Adapting Your Resume to Different Positions

Are you on the hunt for the next step in your career path? Are you thinking about making a career change? No matter what your goal is, having a well-crafted resume is essential. However, crafting the perfect resume takes time, diligence, reviews and proofreading to ensure that it checks all the boxes and best shows off your skills and experience. One way to help your resume stand out is customizing it for the role you are applying for. 

While you have likely already spent time crafting a resume including your education, industry certificates, work experience, related job experience and all the critical details it is also important to consider customizing this resume for the specific role you are applying to. Adapting your resume, especially early in your career when you are still selecting the right path for your future and looking to try a few different opportunities will be critically important, especially if the type of roles that you are applying to do not all fall into the same category.  

Perhaps you have tried your hand at a few different types of jobs already and are looking for the next right step, for example let’s say you really are passionate about the dairy industry perhaps this means you would be very open to a marketing role with a dairy company, a sales position for a dairy supplier, or a herdsman role on a dairy farm.  

Your skills and background may have set you up in a way to make you a very qualified candidate for the position, but the way that you highlight your different experiences should differ depending on the part of the industry you are applying to with that specific resume. How you highlight the skills you learned while working on that dairy farm right after you finished your degree could be presented differently for each position.  

In the marketing role, you could mention how you understand how the farmer and end-user uses the product or that you understand what dairy farmers are looking for and could use that in marketing the products.  

In the sales role, you could highlight how you can connect with dairy farmers and understand their operations and needs, so you would be well suited to be out on farms selling to producers.  

In the herdsman role, you could highlight specific animal health knowledge you learned or industry-specific certification you may already have obtained. While all your skills could benefit each of these roles, the benefit you bring to the company should be portrayed differently depending on the role you are applying to. 

Can recruiters and HR people read between the lines and see that you have the experience they are looking for? Yes absolutely, but if there is a large stack of resumes to go through, the ones that most easily check the boxes of qualifications based on the job description will rise to the top and be the candidates that successfully land the interview! 

There are many key parts of your resume, highlight the experience you have and what makes you the right fit. But is sending the same resume out to the masses going to land you that dream job or the next career you are hoping for? Here are some tips and tricks to consider when customizing your resume to fit the job you are applying for. 

RESEARCH 

When applying for a job, it is important to understand the position you are applying for and the company you are applying to. By doing some research before you finalize your customized resume and application, you can better understand the company’s values, size, culture, and what makes them unique. You can research whether the company has been in the news lately to understand the current hot topics within their business this can help you to highlight the areas about you that are relevant. This research will also help you to be prepared if your amazing customized resume helps to land you the interview! 

THE JOB POSTING 

Read through the job posting in detail a couple of times, make notes of the repetitive keywords and phrases used. This indicates that the employer is looking for candidates with these skills or experiences so be sure to include that in your resume if it is something that you have experience or a background in.  

Remember, this job posting highlights what they are looking for in an ideal candidate. Some of the items on the job posting might be something they “wish for” but won’t necessarily find, if you look at the job posting and feel you meet most of the criteria, still apply, you still might be the very best candidate for this company! Even if there is one piece of the job posting that you don’t feel experienced at yet, your skills in the other required areas might compensate for that and still make you the best person for the role. Paint the picture for the hiring manager as to why you are the perfect candidate for this role. 

ADAPTING YOUR RESUME 

You’ve read through the job posting and thought through the keywords and skills that employers are looking for, now it is time to take your standard resume and adjust it for the specific role you are applying to. Be sure to save your standard resume before you make edits, this can be a great starting point each time before you modify the resume for the specific role you are applying to.  

Be intentional about what you include on your resume. While the various certifications, clubs you’ve been involved in, scholarships you may have won could be a critical piece to a hiring manager if you are newly entering the workforce, as you advance in your career and have more job experience to highlight some of those other pieces will become less important to the hiring manager. Also consider what job and work experiences you are highlighting and what specific parts of that job are relevant to the role you are applying for. 

You have looked through the job posting and know what they are looking for, so take the opportunity to speak to the items that are keywords with your skills and experience that you have. This will allow the employer to make the connection between your skills and why you are a fit for the job. Highlight your most relevant experiences and leave the others off the resume. You don’t need to include every single thing you’ve ever done. 

APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEMS 

Many large and smaller employers may also be using a computer software system called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for applications. As a job seeker this means to you that the computer system might review your resume before a person even gets an opportunity to look at them. Often an ATS will look at some of your skills and strengths listed on your resume and be looking for some of the specific keywords important to the job. If you have matched your resume to the language and keywords you found in the job description, it will help your resume to stand out well and get on to the hiring manager. 

UNIQUE RESUME IDENTIFIER OR FILE NAME 

One important note about modifying your resume for specific roles is to consider the file name you use. When updating and saving your tailored resumes, do not edit directly on your standard resume. Instead, copy the file and make changes from there. That way if there are specific experiences you are removing from your resume that aren’t relevant for one role, you still have that information to reach back to when applying to a position that they are relevant for. 

When saving your file, remember that hiring departments receive many resumes, save the file with your name, not just the word resume. Saving the resume with your name and the role or company you are applying to help ensure you send the right resume to the right place. 

These tips will help you create your customized resume to land the interview and then land the dream job! Good luck! Setup your AgCareers.com Candidate Account today and upload your resume.