If there’s one thing that resume writing experts stress over and over again, it’s this—

You have to tailor your resume to the job description.

• How to find out what the prospective employer wants.

• How to match that to your skills and experience.

• And how to tailor your resume to land that interview!

First off, read the job posting and highlight any words and phrases suggestive of what the employer wants.

Perfect! You’ve got a list of required skills, traits, and experience. Do you possess these strengths?

If so, time to give them a plug in your resume.

Use the words and phrases from the job advertisement.

Be careful! Don’t just copy-paste each and every skill keyword. The end reader is a human recruiter. You don’t want to come off as a spambot, so work those keywords in with style!

Make sure you mirror the contents of the ad. Why?

Your resume will first be scanned by applicant tracking system software.

These nifty little robots will have a quick look at your resume. If they fail to see the skills and experience mentioned in the ad, they’ll assume you haven’t got what it takes to do the job.

Don’t just plonk everything into the skills section. Sprinkle the most important skill keywords from the job ad throughout your resume.

You can give these crucial abilities and traits a plug in the experience section, skills section, and resume objective or summary.

This infographic will help you tailor your resume to the job description by providing step-by-step instructions.

Time to get that dream job!