Effective Resume Tailoring

🚀 Why a One-Size-Fits-All CV Is Costing You Your Dream Job Let me tell you about Sarah. For months, she applied to dozens of roles with the same polished CV. Crickets. Then, she tweaked her resume for one job, aligning it to the role’s core requirements. Within 48 hours, she landed an interview and later, the offer. Here’s the truth: Hiring managers aren’t just looking for qualified candidates. They’re looking for candidates who speak their language. As an HR consultant with 6+ years in the trenches, I’ve seen why tailored CVs win: 1️⃣ ATS Bots Don’t Read Minds: If your CV lacks the keywords from the job description, it might never reach human eyes. 2️⃣ Relevance > Volume: Listing every skill under the sun drowns out what matters. Highlight the 5-6 competencies the job explicitly needs. 3️⃣ You Show Up as a Solution: Framing your experience around their challenges screams, “I’ve done this before and I’ll do it for YOU.” Think tailoring takes too much time? Ask yourself: Is 10 extra minutes customizing your CV worth skipping 10 more weeks of radio silence? 👉 Pro Tip: For your top 3 target roles, mirror the job description’s language in your summary, skills, and achievements. Did the job stress “cross-functional leadership”? Show how you led 8 departments to cut costs by 20%. Bottom line: A generic CV says, “I need a job.” A tailored CV says, “I want THIS job.” 📣 Your Turn: Ready to stand out? This week, pick one role you’re passionate about and rebuild your CV around their needs. Then watch your response rate shift. P.S. Struggling to start? Drop “CV” below, and I’ll share my quick-hit customization checklist! #JobSearchHacks #CareerSuccess #HRInsights #CVTips #CareerStory

Anyone who says you shouldn’t tailor your resume for each job… Is giving trash advice. Like, straight-up “set your job search back 6 months” kind of bad. They clearly don’t know how hiring actually works. As a tech recruiter, I’ve seen this play out thousands of times. - Generic resume = generic response (or none at all). - Tailored resume = interviews. Offers. Momentum. Let me show you what I mean 👇 Real job description example (from Thoughtworks): “Create large-scale distributed systems… use DevSecOps tools… collaborate in cross-functional teams…” What a generic resume says: → “Built and deployed scalable web applications for a SaaS product.” What a tailored resume says: → “Built distributed microservices and deployed secure, high-quality software using DevSecOps best practices—collaborated with a cross-functional team of 18 to deliver faster customer outcomes in 3–6 month sprints.” Another job description example (from Procreate): “Solve complex problems in realtime and memory-constrained environments… Push hardware limits…” Generic version: → “Worked on performance improvements in a mobile app.” Tailored version: → “Led a 40% reduction in app latency by optimizing real-time rendering logic in a memory-constrained iOS environment, boosting performance on older devices and improving overall user experience.” But Eli "I don't have any numbers to back my contributions" No stress. Just highlight the outcome: what improved, what got easier, what moved forward because of your effort. Here’s the thing no one tells you: Generic resumes list what you did. Tailored resumes prove why it matters. The best ones: ▶︎ Speak their language ▶︎ Show results, not just tasks ▶︎ Use data, not fluff If your resume reads like a copy-paste of the job description, you’re doing it wrong. Your resume isn’t a history lesson. It’s a highlight reel that speaks directly to what this job needs. Show them you get it. Show them you’ve done it. Show them why you’re the obvious choice. Tailor it like your next role depends on it, because honestly, it does. PS: Once you’ve built a solid base resume for software engineering roles, tailoring becomes quick, just a few minutes per job. But if you’re switching tracks (like moving into ML or cybersecurity), that’s not a tweak. That’s a rewrite. New audience. New language. New resume. → Save this post for your next job application → Follow me for more real-world job advice that works

Stop customizing your resume for remote jobs until you've done this crucial step first... 👇🏼 Everyone tells you to tailor your resume for each application. Sometimes you simply take what you have and try to turn it into something remarkable. But after helping hundreds of remote job seekers land their dream roles, I've discovered most people are customizing based on the WRONG information. They're wasting hours making changes that hiring managers don't even notice. Here's the crucial step you need to take BEFORE touching your resume: ✅ 1 // Decode the company's remote work culture Most job seekers skim the job description and tweak a few keywords. This is surface-level customization that doesn't work. Instead, spend 30 minutes researching HOW the company actually operates remotely: • Do they work asynchronously or have core overlap hours? • What communication tools do they prioritize? • How do they measure productivity and results? • What values do they emphasize for distributed teams. This deeper understanding reveals what they ACTUALLY care about in remote candidates. ✅ 2 // Find the remote work patterns in their language Study their blog posts, social media, employee LinkedIn profiles, and Glassdoor reviews. Look for repeated phrases and emphasized qualities. One client discovered her target company mentioned "self-documentation" in multiple team member posts - a skill she had but never highlighted. Adding this to her resume led to an immediate interview request after months of rejections. ✅ 3 // Position yourself as the solution to their specific remote challenges Every remote company has unique pain points: • Some struggle with cross-time-zone collaboration • Others prioritize security and compliance • Many need strong independent problem-solvers Once you identify their particular challenges, THEN customize your resume to show how you solve those specific problems. My client Michael had applied to 40+ remote developer roles with a "customized" resume focused on technical skills. After implementing this research-first approach, he landed 3 interviews in his next 5 applications. The difference? He stopped trying to be the perfect candidate for a generic remote role and started positioning himself as the specific solution each company needed. Remember: Effective customization isn't about cramming in more keywords - it's about demonstrating deep understanding of their unique remote environment. What's your biggest challenge when customizing your resume for remote roles? Here’s to us “escaping the cubicle” Wes 📌 Remote job searching? Comment “resume” and I’ll send you my Remote Resume Checklist to help you get started. #remotework #jobsearchtips #resumewriter 🎥 (@davidzinn)

I used to send the same resume to every job. I tried cramming all my experiences onto one page, thinking it would make me look impressive. I typically never heard back. I thought one “perfect” resume would be enough. No one told me that resumes are not one-size-fits-all. The language, skills, and responsibilities that stand out in one industry might not be valued in another. I have been so desperate to write a good resume that I’ve been tempted to pay for career services, which I could not afford during my uni years. I had to figure it out through trial and error. Since 2019, I’ve written ~ 100 resumes. Most were ignored. A handful landed me interviews and offers. So here are 2 resumes that worked for me, 2 that were not very unsuccessful + tips ( I think) that helped. 🚫 The mistakes I made - Listing everything I’d ever done (thinking more = better) - Using the same resume for every role & every industry - Writing about responsibilities instead of results ✅ What worked: 1️⃣ Tailoring by field - I started creating separate resumes for different industries (nonprofit, tax, marketing, etc) - Tailoring helped make my background more niche & recruiters were able to easily identify how my experiences aligned with the roles I applied for 2️⃣ Quantifying impact - I got more responses when I started highlighting my results, not just responsibilities  - Example: “Prepared 100+ tax returns in one quarter, securing over $XXX,XXX in refunds” communicates impact more effectively than “Prepared tax returns.” 3️⃣ Strategic formatting - Removed graduation year to reduce bias - Moved education to the top, which (I think??) increased responses (this was more effective when I was in uni) - Used bold headers, clear spacing, and concise bullets to avoid clutter 4️⃣ Proofreading & feedback - Grammarly = lifesaver - Peer reviews for a second set of eyes - Consistent verb tenses (AKA past roles in past tense)! 5️⃣ Portfolio when relevant - For creative/marketing roles, linking a portfolio gave recruiters more than a single-page snapshot of my work 6️⃣ Use action verbs - Started bullets with developed, led, increased, streamlined instead of “responsible for” 📌 Resume resources: - Harvard: https://lnkd.in/gCZb-bfZ - UC Berkeley: https://lnkd.in/gdyZ5hmp  - MIT: https://lnkd.in/gzFznJ83  - UPenn: https://lnkd.in/gJtVhpNJ  - Columbia: https://lnkd.in/gmK9ack6 If you’re early in your career or first-gen, tailoring your resume can feel overwhelming. I’m happy to help anyone review or edit their resume! Also curious to hear about other resume tips that have worked for others! ✨

Let’s talk about the real secret to writing a resume that actually gets interviews: Tailoring. Your. Resume. Every. Time. Now before you roll your eyes and say, “But Mary, that sounds exhausting!”—hear me out. I’m not talking about rewriting your entire resume from scratch for every role. I’m talking about strategic tweaks that make a BIG impact. The kind of shifts that show hiring managers (and ATS systems) that you’re not just qualified—you’re relevant. Here’s how I break it down: → Pull key language straight from the job posting—but weave it in naturally. Show them you already speak their language. → Back it up with real results. Don’t just say you’re a team player. Say you partnered with 3 departments to increase engagement by 35%. That’s the good stuff. → Match their tone. If their posting screams data and impact? Bring on the metrics. If it’s more culture-first? Highlight collaboration and mission-aligned wins. → Write for the ATS and the human reader. Use the keywords, yes—but use them to tell a compelling, true story about your work. This isn’t resume fluff. It’s resume strategy. And yes—it works. I’ve been writing resumes professionally for 12+ years and have helped folks land roles at top companies using this exact approach. If your resume feels like it’s being ignored, it’s probably not about your experience—it’s about the translation. Let’s fix that. 👉 Read the full blog for all the juicy tips. 👉 Want a second set of eyes or some help tailoring your resume to your dream role? I offer a 1:1 resume writing service—DM me! 📩 And hey, if you know someone who’s job searching and could use this advice, feel free to forward this post their way. Sharing is caring! #ResumeTips #TailorYourResume #JobSearchStrategy #ATSfriendly #CareerGrowth #ResumeAssassin #ProfessionalBranding #MarySouthern #CareerCoaching #LandingInterviews #LinkedInTips

Late last night I was watching Captain America: Brave New World and questioning all my life choices... Specifically drinking a Celsius, a fancy Diet Coke, and two espresso martinis within 12 hours. Then a student hit me up with a problem. She was struggling to tailor her resume for software engineering internships — and even with ChatGPT, it was taking her an hour per application. The issue? She was trying to match every single keyword. Here’s the framework I gave her instead: Every bullet in a job description falls into one of 3 buckets: ✅ Bullets you’ll see in every JD for this type of role These should already be on your resume. Leave them alone. ❗Bullets that are specific to the skills this company wants This is where you tailor. Prioritize these. 🗣️ Bullets tied to soft skills they’ll screen for in interviews Not worth forcing into your resume. Take this job description, for example: Minimum Qualifications ✅ Enrolled and currently pursuing a BS in Computer Science or related field ✅ Returning to school after Summer 2026 to complete your degree ✅ Enrolled in a college or university in North America ✅ Strong understanding of CS fundamentals and practical coding application 🗣️ Team player with demonstrated collaboration skills Preferred Qualifications ❗ Coursework in SQL and relational database concepts ❗ Proficiency in Java, Javascript and related frameworks ❗ Working knowledge of HTML and web technologies ❗ Knowledge of front end and back end languages 🗣️ Strong communication skills - written, verbal and visual 🗣️ Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 🗣️ Commitment to delivering high-quality solutions 🗣️ Self-motivated and eager to learn 🗣️ Ability to quickly adapt to new technologies Instead of stressing about rewriting her resume to include things like “self-motivated” or “adapt to new technology,” she can focus on the 4 ❗bullets that actually matter. Quick updates to her skills and coursework sections, a few tweaks to her projects and experience, and boom tailoring goes from an hour to under 15 minutes. This is the kind of real, actionable advice we’re giving every day on Fide. It’s a career expert in your pocket. Any time. Day or night. Come thru: https://lnkd.in/gqJZsuNg

If you are telling people that they should tailor their resume, I am not saying it is bad advice. But I am saying that mentioning that without anything else to go with it is at best unhelpful. It's about as helpful as saying that you need to have a resume or that you have to go on the internet in order to apply to online job portals. This post is my best attempt at making the well-intended advice of tailoring your resume actually actionable and effective. I have also done all of this myself and has worked well in helping me frame my skillset whenever I job search. I will go all the way from seeing a job posting to sending in your application. -You see the posting. Have what you currently understand to be the best or most relevant version of your resume ready to go. Pull up your favorite AI tool of choice and say the following, extending to each company you've been at which might be relevant. "Attached I have a posting to a role I'm interested in along with the best version of my resume. In my most recent role I was a <person> doing <a thing> and impacting the business in <some way>. Please help me jog my memory of what I most likely accomplished in each role that would be compelling for someone hiring for the role discussed in the job description. Then I will use your reminders to help me identify what my most important accomplishments were." Do that then in the next prompt after looking over what it returns to you. "Thank you for the reminders. After thinking about it, I did <these things> in <this role> and <these other things> in <my other role>. Now please incrementally (ASIDE, the mention of incrementally is very important!) ask me questions to walk me through tailoring my resume to highlight these things I just mentioned that I accomplished while keeping anything relevant in my existing resume intact. Please make sure to convey impact where applicable and to make the bullet points compelling to a hiring team. Also do not hesitate to remove anything that would not matter to the hiring team." Then follow its advice, and if you're smart you can even have it do the final formatting for you. If you do this, it's personalized to you, communicative, and not AI slop. Just be sure you can talk to anything that you put in this tailored version of your resume. It can take 15 to 30 minutes to do this properly for each role you apply to but it saves a lot of time in wondering how you can sell your skills to a role you are interested in. If this is helpful, please follow me for more posts like this.

I’ve seen job seekers apply to 50+ roles with zero interviews. But one small shift can change everything. Most people think job searching is a numbers game: More applications = more chances. But here’s the truth - as a recruiter, I spend seconds scanning a resume. If I don’t see relevance fast, I move on. That’s why tailoring your resume matters—but it doesn’t have to take an hour. You can do it in under 10 minutes: ✅ Read the job description. Look for the specific tools, systems, or skills mentioned. ✅ Match your resume language to theirs - especially in the top 1/3 of your resume. ✅ Reorder or reword your bullets so the most relevant experience is up top. 🔁 For example: Job ad says: “Proficient in Salesforce and HubSpot” Your resume says: “CRM experience” ✅ Update to: “Used Salesforce and HubSpot to track 300+ leads monthly” Job ad says: “Python and SQL for data analysis” Your resume says: “Data skills” ✅ Update to: “Analyzed large datasets using Python and SQL to uncover user trends” This isn’t keyword stuffing. It’s making it obvious that you have the skills they’re hiring for. 💡 Your resume doesn’t need to be rewritten every time. But it does need to speak the employer’s language. 🎯 Quality > Quantity. Every time.

🎯 Tuesday: Tailored A one-size-fits-all resume rarely lands the interview, in my opinion. The best resumes are customized to the role, even if only slightly. If the role you’re applying to calls out “Data Cloud,” “pipeline growth,” or “Agentforce,” your resume should show what you did in those areas, the business impact, and measurable results. Examples: 🔎 Job description says: “Experience with Salesforce Data Cloud.” Your resume should mention: what you built or implemented in Data Cloud, how it improved data accuracy or access for the business, and the measurable impact (e.g., reduced duplicate records by 30%, enabled personalized campaigns for 1M+ customers). 🔎 Job description says: “Proven track record of pipeline growth.” Your resume should mention: how you partnered with sales, what you created (dashboards, automations, forecasting tools), the business value (better visibility, faster decisions), and measurable results (e.g., pipeline coverage increased by 20%, win rates up 10%). 🔎 Job description says: “Hands-on with Agentforce.” Your resume should mention: which Agentforce capabilities you used (copilots, automation, predictive insights), how they helped the business (streamlined case handling, improved forecasting), and measurable results (e.g., 15% reduction in case handling time, 12% lift in sales conversion).

As a recruiter, I'm often asked: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯?" The answer isn't one-size-fits-all, but here's what I recommend: 1. Create your master resume:  This is a comprehensive resume containing all your experiences, skills, and achievements. It's not for sending out, but for reference so you can copy + paste experiences into different tailored resumes (it’s okay if this is 2+ pages long). This is especially useful if you have lots of various experiences that don’t fit in your normal resume. 2. Create a general-purpose resume: Keep a well-rounded, cleaner version of your resume ready for networking events, career fairs, or general opportunities. The resume should be focused on your #1 target job title. If you’re mainly looking for a SWE job, it should be oriented towards that. 3. Develop multiple resumes for diverse roles. If you're exploring different career paths (e.g., SWE and Data Science), create a general resume for each field that highlights your strengths in that field. 4. Tailor for each application: For jobs that you are highly interested in, you should tailor them individually. You may only end up using these tailored resumes for one application, but they help you stand out in a tough job market. While it’s hard to quantify how many resumes is best, I’d recommend: ✅ 1 master resume. ✅ 1 general-purpose resume. ✅ 1 resume for each additional field you are interested in. ✅ Tailoring your resume for important jobs. 💡 P.S. I can go more in-depth on tailoring / keywording your resume too, please comment below if you’d like to see a post on it.