The Resume Must Fit the Job!

Everyone remembers learning about Hammurabi and his code in school, right? Didn’t he say something like, “The punishment must fit the crime.” And while it doesn’t make sense to punish someone harshly for a minor offense, it also doesn’t make sense to look at a resume from a job seeker that isn’t a reflection of the advertised job!

I’ll make it real simple. As a recruiter, the first thing I do if I see a resume come in with a current job title that is completely different from the advertised role is…. toss it!

Sure, it may seem a little harsh, and, perhaps the candidate would do a great job in that role. But trust me, there’s a deeper reasoning and method to my madness! If someone doesn’t take the time to cater their resume and application to the job being offered it tells me a few things:

1. You Didn’t Read The Job Description – Simple enough. You are a waitress applying for a VP of Media Buying position. The appropriate experience just isn’t there. Not only that, you didn’t even try to cater your resume to the position. I would have at least doled out some extra credit points for translating a few of your waitress skills into VP level accolades……but alas.

2. You Are Careless –  Not true in all cases of course. But, what do you expect a recruiter to think when you just applied for something for which you have no experience in? Maybe you just applied on a whim, hoping maybe just maybe someone would see how great you are at your janitorial job and offer you a position as Director of Marketing at a tech startup. Well, the sad truth is. You just wasted both of our time submitting that resume.

3. You Are Desperate –  It makes recruiters and hiring companies think you are just submitting your resume to every company out there. Pardon the analogy, but ever heard of throwing sh$# at a wall and seeing what sticks? This is what it appears you are doing when you don’t take any time to modify your resume appropriately.

4. You Are Lost –  You don’t know what you want to do, or even worse, what you are qualified to do. This further communicates a lack of self confidence and expertise, which will not get you a second look from a recruiter or hiring manager. Maximize your skill set and know what you’re good at. Only apply for jobs that target your best assets and translate non-industry specific experiences and skills into the job that you want. Otherwise you may remain lost forever!

All in all, your resume MUST fit the job role you wish to apply for or else it’s just a waste of everyone’s time.  Put forth a little effort to cater your resume to the role and you at least have a chance of getting a call-back, even if you are just an account manager applying for a CEO position at a Fortune 500…