Creating a resume is essential when job hunting. Crafting a polished, professional document that effectively communicates your value takes time and dedication. However, that alone is often not enough.
When you apply for jobs, do you always attach the same resume file to every application? If so, it is time for some advice.
In this article, we explain the importance of creating a tailored, impactful resume for a job application and provide professional advice on how to do it quickly and efficiently.
Analyze the job description
The first thing to understand is that the hiring team doesn’t review every single application. With tens or even hundreds of submissions, many are quickly dismissed because applicants often apply without careful consideration—sometimes for roles that are a poor fit for both the company and the candidate.
To make it onto the shortlist after the software screening, your resume and application need to closely match the job opening. It doesn’t have to be perfect—often, being a good match is enough.
Matching requires preparation, which begins with a thoughtful analysis of the job description. Look for keywords—they’re easier to spot than you might think. These often include the job title, required skills, years of experience, education level, and specific terms or phrases mentioned in the vacancy.
Writing these keywords down is helpful for later comparison with your resume, making it easier to identify any gaps.
Personalization
The second step to making your job search more effective is personalizing your resume. Use the list of keywords you’ve created and incorporate them into your resume. Aim to match the frequency of these keywords to how often they appear in the job description, or as close as possible.
This approach not only helps you pass software screening with a high match rate but also works well for manual review by smaller companies. Hiring team members will appreciate seeing that your resume aligns closely with their requirements.
Don’t overlook the application
Most applications allow you to attach your PDF resume or require it. However, some application forms follow the same structure as a standard resume, asking for the same information to be entered directly into the form.
It’s crucial not to skip these forms. Use the keywords you identified earlier and included in your resume to fill them out.
Keep in mind that some screening software doesn’t analyze attached files but instead focuses on the information entered into the forms. Mismatching this information could cost you the advantage your well-crafted resume would otherwise provide.
This is how you create a well-matched resume for a job application. However, doing it manually can take hours of searching and fine-tuning. To save you valuable time and allow you to focus on other important tasks, like preparing for interviews, uhired is here to help.
On uhired, you can leverage AI to automatically sort job openings by match rate, with the best matches appearing at the top of the list. Using the 'Tailor' tool, you can adjust your resume to align with the application in just five minutes. Simply choose which adjustments are relevant to you and which ones to skip.
No need to sift through countless job openings yourself—uhired's AI will handle the work and highlight any gaps in your resume.
Make your job search faster, easier, and more effective with uhired.