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Target Your Resume for the Job You Want

Career Corner: Try these time-efficient tips for how you can customize your resume to include the most relevant information for each distinct role.

By: Jennifer Bobrow Burns
illustration of a resume pinned with an arrow to the bullseye of a target.

When you are searching for a job, it’s essential to tailor your resume to each role. Whether a recruiter, hiring manager, or AI bot is conducting the initial screening, they will be searching for key words on your resume that match the qualifications in the job description.

It can be daunting to keep making changes each time you apply. So how can you cast a wide net to maximize your chances of success, but customize each resume to include the most relevant information?

Try these time-efficient tips for targeting your resume to each distinct role you apply for.

1. Focus on the top of your resume: Add a summary statement

First impressions count. Most recruiters focus mainly on the top one-third of your resume before skimming the rest of the document. Fine tune the content on top, rather than changing bullet points throughout, for the greatest impact.

Adding a summary statement is an effective way to maximize the real estate at the top of your resume. Especially as you advance in your career, it is helpful to highlight your strengths, accomplishments, and value proposition in a three- to four-sentence summary (also called a profile or executive summary).

For your summary statement, consider which achievements and career highlights best reflect your abilities and the issues you are most passionate about. Then explore what is most valued in your target industry to find the intersections. What would you want to see if you were a hiring manager? Here’s an example:

Technology vice president with 15+ years of experience developing and leading IT strategies. Proven track record driving digital transformation initiatives that improve business processes and achieve operational goals. Collaborative team leader skilled in maintaining facility readiness while focusing on value-creation approaches to IT implementation. Six Sigma Green Belt with expertise in technology program management and client delivery strategies for Fortune 500 companies.

2. Target as needed: Specify your core competencies

Job specs provide the details you need to personalize your resume. Review job descriptions that interest you and home in on the required and preferred qualifications. This is essentially your guide to key words and key phrases that recruiters, hiring managers, and AI software will search for.

Include a core competencies section towards to the top of your resume, right below your summary statement. List between 6 to 12 key skills such as agile project management, financial modeling, or data analytics, as well as specific, relevant technical skills. Avoid generic skills such as communication or leadership in favor of searchable and quantifiable knowledge areas essential to individual roles.

3. Use AI to help tailor your resume

AI is changing the job search landscape, with many applications for a range of career development needs. You can use AI to help you target your resume: Begin by pasting both your resume and a job description into sites like ChatGPT, then ask it to pull out key words. You can also use specific prompts, such as:

  • What are the 10 most important skills and keywords a hiring manager will look for to fill this role?
  • Suggest ways to add these specific key words into my resume as bullet points.
  • Where are the gaps between the job description and my experience?

Using AI in this way can help you tailor your summary statement and specify core competency bullet points. However, keep AI’s limitations in mind and be sure to validate the output and edit language into your own voice.

4. Look at the patterns

Use these tips to make targeting your resume simpler and more straightforward. If you’re applying for similar jobs with comparable qualifications, you won’t need to change your resume for every single one. Take note of the themes and patterns in job descriptions to help enhance your resume, maximize your chances of securing an interview, and even provide talking points for interview preparation.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALUMNI CAREER RESOURCES.

About the Author

Jennifer Bobrow Burns is a managing director, Executive MBA and Alumni Career Development, at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.