Customizing Your Resume

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This course offers tips for students on customizing their resumes.

Objective: Learn the best ways to customize your resume.

Only about one percent of job applicants actually receive a callback after sending out a resume. Those are scary odds for a job seeker. So you need to do everything you can to increase your chances of getting an interview.

When sending out resumes, quality over quantity will get you that coveted response. That means taking the time to customize each resume and cover letter you send, rather than haphazardly sending out dozens or even hundreds of resumes in hopes that someone will bite.

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. If you had a stack of 100 resumes piled on your desk, would you read the ones addressed directly to you or the ones that start with "To whom it may concern?" Internet technology allows job seekers to mass-mail resumes and cover letters with minimal effort. Tailoring each cover letter and resume for the specific position you want takes much longer. But sending out fewer high-quality resumes will yield a better response than submitting hundreds of generic ones.

Take the time to choose those jobs that are actually interesting to you and match your skill set. Then, use your cover letter to explain exactly what skills and experience you can bring to that position. You can even go to that company’s website to learn a little about it and find out the name of the hiring manager to whom you can address your letter. You’ll send out far fewer resumes than the mass-mailer, but those resumes will stand out over all the other generic ones, which immediately go to the bottom of the pile. At the end of the day, your phone will be ringing, while the mass-mailer will sit in silence wondering what he did wrong.