Employers look for people who have researched the job and can explain clearly how their skill, knowledge and abilities meet their needs.
In today's job market, a generic, "one-size-fits-all" resume doesn't
work.
It’s better to send 10 resumes and get 5 interviews than send 100 and get 1. You don't have to start from scratch when targeting your resume for different positions. You just re-arrange the
content to emphasize what you can do for each specific employer.
Think of your resume as a jigsaw puzzle with different pieces. In each targeted resume, you place the pieces in a new way to create a
slightly different picture of yourself.
Consider your resume as your opportunity to stand out from the crowd. It's the right place to take pride in your accomplishments.
Research specific employers.
-
Visit the organization’s website, find newspaper or magazine articles on the organization, or get the organizations annual report
-
Information to look for: Occupations they hire, hiring process, contact names, new contracts or announcements, corporate culture
Research the occupation to identify:
-
Standard wording for duties, responsibilities, and requirements, emerging skill requirements. See
Job Futures and
Labour Market Information for more information.
-
Potential networking sources such as associations
-
Occupationally specific job sites
Research the industry to identify:
-
Trends and issues so you can tell the employer how you can make a difference to their bottom line
-
Prospective employers
-
Sector specific key words and jargon
-
Associations that are good sources of industry information
|