For a professional with a decent amount of career behind them, it’s often hard to know what goes in a resume when deciding to make a career advancement or change. Similarly, newcomers to the job market might find it difficult to come up with content for their resumes.
Have no fear because in this article I will be going over how I would make my perfect resume in alignment with a job description. We will discuss, ‘Why should a resume align with the Job Description?’, ‘What would I put in my perfect resume?’. Additionally, we will go into the fundamentals of resume building.
Why should a resume align with the Job Description?
So, the first question that pops into everyone’s minds is why my perfect resume should align with the Job Description? This practice is also called tailoring a resume. This means that each resume should target the specific position that someone is going for. This practice produces positive results for both veteran professionals and newbies, alike, here are the reasons why:
It fits you with the job
This goes without saying but if you have a resume that is the perfect fit with the job description you’re giving the hiring manager exactly what they asked for. This makes their lives easier and creates a bias towards you when it comes to the selection process.
In short, this stacks the chips in your favor.
It shows initiative
You can be the most qualified individual in the world but this also means that it’s easy to oversell yourself to the hiring managers. A disinterested approach to resume making and listing everything and anything in a resume can leave a bitter taste in the hiring manager’s mouth.
On the other hand, if you cater your resume to the position, this will indicate an actual interest in the company. Additionally, companies as a general rule want to hire people who want to come into work, not someone who comes in to clock in and clock out.
It clarifies your value to the company
When you make your resume with the company’s needs in mind, it gives you a better idea of how you can add value to the company. Self-reflection before sending in your resume is invaluable as it shows you exactly what they want and you can figure out how you can fulfill their needs.
Think from the HR Manager’s point of view, if they see a resume that shows initiative as well as an insight towards the company, it would be pretty hard to pass on it.
It beats ATS
Many HR offices use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These are programs designed to sift through documents and pick out the ones that pass certain criteria, namely format and keywords.
Most likely the keywords that the software will be looking for are listed in the job description. Picking and choosing these keywords that apply to you and incorporating them in your resume assures that your resume makes it through the initial stages of the entire hiring process.
What would I put in my perfect resume?
Resume Templates
First and foremost I would pick out a resume template that I like. Before, I did this though I would go through professional resume examples to see exactly what mine should look like. I would check out the resume templates that they used and pick out a bunch of resume templates that look similar and pick out my favorite from those. Secondly, I would make sure that the template I choose is compatible with ATS formatting.
Resume formatting
Secondly, I would see what kind of resume formatting fits me best. As a professional, the reverse-chronological format is the best option for me. Coming right out of college I would go for either the functional or the combination resume format. This would give me a chance to highlight my skills, abilities, and achievements over work experience.
Job Descriptions
Now that I’m done with resume templates and formats, it’s time to go searching for job listings near me. I can find these via websites or newspapers. For example Indeed.com. I would search for not only jobs that fit me exactly but even jobs related to my job title. I would read through each description carefully and pick out and set aside the jobs that interest me.
Build my resume
Now that everything else is taken care of it’s finally time to start building my resume. I know my “Work History”, “Skill Set” and “Education”. Next, I would go through the job description for the job that I’m going for and see what they are asking for and prioritize those entries in my resume. I would write a “Professional Summary” that is personable and shows off my most noteworthy achievements. To top it all off I would write a 300-350 word cover letter to go along with my resume. I would repeat the same process for all the jobs that interested me.
There you have it how I would align my resume with the job description to make my perfect resume.
