By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
I think figuring out how to build a resume is pretty simple – find out what the company is looking for and tell them you’ve done the exact same thing before.
As I tell people, “Pretend a hyperactive 6-year-old is going to read your resume – let them understand your fit.”
But for most job seekers, this seems too difficult because they keep flipping through the same resume on every job ad they see, as if it will land them a lot of interviews. . . But it won’t.
Why do I say that? Because a broken watch gets it right twice a day, and sending the same resume to every job ad is like a broken watch – it will give you some results, but you can do better.
how?
Companies only care about the relevant work you’ve done over the past few years that matches what they’re looking for. Copy and paste the job requirements into the body of your resume where you performed their specified tasks. Then, detail what you did in a chronological section of your resume, explaining the experience you had that was relevant to the specification, even if you use the same or similar language to that in the job description.
Next, remove extraneous information that is not relevant to the position you want to interview for.
Doing this will give the employer confidence that interviewing you won’t be a waste of their time.
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About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
People hire “Big Game Hunter” Jeff Altman to provide no-nonsense career advice around the world because he makes so many things in people’s careers easier. These things may involve job hunting, recruiting more effectively, managing and leading better, career transitions, and advice on solving workplace problems.
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 job search podcast on iTunes with over 2,900 episodes.
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