The New Resume: A Work in Continuous Progress

There was a time, prior to laptops and lightening fast communication, when you created one resume used for every job applied you to.  The cover letter was critical because it was here that you highlighted experiences and skills most closely related to the job in question.  In fact, we often discouraged job seekers from having multiple resumes because it got hard to track which one went where.

Today, a one-size fits all resume just won't make it.  Whether you reorder your accomplishments, change the wording in your profile, have one resume for marketing positions and another for public relations or have both a chronological and functional resume, you must tailor the resume to the job in order to be competitive.

For most job seekers, including myself, one of the most dreaded parts of job search is the resume.  Once it's done, the last thing you want to do is change it, yet that is exactly what today's technology enables and the job market demands.  Use the job description for each job as your guide.  Lift  language from the job description and use it in your resume and cover letter.  If the job calls for strong communication and analytical skills, make sure you mention those in your profile.  If it calls for someone who has 'managed large scale development projects', highlight your experience 'managing large scale development projects' in your cover letter and make sure the accomplishments that relate to your work in this area come first in any list of bullets on your resume.

I am not suggesting you totally rewrite your resume for each job posting.  Assuming your resume paints a broad enough picture of your skills and experiences, this is simply about tweaking it.  As much as I hate reinventing myself for each posting, in today's competitive market, the one who most closely matches the requirements for the job is the one who has the best chance of standing out.