Employment Guide: Forget ‘one-size fits all’ resume, start tailoing

We all have our shticks, but one wouldn’t go from day to day with all the same lines and… We all have our shticks, but one wouldn’t go from day to day with all the same lines and routines. Similarly, job applicants shouldn’t try a “one-size fits all” approach whentrying to get hired.

One thing many potential applicants overlook is how their resumé caters to each specific job they are applying for. A common mistake job seekers make is to simply copy and paste their resumé to send to a smorgasbord of would-be employers.

Pitt’s employment development specialist Dean Jolin said not only is tailoring your resumé for specific jobs important, but you becomesignificantly less marketable to potentialemployers if you don’t specialize your resumé.

One of the ways traditionally used to make a resumé job-specific is the old stand by the objective statement. But many, like Heidi McFerron, employment specialist in the Pitt Career Development Office, feel it’s outdated. She said that objective statements are obsolete and that that information istypically written in the cover letter instead.

Nonetheless, McFerron said thinking about your objective and the exact reason why you are applying fora job in a particular company is very important. All job applicants must remember that it is not what the employer can do for you, but what you can do for the company.

Organization of your resumé and the details you choose to include in it make a difference.. Depending on your major, the skills section can be a great way to let the employer know of specific lab, research, language or computer skills you have.

For Jolin, the more specific students are, the better.

“For example, most everyone assumes people are knowledgeable of programs such as Microsoft Office, but things like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign or blogging would all be good things to mention if relevant to your intended field,” Jolin said.

McFerron says to consider breaking your experience into two separate sections. Students often have relevant experiences in fields they’re applying for, but list them lower on their resumé in order to organize events chronologically. McFerron suggests having a “Related Experience” section where you list the most pertinent information to the job you are applying for, and then having an “Additional Experience” category for less important information.

And even those experiences that aren’t directly relevant — part-time jobs at fast-food restaurants for example — can be beneficial on a resumé, says director of Pitt’s public and professional writing program Pam O’Brien. She said these experiences show that the student is a hard worker, yet she still advises separating this information from more job-relevant experiences.

As with any presentation, it’s important to know your audience. Creative fields such as communications, theater, film and writing often encourage more of a creative approach to a resumé. Applicants can feel free to explore more options with formatting, color and even the method in which resumés are sent. This, of course, should be practiced with a bit of caution.

“While many employers in creative fields would welcome a more innovative resumé format, keep in mind that with all industries, it is important to research companies you are applying to and know if this would be appropriate or not. It is always safe to be more conservative, especially if the company is corporate- or business-oriented.” Jolin said.

O’Brien suggested that students go a step further and schedule an informational interview with companies they are interested in.

“People love to talk about their jobs,” O’Brien said, “And after an information interview, they know who you are, which is why you’d send a resumé in the first place.”

In addition to having a stellar resumé that focuses on the particular job, O’Brien said that students should work tirelessly networking in their field.

“Until you find a full-time job, your full-time job should be finding a job,” O’Brien said.