We have all heard that it is important to customize your resume when applying for positions. But how do you actually do it without starting over each time?
Here are some ways:
- Make sure your resume demonstrates alignment between what the job posting says and the exact skills, experience, and education you have to offer.
- Prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of sending the same resume to apply for 50 jobs, take the time to research and customize your resume for 10-15 roles.
- The easiest change to customize the resume for the position you want is to include the desired job title name at the top of the resume. This is less important for federal resumes.
- Be sure to customize the Summary section. For human readers, this is often the first section they read. You want to ensure the skills and experience most desired by the prospective employer are highlighted in the top one-quarter of the resume.
- Take a few minutes to make sure the job responsibilities and accomplishments listed in your resume match the needs of the employer, especially those outlined in the job posting.
- Re-order accomplishment bullets to prioritize achievements related to the job being targeted.
- When possible, have the job posting in front of you so you can customize the resume to the job description. Identify the problems this job is designed to solve and help the prospective employer see how you can help them solve these specific problems.
- Analyze the job posting and identify the keywords and phrases used in the job description. Make a list of key skills, job requirements, and responsibilities desired. Note the qualifications you already possess that are mentioned in the job posting.
- Be sure to incorporate keywords in the Summary, Skills, and Experience sections of your resume.
- As important as it is to include targeted information, it’s just as important to remove irrelevant information. Remove information that is not relevant — any education, experience, trainings, or affiliations that are not relevant to this job, as well as experience older than 10 years or so.
- Rearrange sections of the resume, if necessary, to match the priorities established in the job posting.
- Review the organization’s website and/or LinkedIn page to gain insight into the the organization’s values, mission, and culture. What values do they highlight? Identify specific keywords to include that indicate cultural fit. When customizing the resume, give specific instances of these values, such as: teamwork, communication, initiative, honesty, etc. You should try to back up any “soft skills” with specific accomplishments to prove you have what they’re looking for.
Pro Tip: Not sure how to identify key words? This is a great way to use AI. You can use this prompt and copy and paste the posting into your preferred AI tool:
‘Below is a job posting. Please analyze it and identify:
- Hard skills / technical keywords — specific tools, software, certifications, methodologies, or technical terms mentioned
- Soft skills — interpersonal or work-style traits explicitly named (e.g., “collaborative,” “detail-oriented”)
- Required vs. preferred qualifications — separate the “must-haves” from the “nice-to-haves”
- Repeated terms or phrases — words or concepts that appear multiple times, since repetition usually signals priority
- Industry jargon or acronyms — terms specific to this field that I should recognize and use correctly
- Action verbs used in the posting — words like “lead,” “develop,” “optimize” that suggest the tone/style expected in application materials
Then, give me a prioritized list of the top 10–15 keywords I should try to naturally incorporate into my resume and cover letter, ranked by how important they seem to be for this specific role.
Job posting: [paste job posting here]’
Check out our Using AI In Your Job Search bundle for more tips on how to use AI strategically throughout your job search, or check out our other career resources!
