Two Quick Steps To Help Your Resume Stand Out
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If you are like most professionals (myself included), you have submitted the same resume for multiple positions without much thought to whether your skills or experience matched well with the position. However, unless you are in a trade where your responsibilities are largely the same with each company (e.g. roofing, housekeeping, etc.), your resume should not be identical for every position.



Also, hiring managers can almost always tell when they’re receiving a generic resume, which sends them the message that the candidate hasn’t done a great deal of preparation or thought much about the position to which they are applying.



The reality is most positions are going to require varying skills and experiences based on their needs, organization’s size, goals, corporate objectives, etc. The variations on their needs are endless, so as a candidate, you should pay attention to what they need and how you can meet that need. The best way to do that is to examine the job description and company itself. It only takes a couple steps:



1. Print out the job description and highlight specific skills and requirements needed for the job. When I say specific, I mean not “ability to work in a team” or “working knowledge of printers and copy machines”. Also, examine the company’s mission and vision for unique aspects like an “entrepreneurial spirit” or “commitment to patient advocacy”.



2. Match the applicable skills you highlighted to the skills and experiences you offer and re-write your resume’s introduction, executive summary, or objective statement (depending on how you have your resume set up) to work in the phrases and words that they need and you can offer. This will catch a hiring manager’s eye right away!