In today’s competitive job market, there is no such thing as just having one general resume.  One of the most common requests I get from both established professionals and college students, is “Can you look at my resume and offer feedback?” Before doing so, I inform them that I need to know the purpose and goal of their resume before offering any feedback.  In order to stand out and get your resume noticed, it is imperative to create a targeted resume for your intended audience.   Here are a few steps to get started.

Reflect on these questions:

What is the goal of your resume? Before getting started, you need to figure out what you want to highlight and present on your resume, therefore, you need to know the purpose.  Are you applying for a leadership position, a fellowship, a teaching appointment, a scholarship, an internship, or joining a professional board? This information will be critical in helping you reflect on the experiences and accomplishments that you will focus on.

 Who is your target audience? It is essential that you have a clear understanding of what your audience is looking for. Are they looking for someone with public speaking skills, strong technical skills, relationship building, program development, etc.?  You must make a connection for your reader on how your background and experience aligns and addresses the specific needs of that audience.  Have you ever asked yourself “what should I keep or remove from my resume or what should I add? If you don’t have a goal or audience in mind, you will never be able to answer this question.  Do some research and find out what your audience values.  LinkedIn and informational interviews can come in handy when conducting this research.

Brand your resume:

Create a profile, summary or highlights section.  Some of you may recall the famous objective statement. That, my friends, is no longer a thing.  The goal of the resume is to show-off your qualifications, unique skills, experiences and value proposition.  An effective strategy to hook your reader is to brand your resume with a tailored profile or summary.  What does that look like? It can be presented in a number of ways.  You can have a PROFILE section with 2-3 sentences summarizing your qualifications, number of years of experience and specific highlights that you want your reader to know within seconds of reading your resume.   Again, this shouldn’t be general or generic – it must speak to your targeted audience. Another strategy is having a SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS or CAREER HIGHLIGHTS section.  The summary of qualifications can include bullet points with specific experiences, training, years of experience or skills that align with your targeted audience, whereas the career highlights can include bullet points that capture notable accomplishments from your various roles in previous organizations.  For more established professionals, you can have a combination of these sections- for instance, a profile with a bulleted summary of qualifications or career highlights.  Remember no fluff and quantify whenever possible!

Examples of each:

PROFILE:

Higher education professional with 5+ years’ experience in student affairs within community colleges and four-year institutions. Well-versed in financial aid, admissions and recruitment and student support services. Dedicated to creating programs that increase student retention and serving in support roles that foster student success.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:

• 3+ years of experience managing education programs within public schools and non-profit organizations.
• Experience developing and managing budget of $50k for education programs.
• Strong background in curriculum development; wrote and implemented 8 week professional development program for school support staff.
• Strong technical proficiency with background facilitating webinars and online training.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Fundraising professional with 6+ years’ experience generating revenue for non-profit organizations, after-school programs, and community initiatives
• Successfully implemented new fundraising campaign which surpassed institutional goal by 40%
• Oversaw fundraising initiatives and executed logistics for gala attended by high profile donors; raised over $60,000 for after-school program at-risk of discontinuing programming
• Fostered new partnerships with local businesses resulting in $30,000 of in-kind donations for small non –profit organization addressing health disparities

Tailor and prioritize your bullet points:

Reflect on your experience. What are some of your contributions and accomplishments for each of your roles (paid or unpaid).  What impact and special contributions have you made? Now think about how these roles align with your targeted audience.  What qualities are they looking for that you can provide?  Remember that your reader will only take a few seconds to review your resume.  Be strategic on how you present and prioritize information. Within each role, list the most relevant and impactful bullets first.

Simply put, you have to think strategically about how you present your resume. Having your targeted audience in mind will help facilitate the process and help you gain clarity on what to focus on.

Resume tip! Resume writing can be an overwhelming task, especially since it is very subjective. There are so many preferences and formats out there and you need to be true to yourself.  Everyone has a different opinion on what a resume should look like.  Do your research and see if you find any common advice on resume preferences for your specific field.