Companies aren’t only hiring for candidates with the skills and experience.
They also want people who align with their brand values. It’s more challenging to find a job seeker whose attitude and personality match the company culture than it is to find someone who meets the basic requirements of the job vacancy.
That’s one reason why tailoring your resume is important.
Since you’re proving that you’re a strong fit, it can increase your chances of securing an interview.
So in this guide, we’ll go through how to tailor your resume step-by-step and how you can create the perfect application with minimal research.
What It Means to Tailor Your Resume
Tailoring your resume means creating a job application for a specific job position and company.
In order to show the hiring manager that you’ve created the resume for them specifically, you’ll need to include a few things such as:
- Keywords
- Competencies
- Brand values
These details should directly relate to the job description and company culture.
When you’ve put in the time and effort to personalize your resume like this, it helps with proving that you’re a good fit for the role.
And ideally, you should be aiming to position yourself as the best candidate to work with.
The Purpose of Tailoring a Resume
If you want to secure a full-time or permanent job position, then it’s essential that you spend the time to tailor your resume.
The purpose of this in the first place is for one sole reason – to get the job.
One aspect that makes a good resume is having one that’s been fully tailored for the hiring manager. Without meeting the initial expectations, you won’t overcome the first part of the recruiting process.
That being said, doing this correctly does 3 things.
Show a Genuine Interest
It’s valuable for employers to hire a worker that’s self-driven and passionate about what they do.
If you could show a growth mindset and that you’re motivated to grow with the company, it can be acknowledged as an advantage since they’d want to hire long-term candidates.
To reflect those values, you’ll need to spend the time doing research and making specific references in your resume. The hiring manager will take notice of this and as a result, they’re more likely to read you as a strong fit for the company culture.
Position Yourself as a Match to the Company Culture
Skills and experience are important. But, so is self-awareness and attitude.
Not all applicants’ personalities are something that can be developed quickly with training and courses. The inner character of a person requires more, which is another reason why matching their cultural values can help you stand out.
Plus, if you’re a good fit for their culture and work environment, it tends to lead to higher job satisfaction and better job performance overall.
Keep in mind that it’s more expensive for hiring managers to hire new employees than it is to retain existing ones. In a report by Kronos, it was found that 87% of HR leaders have made employee retention their top priority for the next few years.
That’s one reason why they’ll also consider the long-term factor.
Get Past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Another reason it’s essential to tailor your resume is that you’ll need to get past the resume scanners. In other words, the applicant tracking system.
Each job application a company receives is likely to be run by an ATS to see if the candidate meets the basic requirements. For them, it saves both time and money since they can easily filter applicants.
If you’re not a good match because you haven’t included the keywords or things that they’re looking for, then you’ll be eliminated from the hiring process.
How to Tailor Your Resume: 5 Hacks to use
There are two ways to approach this: the traditional way or the fast way.
After we go through the standard way of tailoring your resume, we’ll go through how to do it the fast way without losing quality.
If that sounds interesting, be sure to read through until the end!
1. Refer to the Job Description
As mentioned earlier, resume keywords are vital to put on your resume. So it’s important to refer to the job description carefully because this is where they can be found.
Look at the responsibilities and qualities that have been included. Ask yourself:
- What are they looking for in candidates?
- What are the skills and attributes they expect to see?
These are the types of things that you should be including in your resume. You’ll need to mention these if you want to get past the first stage of the hiring process and get invited for an interview.
2. Check the Company Website’s About Page
There’s a strong chance you’ll find more information about the company’s beliefs and corporate cultural values on their website.
More specifically, their about page. Here, you may find things such as:
- Mission statement
- Brand story
- Goals and objectives
Using this information, make direct references to their values to show that you align with what they’re working towards. For instance, what’s the main problem or pain point they solve where your skills can fit in? What are the qualities that they value most in their work environment?
3. Review The Company’s Social Media
Other than their website, you may also find relevant information about the work culture on their social media pages. For example, they could be found on sites such as:
- Twitter
Find out what they’re posting about. See if there are parts of the process that you’re experienced or skilled in, and how you could fit in. These are the things that you could include in your resume.
4. Research an Existing Employee
Another hack is to look at the existing employees who already work there.
If there’s someone who has the job title you’re applying for or someone who works in a similar field, do some research on their LinkedIn profile.
From there, take a look at what they’ve included in their:
- About section
- Experience section
- Education
- Skills
The company is already hiring them because they’re a good fit. So, one winning strategy is to take inspiration from that employee. Show that you have a similar depth of knowledge and skills as they do, as well as a similar approach.
5. Update Your Resume Sections
Based on all the information gathered from the research, use it to update your resume sections.
For example, edit your work experience section and include certain duties and responsibilities, phrase your achievements or results achieved in a certain way, and include specific skills.
The goal is to show that you’ve intentionally tailored your resume for their company.
How to Create a Tailored Resume With Minimal Research
Now that you’ve reached this point, we’ll share how to tailor your resume faster without losing the quality of your job application.
The only problem with following the standard method of tailoring your resume is that it can take hours of back and forth research. While we’ve only included 5 steps, the reality is that the process is a lot long longer than it looks.
If you’re looking to send multiple tailored job applications to several companies so you can receive a job offer faster, Rezi gives you the resources you need by helping you do 2 things:
- Find the keywords required
- Get professional feedback
Find the Keywords Required
The first step is to create an account on Rezi (it’s free).
Next, you’ll have the option to create a new CV on the left side of the screen.
Fill out the details in the form provided.
Head over to the finish-up tab and you’ll be taken to the following page.
You’ll notice that the Rezi score is provided at the top corner. This assesses your resume and gives you feedback where necessary.
On the right side of the page, you’ll find the AI keyword targeting feature.
To use this feature, do the following:
- Enter the job title you’re applying for
- Copy and paste the job description
Next, click on “save job description”.
Now, you have the list of keywords you need to create a tailored resume that stands out and beats the applicant tracking system at ease.
Get More Job Offers By Sending Tailored Resumes
For some of you, the biggest challenge in creating the perfect resume could be that it takes a lot of time to research all the information you need.
And as some of you may know, it’s draining and takes a lot of effort.
That’s where Rezi’s resume builder comes in.
We speed up the process and help you get job offers faster by enabling you to send more quality resumes with minimal effort.
Best of all, you can get started at no cost. So, the ball is in your court.
All job seekers who create a resume with Rezi have a 62.18% chance of getting an interview!
Explore Rezi 🔥 Comes with 5,000 AI Credits, and is free forever, no credit card required.
Quality Over Quantity in Job Hunting
When it comes to job applications, it’s quality over quantity.
An applicant that sends 5 tailored, well-thought-out resumes are more likely to receive a response than the applicant who sends 10 generic resumes.
That’s why it’s important to do the homework to get all the information you need before sending over your resume. Employers can tell when a candidate has rushed their application and whether or not they’ve done the research.
But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do both at the same time. At least, not with Rezi.
