Stop Sending the Wrong Resume

by Matt Weis on December 11th, 2013

Master vs. Custom Resume

Your resume is such a complicated document that, as soon as you finish the first draft, it’s tempting to just breathe a sigh of relief and start sending it in to employers.

That’d be a big mistake.

If you’re serious about your job search, you should customize your resume every time you apply for a new job. In doing so, you can both accentuate your compatibility with the position and increase your chances of getting past the Applicant Tracking System software many employers use to filter out “incompatible” applications.

The new resume builder on the TheProfessional.me guides you through the process of creating a master resume, with all of your professional experience, skills and education, and then customizing that resume for specific job applications.

Master Resume

The first thing you’ll need to do is create your master resume.

Your master resume is the toolbox from which you will construct and customize later resumes. It contains your entire work and education history from your first day on the job to the present day. Don’t worry if some of the elements don’t seem particularly relevant. You just want to collect your entire job history in one place, so you’ll be able to find it quickly when you need it.

When you finish with your master resume, you might be surprised by its length. This shouldn’t concern you, though, because employers should never actually see your master resume. To apply for a specific job, you need to create a custom resume.

Custom Resumes

Custom resumes are tailored to specific job leads. They contain only the skills, experience, and education that are relevant to that specific job, and even go so far as to incorporate key words and phrases from the job post. You should customize your resume every time you apply for a new job.

TheProfessional.me makes it easy to create a custom resume. While viewing a specific job, click the Create a Custom Resume button to jump into the custom resume builder where you’ll see both your master resume and job lead on one page. From there you can customize your master resume by selecting and/or changing any of the components of your resume.

At this point it’s essential to make sure that every piece of information on your custom resume is relevant to the job posting. If you don’t know why a piece of information is on your resume or how it will help you get the job, chances are you should remove it.

When you finish tailoring your custom resume to the job posting, all you have to do is download it and attach it to your application. Just make sure to proofread your resume a few times and even have a friend or two look it over before you send it in. 

Click here to start building your master resume now!

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Thanks Microtrain for conducting a great PMP course that set me on a successful path to obtain my PMP certification. I have passed the test!

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I was laid off for many months and not really getting many callbacks for my resume and no job offers. After I put the letters PMP on it, not only did I see an increase in quantity, but also quality of interviews. I had been spinning my wheels for 5 months, and after the PMP went on, I had 2 job offers in 6 weeks. It really was the "golden ticket"

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