Should you customize yor resume for the career you want?
I would like to know if it is a good idea to customize your resume for the career you are going for. #career-counseling
4 answers
Gary’s Answer
Hi,
Yes, most definitely customize your resume to the specific job, company and/or career field that you want to be in. This shows the employer that you are serious about this particular job/company and that you take the time to customize your resume to give the employer an accurate representation of how you can do that job. It is also OK to have multiple resumes, once you start working you will gain skills in different areas that you can use in future jobs/careers.
Good luck!
Thank you for the advice.
Justin
Sen’s Answer
Hello Justin,
Good question. Now a days it has not only become customary but essential to apply with special resume with relevant experience and skill sets. This has assumed importance because of various software that are being used to pre-assess the individual through the Resume, known as Application Tracking System(ATS). These ATS pick up few resumes out of many based on some phrases, words, peculiar technical jargon which are fed into it by the HR professionals for a particular position and then they read those selected few Resumes for making further shortlisting. That's why specific Resumes are used/floated to get noticed by the Resume reading software (ATS). It is my practical experience that many a times system rejects good candidates or better ones than those who have been picked up. So the efficacy of ATS is somewhat questionable, nevertheless, you need to follow the trend of the times.
On the other hand, you perform and learn new things everyday and grow in experience and gain expertise in couple of subjects but those information need not be fed/ told in every time you apply for a position, that is the reason you have to keep multiple resume.
Today you have professionals who can do such a wonderful cosmetics by doing jugglery of words in a Resume, that transcends an average person's resume to that of a super achiever. But they will fail in the interview round. Thus, it is important to have a decent Resume which speaks your credentials correctly and highlights your achievements matching your personae is more important to make the cut in an interview. So I feel it is important to have a decent resume (at least for getting noticed), but your self with your knowledge, experience and as a whole personae is make the grade. So develop and arm yourself with requisite knowledge and experience, rest everything will fall in place.
All the very Best!
Michael’s Answer
It's a very competitive landscape right now with high paying technical roles. If you do get an interview, make sure you research the company and be prepared to ask thought provoking questions. You want to turn the interview into a conversation, so the hiring manager can get to know you and your abilities. Do some research on the behaviors needed for a particular position and make sure to go through your work experience to prepare. Behavioral based answers during your interviews should follow the STAR format:
- Situation / Task
- Actions
- Results
There are plenty of forums and youtube videos that show you the behavioral based or STAR method interviews.
Hope this helps and happy job hunting!
Thanks,
Michael
Darlene’s Answer
In addition to having knowledge of the industry, the company and the job, you will likely be faced with competency based interview questions that may not pertain to the job or company, but rather your competencies. These are especially important to people just entering the owrkfoce as they may not have a wealth of experience yet. Here are some examples of competency based interview questions:
Give me an example of a situation where… Tell me about a time when…. How do ….
- Your communication skills made a difference to a situation
- You had to deal with a difficult client/customer
- You played a key role in a team
- You altered your behaviour to meet a situation
- You changed your priorities to meet others expectations
- What type of writing have you done? Give examples? What makes you think that you are good at it?
- Tell us about a decision that you made, which you knew would be unpopular with a group of people. How did you handle the decision-making process and how did you manage expectations?
- Tell me about a time when you showed integrity and professionalism.
- Give us an example of a situation where you worked under pressure.
- When is the last time that you were upset with yourself at work ?
- How do you build relationships with other members of your team?
Best of luck to you!