You can tailor your resume and cover letter by usingkey words and phrases that are particular to that type of role andindustry you are targetting.It should remain in the same clean andprofessional format that makes you look professional on paper, andcompetent to do the job you are applying for.
First step, I would recommend you actually print out the job advertisement and highlight the 8 most important requirements of the job.
Your resume and cover letter need to be tweaked so they clearly demonstrate you have the relevant skills and competencies for this job. Change your objective or summary if required, and even the order of the bullet points to make them in priority order, according to the specifications of the job. Think like the hiring manager and take a long hard critical look at your resume and cover letter to see what might stop them from considering you further. As an example:
- Do you look over qualified for this job? Should you really mention you have a Masters?
- Will the fact you say that you live in Frankston be a problem if the job advertised is in Sunshine?
- Will this company understand the technical or industry jargon or phrases you have used?
You will need to insert the relevant key words, phrases and experience that relate to the requirements outlined in the job advert. Try to keep the sentences short and succinct, and follow the style that the resume writer has used throughout your resume and cover letter.
If you really determined to get an interview, there are 3 more winning steps you can make which will result in you getting many more job interviews.
1. Ring the person who is hiring for the position and ask them to tell you a little more about the role. Ask if there are any more skills or experience the company is seeking, that was not listed in the job advertisement. Try to build as much rapport as is possible in this call, as they will be assessing your communication skills and your ability to deal with similar situations. They will probably end up deciding if they want to interview you or take a closer look at your resume, based on this very phone call. Then use the information you receive and tweak your resume to list any relevant skills or experience that is not already outlined in your resume.
2. Do a search on Google for the company name and see if they have been in the news, then check out the industry that they belong to and get a feel for how the industry is progressing, what the current struggles are, and get to know about possible future trends. Use your lateral thinking skills to brainstorm how your skills, experience and talents can be of benefit to an industry in this position, and the particular company you have your eye on.
Whatever ideas you come up with, you can suggest you talk further with the hiring manager. In your cover letter, for example, you could write something like:
"After researching the company and the industries this company is connected with, I have a strong reason to believe that I possess a few other skills that the company may be interested in. Considering how to the industry is changing/growing/suffering at the moment, I think I can be of real benefit to xyz"
3.
Use your
online and offline contacts to see if you can find anyone who works at the company. Get some inside information about the role, about the person who is hiring and about the manager who you would be reporting to. Ask for the good points about working there, and also any other information that you should know about. They are likely to be honest with you, because they have nothing to lose, and you might be able to use this information in your cover letter or job interview.
I hope this helps, these are good points that have helped hundreds of people save weeks and weeks of job searching effort and wasted energy.
