Two Sections That Must Be Tailor-Made On Your Resume ...

There are two sections of your resume that should be changed for each resume you send out. The first is the “objective statement” and the second is the “skills/experience” section. By tailor-making each resume, you can more effectively showcase your talents and abilities as a good match for the job being advertised.

Let’s break it down so you can see how it works:

Here’s an ad that appeared recently in the newspaper. (I’ve changed the company name a bit).

Ad Says:

“Greenlaw Industries has an immediate opening for an experienced maintenance planner."

Your objective statement would look like this:

“To obtain a position with Greenlaw Industries where I can utilize my education, training and skills as an experienced maintenance planner.”

If the ad had said:

“Greenlaw Industries has an immediate opening for a fork lift operator and warehouse manager.”

Your targeted objective statement would say:

“To obtain a position with Greenlaw Industries where I can utilize my education, training and skills as a fork lift operator and warehouse manager.”

So – you must tailor-make each objective statement to fit the job that is being advertised. Note also that you are not telling a prospective employer what you want -- instead your objective statement talks about how hiring you will help them get what they want.

The next section in the resume should also be targeted. It is your "skills/experience" section.

In this section, you will match up what you can do with what they are saying are the requirements for the job. The closer you can match what they are looking for, the greater your chances of being called in for an interview. So, this section must also be tailor-made for each resume you send out.

Here’s how that would look:

If the ad says: “Responsible for reviewing work orders, scheduling maintenance, obtain                       permits and materials. Must have 5 years of planning experience in production or a mill.”

Your skills section should say:

·       Experienced in reviewing work orders, scheduling maintenance, and obtaining permits and materials.
·       5-plus years of planning experience in a mill.

Notes:

1.     Each advertised job listing will specify what skills and experience are needed.
2.     You will change this section on virtually every resume you send out, doing your best to match-up with the requirements and experience requested.
3.     You should use the same words that they place in the ad if at all possible.
4.     You may have from 5 to 8 items listed in this section in bulleted form. 
5.     But it is most essential that you use matching words and phrases to describe the experience, education, and training that you have and which are needed to meet the published requirements for the job.

The closer you can match-up these two sections with the job being offered, the more likely you are to have success in your job hunting activities.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the more static portions of your resume.

Good luck and good hunting!

Dana