SPECIAL REPORT: Three Easy Steps to Getting the Job Offer of Your Dreams!

If you want a powerful resume that gets results, you've got to use resume targeting.

Hi there! Thanks for signing up to my FREE e-course on leveraging your resume to ace your job interviews. Your first lesson will be on its way shortly, but first, here's that special report I promised you...

STEP 1: Customize Your Resume to Each Job

One of the most important things you can do before you send out your resume the next time is make sure it's customized. What do I mean by that?

Well... I mean make sure the resume truly fits the position you're applying for. When I was recruiting, I used to hate it when I got resumes in stating a job objective that had absolutely no relation to the job the person was applying for!

You know where those resumes went... yep, to the circular file... or at best to the very bottom of the pile.

Don't let that happen to you. Take a few minutes to modify your resume so that you appear to be a great match for the job you want.

But don't just take my word for it.. here's a great article that really lays it on the line, and gives up a few other nuggets of wisdom as well.

Four Simple Steps To Better Results With Your Resume

By Jeff Altman

Is every job description you read the same? No.

Is every job you submit your resume to the same? Of course they aren't.

If all these job descriptions are different, why do you submit the same resume?

Every day, people send the same generic resume out as though each position was identical and each employer was attempting to hire identical skills and attributes. Too often, the results they receive are like the broken watch that is right twice a day—hit or miss success.

They list their name, address, phone numbers and email address, list an objective, education, and chronology of experience with dates of employment. The resume includes some successes or accomplishments. This is their resume.

In the days prior to computers when changing a resume required you to re-type different versions, this made sense. Today, when computers allow you to customize, spell and grammar check documents so easily, you are missing out on opportunities and costing yourself money by being lazy and not tailoring your resume for each opportunity you are interested in.

Here are several steps that you can do to improve your resume and get better results.

1. Each employer will be interested in different attributes of your experience. They often indicate it by the items they describe in their job ad. Emphasize the experiences that you have that relate to the skills being sought and the functions you will perform in the job they will ask you to perform. If you are applying for a staff position, emphasize your staff experience and minimize your management experience. If you are being hired to be a leader, write about your recent leadership.


2. Employers are more interested in recent work, rather than work you did many years ago. Use more space in your resume to highlight recent experience, rather than things you did before George W. Bush became President.


3. Like setting a goal where you make them specific, measurable, achievable within a specific period of time, describe your successes or achievements concretely. Reducing costs is a nice start but it is more powerful to describe something as reducing operational costs globally by 2%. Increased departmental sales by 27% resulting in... You get the idea. Use action verbs wherever possible (For more on this, read my article, "Preparing an Effective Resume" on www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com).


4. Ask someone you trust to critique what you've written. Too often, people believe that they can do everything by themselves without asking for help. Ask a friend in your industry to critique what you've written to insure you're on target and aren’t missing the mark.

When you go to a restaurant and order a meal, you have the expectation that it will be prepared in a way that will please you and be presented on the plate beautifully. Writing a great resume requires that you be the chef and prepare a meal that is both visually appealing and tastes great too!

© 2005 all rights reserved. Jeff Altman, Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com. (If you're looking for a new position, include your resume).

Want to get a more comprehensive approach to landing a job than what you're reading in this special report? Then, get your copy of David Green's outstanding toolkit here — I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who's serious about landing the job of their dreams.

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