I probably read more resumes in a day than many of you will in a lifetime. When I tell you that most are a waste of my time and the sender’s time, I am not exaggerating. Most resumes I read are useless. I often ask myself the question, “What were they thinking when they sent this to me.”
So, to help you and me, I want to offer you the single most important question you can ask yourself before you forward your resume to someone.
Ready?
How does my resume demonstrate that I fit the job that I am applying for?
Almost every resume I receive does not show the skills required to do the job even when I make it clear in my advertising that people should send their resumes only if they have the required skills.
Stop flipping the same resume to job ads like they are burgers at a fast-food restaurant. Tailor your resume to the position.
Pretend a 6-year-old is going to read it. Would your son or daughter at that age be able to figure out that you are qualified to do the job?
Yes, that means you will have fifty or 100 versions of your resume and you will need to track which version you sent to whom.
So what?
A broken watch is right twice a day and a generic resume will get you some interviews.
You will get more and better interviews if you tailor your resume to the specific job description, rather than sending the same one over and over again.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2008, 2011, 2020
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, all as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1900 episodes, and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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