6 Steps: How to Tailor Your Resume for Every Job

Job searching is basically a full-time job—and let’s be honest, it’s exhausting. And frustrating. The system feels broken and impersonal.

If you’re sending out the same generic resumes to every job posting, you’re probably hearing crickets. That’s because the current job market is flooded. People are sending out mass generic resumes to every job they see. Hundreds and possibly over 1,000 applicants for the job you see online. How can the humans possibly keep up?

They rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan for the right keywords, and if your resume and job application isn’t optimized, it might never be seen by human eyes.

Plus, think about it logically, are all those job descriptions looking for the exact same person? Definitely not! So, how could your one generic resume possibly be a fit?

Instead of blasting out hundreds of applications, streamline your efforts. Focus on the roles you are most excited about and where you are an awesome fit. With AI tools like ChatGPT, tailoring your resume for a specific role can take as little as 30 minutes.

Here are my 6 tips to tailor your resume for each job.

1. Start with Your Updated Resume

Before you dive into customization, you need a solid starting point. Take your most updated resume and save a generic version of it—this will be your master resume, the base for your targeted resume for each job opportunity.

If your resume needs a refresh, I have another article packed with detailed feedback to help you remember key qualifications, work experience, additional experiences, and relevant skills you might have forgotten—awards, software knowledge, cross-functional projects, and more! Check out: 17 Ideas for Updating Your Resume (Including AI!)

Pro Tip: Always do a File > Save As and rename your resume with the company’s name, e.g., Jennifer_Aniston_Resume_CompanyX.docx. That way, you won’t accidentally send Final_Final_FINALVersion.docx (we’ve all been there).

And please, never send a resume named simply “Resume.” That’s an easy way to get lost in the black hole of job applications.

2. Analyze the Job Description

Every job posting holds the key to getting past ATS filters. Here’s how to break it down:

Copy and paste the job description into ChatGPT.
Ask ChatGPT: What are the top 4-5 knockout skills or qualifications for this role?
If you have those specific skills but didn’t list them in your resume summary or bullet points, add them!
If they might be relevant for future similar roles, update your master resume too.

3. Identify and Use the Right Keywords

Many companies use an ATS to scan resumes for the right keywords from their job description. If you’re not using the right terms, your resume might never reach the hiring team.

How to Find the Right Keywords:

Ask ChatGPT: What are the top 10 keywords from this job description?
Compare those most important keywords to your resume and insert them naturally where they fit.
Match the company’s language. If they say Customer Care instead of Customer Service, use their terminology.

Here’s a real-life example: In a past job search, I was applying for marketing roles and had bullet points listing specific digital marketing strategies like SEO, PPC, email marketing, social media, and content marketing. But guess what term I never actually used? Digital marketing. That one missing phrase might have kept me from landing interviews!

4 Re-Prioritize Your Experience

The experience that is most relevant to the job should always come first. Hiring managers don’t want to dig for the main point—make it obvious!

Steps to Optimize Your Experience Section:

Reorder your work experience so the most relevant projects appear in the first bullets under each job.
If a bullet point isn’t a good fit for this particular job, remove it.
Quantify achievements whenever possible.

Each specific job will have different priorities. Here’s an example: I was once hiring a writer. I wanted someone obsessed with storytelling—not a designer who could write a little. When candidates sent resumes packed with technical skills like Photoshop and InDesign, I skipped over them. Their hard skills actually worked against them.

Takeaway? If certain skills don’t align with the job requirements, they might be hurting your chances.

This can be tricky to figure out. One clue could be the size of the company or the size of the department. In a large company, the marketing team may have someone dedicated to social media. So, if you are applying to a marketing manager job or content marketing job, you might leave off social media.

On the other hand, marketing roles in a small company require candidates with a little experience in many different things. So, if you have know design tools, have done project management, worked events, and managed social media, you could feature all of those bullet points.

5. Final Check: Compare Your Tailored Resume to the Job Description

Once you’ve made all these updates, do a final pass:

Ask ChatGPT: Compare my resume to this job description and identify any gaps.
Look for missing transferable skills, unclear phrasing, or areas that could be stronger.
Make necessary adjustments and then hit submit!

6. Proofread Your Resume

Every time you edit, rewrite, revise, and tailor your resume, please take the time to proofread it!

I have an entire post dedicated to this topic, and I give you 12 tips to proof your resume. Tools like Spellcheck and Grammarly can help. Check your margins and formatting. Read it out loud. Ask someone else to take a look.