Customize Your Resume to the Job Opportunity

Customize Your Resume to the Job Opportunity Recently, I worked with a resume client that was extremely interested in a new job opportunity. In fact, the past 15 years of his career were spent conducting sales in an industry which fit quite appropriately with the new potential job. Rather than utilize the template-style resumes he had used the past, we created a customized resume specifically for this job. As a very successful sales professional, he had more than 10 people willing to be references for him. However, he had three potential references who were all employed at the new job location. How perfect! What better way to customize your resume than to list the successful, trusted, and talented individuals already working there. Next, we were careful to use terminology that would be commonplace in the new organization. This would show the employer that he understood the business jargon and was familiar with the laws and regulations of the industry. Finally, I asked him what it was about the potential job location that he liked. He said the opportunity would be challenging and he knew the company was focused on growth. That led to a summary statement we were able to use at the top of his resume: Ambitious and experienced sales professional seeks to build long-term relationships within a challenging, growth-oriented organization  The customization was well worth it, as his resume is appropriately positioned for the job opportunity. And, he now has a resume that is built well, but still has the capability of being easily changed for the future.