Customize Your Resume and Get Hired

In finding a job, submitting a resume is the first step and important step.  Your resume will be the first thing that a potential employer will see and making a good impression is crucial.  Indeed, getting called in for a job interview may largely depend on how well your resume is presented.  On this post, let’s take a look at the steps on how you can customize your resume and land on your dream job.

Make it your own.  When applying for a job, you can expect a lot of competitors.  Naturally, you want to stand out from the rest of your competitors.  You want the hiring officer to be impressed by your credentials.

What makes you the most suitable candidate for the position?  What sets you apart from the other candidates?  Customizing your resume means highlighting your personal strengths and advantages.  Therefore, your positive qualities should be clearly stipulated in your resume.

You want to be more specific in emphasizing your strengths.  For example, when defining your duties and responsibilities from your previous job, you can site specific achievements that you were able to accomplish.  Were you able to improve your company’s marketing performance by leading your team?  You can also use figures to define your accomplishments.

Don’t be afraid to be different.  If you are applying for a job that involves creativity, you can show your skills from the way your resume is presented.  This is your chance to give your resume a personal touch.  However, be careful not to overdo the use of bright colors and elaborate designs that reading the text on your resume becomes difficult or uncomfortable.

Keep in mind that your purpose for sending a resume is to show that you meet the employer’s requirements.  If the hiring officer finds it hard to read the information on your resume, you may end up not getting called for an interview at all.

Include a cover letter.  A professional resume should always include a cover letter.  A cover letter is a formal introduction of your intent.  A good cover letter need not be very long or elaborate.  Three to four short paragraphs should be enough to say a few things about yourself, how you learned about the job opening, and why you want to be part of the company.

An effective cover letter sums up your qualifications and should move the hiring officer to take a closer look at the next page or pages of your application – your resume.  If you have been referred by a respected employee of the company, you can take advantage of this by mentioning the endorsement in your cover letter.

Include samples of your work.  For jobs that involve the use of skills such as in writing, copywriting, designing, etc, be ready to provide a portfolio of your sample works. If you have a personal website, don’t forget to include in your resume the URL or link to the page where your work samples can be found.  This way, a potential employer can conveniently review your work samples from the internet.

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