How to Tailor Your Resume Based on a Job Description

Resumes! Some love ’em, some hate ’em. I fall into the “love” category, so I’m here to share one of my favorite resume hacks with YOU!

As you might have guessed, I build my resume based on job descriptions. I started doing this after I got tired of hearing crickets after I hit “submit” on my job applications. So if you’re in the same boat, here’s what you can do!

The Elements of the Job Description

Every job description has these cheat codes:

• The job title (that should show up somewhere on your resume)
• The skills needed to complete the job (these should be on your resume)
• The job’s daily tasks (you should show that you can do/have done the basic tasks that the job description lists.)
• Industry keywords (again, this should be on your resume)

Resume Tools to Help You Level Up

Once you locate all of the job description cheat codes that are listed above, figure out how you can incorporate them throughout your resume without making it sound stiff.

You can use a website like:

• Wordclouds to locate which keywords show up the most in the job description and which keywords show up in your resume.
  
• After you do that, you can use a website like Jobscan to boost your chances of “getting past” the ATS and making it to the phone screen with the recruiter.
  
• Bonus Step: While you’re building your resume, you should also be working on a side project or freelance project. If asked in the interview, “have you ever done this, or that” you can say yes AND show proof with your project!

Resume Hack: Create a Job-Specific Resume

After looking over the job description, your #1 goal should be to create a job-specific resume. For example, if you know you want to be a Social Media Producer, you should have 1 master Social Media Producer resume that ONLY lists roles that relate to being a social media person.

Then you know what to do! You use that 1 resume to mass apply for all of the Social Media Producer jobs that you like. The logic here is that most companies and teams look for the same thing in a specific role.

If you start to see that the duties/job functions differ, then you have the option to decide whether or not that 1 job is worth tailoring your resume for. I think this approach is 100% times easier than having 1 traditional resume that lists a bunch of unrelated roles because it saves you a ton of tailoring time.

The Job Description Breakdown Tool

Breaking down job descriptions can be overwhelming, so I created a tool that you can use to practice. Use the Job Description Breakdown Tool below, to practice breaking down this sample job description here, or look up a job description for a role that you want.

The Job Description Breakdown Tool will walk you through the most important elements of a job description. After answering each question, you’ll:

• Understand your industry keywords
• Understand the skills needed to be successful in the job
• Brainstorm a few portfolio project ideas
• AND MORE!

Get started now!

Now that you did the exercise, try to do the same thing for a role that you’re interested in!

Use the notes that you take to update your resume. The more you practice editing your resume to match the jobs you want, the easier it will be to land job interviews!

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