Tailor your resume to the job posting in ten minutes

Reading time: 4 minutes

Why one resume for everything doesn't work

It's tempting: create one solid resume and send it everywhere. It saves time and feels efficient.

The problem is that on the other end there are two readers, each looking for something specific. The ATS compares the words in your resume to the words in the job posting. The recruiter scans in a few seconds for what's required for that specific role. A resume written for no one in particular scores mediocre with both.

The good news: tailoring doesn't mean rewriting. There are three spots that make the difference, and together they take ten minutes.

Spot 1: the headline at the top

The line under your name is the first thing that gets read. If it says "Marketer" and the job posting is looking for a "Digital Marketer," there's no reason not to align those two words — as long as it's accurate, of course.

The same goes for your summary statement, if you have one. Two sentences that match what's being asked for work better than four generic sentences that fit anywhere.

Spot 2: the bullets under your most recent role

Under your last position there are probably five or six bullet points. They don't all need to change, but the order does.

Read the job posting and see what's mentioned first. Put the matching bullet at the top. The eye lingers longest on the first two lines under your most recent role — that's where you want what this employer is looking for to appear.

Is there something on your resume that's completely irrelevant for this role? Take it out. You don't need to mention everything you've ever done.

Spot 3: your skills

This is where the biggest gain for the filter lies. The job posting names specific systems, methods, or skills. If you have them but call them something else — or don't mention them at all because they feel obvious to you — then it won't match.

Use the exact words from the job posting. If it says "Excel (advanced)," don't write "spreadsheets." If it says "scrum," don't just write "agile working."

One limit: only what you can genuinely do. Borrowing a word you can't back up leads to an interview where that becomes obvious within five minutes.

What you don't need to adjust

Your education, older positions, contact details, and formatting stay as they are. That's the part you get right once and then leave alone.

That's why it's smart to have one strong base version and make a copy of it for each application. You tweak three spots, save it under a name that references the job posting, and send it off.

How to know if it's right

A simple check: put the job posting and your resume side by side and underline the five most important requirements in the posting. Does each of those five show up somewhere in your resume, in similar words? If not, you know exactly what still needs work.

If that takes too long, you can also have it done for you: paste in the job posting text and have your resume matched to it.

In short

• One resume for every job posting scores a little bit everywhere and not enough anywhere.
• Adjust three things: your headline, the order of your bullets, and your skills.
• Use the exact words from the job posting — that's what the filter searches for.
• Only claim what you can genuinely do; a borrowed word has to hold up in the interview.
• Keep one strong base version and make a copy for each application.

Don't want to do this by hand every time? At CV-Refresher, you paste in the job posting text and your resume gets matched to that role.

Match your resume to the job posting →