Tailoring Your Resume

Don't underestimate the importance of demonstrating to an employer how YOU meet their qualifications for the job! Employers expect that you have the ability to communicate what you have to offer to their organization utilizing specific, concrete examples of past and present behavior. The information provided here is designed to see if YOU have what the organization is looking for in a candidate! 

This exercise will allow you to focus on how you match the job qualifications being sought by the organization, which will allow you to better articulate that to the employer. Be sure to use this information not only in your resume but also in your cover letter and especially in the interview! Instructions on how to use this exercise are below:  

Column 1

List the qualifications the organization is seeking in a candidate by reviewing the job advertisement/posting. If you do not have this information, research the job utilizing our website's Career Exploration Resources page, which includes SIGI 3, O*Net, OOH, and What Can I Do With This Major? 

Column 2

List specific examples from your background showing that you have the qualifications sought. Examples can be from your work experiences, involvement in student organizations, working on team projects in courses, volunteer work, etc. 

Sample Job Tailoring Exercise

 

Job Title: Management Trainee
Qualifications organization is seeking in job candidate:	My qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in business-related field	Bachelor of Arts, Management Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA; Graduation Date: May 2007 GPA: 3.6
Customer service experience	Acquired over five years of customer service experience through various positions including Server, Sales Associate, and Cashier. Received “Customer Service Award” from one employer.
Marketing-related experience	Designed several promotional fliers marketing upcoming events for Southeastern's chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Developed a new brochure for AMA to recruit new members.
Strong work ethic and highly self-motivated	Worked two jobs simultaneously while also attending college, and have been employed at one job for over four years.
Excellent organizational skills and proven ability to meet deadlines	Maintain a day planner - and check frequently during the day - that outlines tasks/activities to complete by certain deadlines.
Leadership experience	As Sales Associate, supervised and trained new associates on store operations and customer service.
Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills with strong focus on teamwork	All jobs and educational experiences via class group projects have required excellent communication/interpersonal skills. For a class project, worked as a team in completing a management accounting simulation. Class team took a fictitious company and budgeted sales, labor, marketing, and materials for three months.

 

Why I Want This Job

Write a concise paragraph on WHY you want this job to clarify and organize your thoughts! It is very important for the employer to hear why you want to work for them - both in written correspondence and on the interview! 

Sample Paragraph

In researching XYZ Corporation, I discovered that you pride yourself on quality, commitment, trust, and respect in both sales and service. Additionally, I am impressed with your strong commitment and dedication to quality customer service and ensuring the return visit of each customer. The annual report illustrates that the growth of your company will increase by 35% over the next three years - I want to be a positive part of that growth by applying my education, experience, and enthusiasm.