want the hiring manager to be able to assess, in a few seconds, why you are a natural fit for the job based on your trajectory thus far.3 Put the requested skills front and centerLook again at the job description. What skills does the company say are must haves? Work your Microsoft Word magic and move your information around until those exact skills- and the results achieved through application of those skills- are listed first on your resume. This is especially important if you are seeking a new role that isnt exactly like your last one, and a chronological presentation of your prior experience doesnt make as much sense. (For instance, its i n a different industry or type of organization.)Readers, what are your favorite tips to customize your resume and stand out from the crowd?