Job Search Mistakes: Not Tailoring Your Resume and Cover Letter
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
LinkedIn’s AI wrote, “One of the worst mistakes you can make when applying for jobs online is to send the same generic resume and cover letter to every employer. This shows a lack of interest, research, and customization. You should always tailor your resume and cover letter to match the specific requirements, keywords, and culture of the job and the organization. This will help you stand out from the crowd and demonstrate your value and fit.”
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I commented, “The broken watch is right twice a day. Not tailoring a resume to a job fits that description. If you are including a cover letter when applying, make it page one of your resume. List the skills and qualifications sought flush left and flush right, explain how long and how recently you’ve used that skill or performed that function they are looking for. Always use their language because that is what the system wants. By making page one your cover letter, you are showing the ATS that it is a recent skill (since it is at the top of page one, and then it sees it repeated later on (in the actual resume).”
Later, I added my thoughts about applying for a job, “Why are you even applying for jobs online? The statistics are brutally against the success of that. You are far better off trying to find someone internally to act as your advocate with a recommendation. Your second-level connection may have a first-level connection that can give you a leg up because they provide social proof as to you be qualified. That is always preferable to the random resume that arrives through the ATS.”
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers easier. Those things can involve job search,
hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2700 episodes.
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