Tailoring Your Resume for Each Job

Generic resumes get generic results. Here's how to tailor your resume for maximum impact.

Why Tailor?

• ATS optimization - Match keywords from the job posting
• Recruiter attention - Show you're a perfect fit
• Interview invitations - Increase your chances of getting called
• Salary negotiation - Demonstrate relevant experience

Step 1: Read the Job Posting Carefully

Before you start tailoring, read the job posting 2-3 times. Look for:

• Required skills - Must-haves
• Preferred skills - Nice-to-haves
• Key responsibilities - What they actually do
• Company values - What they care about
• Keywords - Words they use repeatedly

Step 2: Match Your Experience

For each job you list, ask yourself:

• Does this experience relate to the job posting?
• Can I reframe this to show relevance?
• Should I emphasize different achievements?

Example

Job posting wants: "Experience with customer retention strategies"

Your experience: "Managed customer relationships and reduced churn"

Tailored bullet point: "Developed customer retention strategy that reduced churn by 25%, saving $500K annually"

Step 3: Adjust Your Skills Section

• Move relevant skills to the top - Put skills from the job posting first
• Add missing skills - If you have them, make sure they're visible
• Remove irrelevant skills - Less is more when tailoring

Step 4: Rewrite Your Summary

Your professional summary should:

• Address the specific role
• Highlight relevant experience
• Use keywords from the job posting
• Show enthusiasm for the role

Example

Generic: "Experienced marketer with 5 years of experience"

Tailored: "Digital marketing specialist with 5 years driving customer acquisition and retention for SaaS companies. Proven track record of increasing conversion rates by 40% through data-driven strategies."

Step 5: Reorder Your Experience

Put most relevant jobs first, even if they're not your most recent. If you have:

• Recent job (less relevant)
• Older job (highly relevant)

Consider putting the relevant one first or emphasizing it more.

Pro Tips

💡 Use a template - Start with your master resume and create variations

💡 Save versions - Keep tailored versions for different job types

💡 Use keywords naturally - Don't keyword-stuff. It should read naturally.

💡 Tailor for each application - Yes, really. Each job is different.

💡 Get feedback - Have someone review your tailored resume

What NOT to Do

❌ Don't lie - Never claim skills you don't have ❌ Don't change your story - Stay authentic ❌ Don't over-tailor - Keep it professional ❌ Don't forget basics - Spelling and grammar still matter ❌ Don't submit generic resumes - It shows you didn't care

Using shipresume

Our resume builder makes tailoring easy:

• Create multiple versions
• Save tailored versions for different roles
• Use AI to suggest tailoring improvements
• Export instantly

Create your resume and start tailoring.

Next Steps

• Get AI feedback on your tailoring
• Learn about ATS optimization
• Create your resume
• Check our FAQs