Tip: If you truly want the lower level position, downplay the upper level responsibilities and emphasize the lower level tasks and accomplishments required at that level.

When jobs were plentiful and skilled workers were at a premium, you could expect a recruiter or hiring official to study each resume, willing to make whatever mental leap necessary to deem the candidate a fit for the job. Today, hiring officials believe there are enough resources on the market that they do not need to settle for anything less than the perfect candidate. Budgets are tight, and by golly they expect the most bang from every buck. The price for finding this perfect specimen is sifting through a mountain of resumes. To do this, recruiters and hiring officials must shift into rapid elimination mode, allowing each resume only a brief glance to prove itself worthy of the short list.

If you are going to make that short list, you must grab their attention immediately. Writers refer to this as ‘the hook.’ And every writer knows you must create this hook in the first paragraph or risk losing your audience. You literally have only a few precious seconds to do this.

One way to achieve the hook is to write a professional summary at the top of the resume that is carefully tailored to emphasize the exact criteria of the job. Think of it as an abridged cover letter—a short paragraph no more than 75 or so words that speaks very clearly to the job specifications. If you have the specs and still can’t compose a summary that targets the position, you’re probably wasting your time on this one in today’s competitive job market.

Keeping with my initial scenario, let’s say you’re in technology and over the past ten years you have been a database administrator, a programmer, a systems architect, and a network engineer. You’re applying for my systems architect position. Your professional summary should speak to your systems architect experience as it pertains to my job spec and either underplay or omit all the other experience unless these things are secondary requirements to my job.  

Once you’ve created this masterful summary, you then need to make sure the rest of your resume supports (emphasizes) what you’ve written by expanding those areas that boast your systems architect experience. You might be thinking, “No way! If I tailored my resume for every different job I apply for, I’d do nothing but write resumes all day.”  Well, hopefully you’re focusing on positions that are similar enough that after a few ‘saved’ revisions you’ll be able to cover whatever comes your way with only minor tweaks. If not, I’d be concerned that you are floundering and unfocused in your job search.  

Tip: Grab the hiring official’s attention with a hard-hitting summary that’s targeted specifically to his or her needs. 

Okay, here’s the situation. I’m a recruiter and I’m advertising a systems architect position for one of my clients.  I have a desk full of job orders to fill and more under- and overqualified candidates than I can possibly interview in a month’s time, and they’re steadily coming in by the droves. My ad requests candidates to first submit a resume. If you are qualified, I will contact you. And you can bet I will because I need to fill this position before my competition scoops me.

John Q ignores my instructions and calls instead. Just like any other recruiter with too many callers and too little time, I normally pre-qualify a candidate on paper before I invest an hour discussing the particulars. However, I’m desperate for the right candidate, so I reluctantly take his call. And I’m glad I did. He is exactly what I need. I tell him to email his resume ASAP. When my inbox chimes, I open the resume with high hopes. But I’m sorely disappointed and now understand why John, as he put it, ‘can’t seem to get an interview.’ What I have in front of me is a one-size-fits-all resume. And buried deep within the resume are vague hints at his systems architect work that we discussed in detail for almost an hour. Where is all the good stuff he told me? It’s a fortunate thing he got through to me on the phone because otherwise I would’ve never given this guy a second glance based on his resume. I call him back and coach him on the necessary revisions. I get him set up with my client and provide him with the basic interview tips. John, bless his soul, gets the job, and I have a happy client who believes in me.

 Unfortunately, not every job seeker gets a second chance like John. In fact, I’m quite certain I have more John Qs than I realize; but I’ll never know because I don’t have the luxury to interview every candidate whose resume doesn’t meet my job criteria. I can only go by what’s on paper. That’s why your resume is so important.

Tip: Revise your resume to showcase your experience as it relates specifically to the position for which you’re applying.