Last time, we talked about two different kinds of résumés; today, we’re going to discuss ways to turn your résumé from a bland, boring list of jobs into a gleaming testimony to your abilities.

Make no mistake: Your résumé is a sales document.  Although many might think of it as a dry list of your experience, it is more like junk mail.  Any given job listing draws dozens, if not hundreds, of résumés — the tips here will help put yours on the top of the stack instead of in the trash.

A note of caution: Don’t spend hours tuning your résumé only to send it out to jobs that you aren’t qualified for.  At best, you’ll waste postage; at worst, you’ll wind up with a job you can’t do.

Tailor your résumé to the listing

If you’re like most people, you sat down one night and drew up a list of jobs you’ve held, made up some accomplishments for each position, and threw your contact information on the top.  If you decided to go a step further, you bought or borrowed a book on résumé writing and copied some of the examples.  Then you said “Whew, glad I’ve got a résumé now,” and sent it out to every job listing you saw.

Congratulations! Now you’ve got either an uncompelling résumé or one that sounds word-for-word like the one above and below it.  Unfortunately, it does nothing to excite the poor schmuck who has to sift through them all and pick their next employee.

To get employers’ attention, you have to tailor your résumé. Treat your base résumé as a template, not as a final product.  When a job listing excites you, show it by spending an hour rewriting your résumé to personalize it for the employer.  Here’s three simple ways to do so:

1. Use the language in the job listing. If the listing says “Oversees a staff of freelancers,” don’t say “Managed stringers.” This is probably the most important tip, as many résumés, especially those submitted online, are scanned for keywords by computers before they ever see a human eye.
2. Figure out what skills and experience are important to the employer and highlight them. If your claim to fame is an ability to make processes more time effective, and your dream job needs someone to cut costs, show how your talents can save the employer money.  Don’t lie, but show your experience in the most flattering light.
3. Write your objective to sound like you’ve been waiting all your life for this opportunity.  If we’re being objective, everyone really has the same objective: “Pay the rent and feed my family.”  But put that aside and write an objective that matches the opportunities the job listing offers.  Think about it: Would you go on a date with someone who just likes to go out on dates, or would you wait for someone who actually wants to date you?

List accomplishments, not responsibilities

If you’ve got a résumé written already, pull it out and read over it.  Which of your accomplishments excites you?  What draws your eye to it? What would you tell your friends about?

If you’re drawing a blank because you’re listing your responsibilities, erase them.  A résumé is not a place to tell the world what you had to do — it’s to show what you did well.  Celebrate yourself! Show the hiring manager the amazing things you’ve done in the past and can do again for them.  You didn’t “manage a staff” or “keep department under budget,” You “led a team of professionals to create award-winning content” and “Trimmed costs by 12 percent  by using cutting-edge technologies and increasing efficiency.”

Remember, your résumé’s purpose is get you an interview.  Help it out by writing accomplishments that make you, and the person reading it, say “Huh, how did she do that?”

Benefits, not features

Any good copywriting book will counsel you to write benefits, not features.  The difference is simple: A feature is what you can do, a benefit is what you can do for the employer.  We all have skills that we’re proud of. Show how your skills will make money for the company.  Did you write the company newsletter? No, you “Wrote newsletter to increase morale and decrease turnover.”

I can’t give you examples for every accomplishment. However, I can tell you that your résumé is the first opportunity to show your next boss what an incredible asset you will be to the company. Don’t make it your last opportunity by focusing on yourself.

Closing thoughts

I referred to résumés earlier as junk mail. If you’ve ever had to hire someone, you know that’s not far from the truth.  If you follow the tips above, you’ll turn your résumé from junk mail into that letter the employer has been waiting for.  If you really believe that  job is the one for you and you can excel in that position, show it by spending an extra hour tuning your résumé to reflect what you can bring to the company.

Next time we’ll discuss the résumé’s best friend, the cover letter.

This article was written by John Roach http://prowritingtips.com John is a writer and copy editor. You can follow him on twitter at @johnwroachiii. To see more posts click here

Related Posts

• How to write a résumé, Part 3: Writing a cover letter
• How to write a résumé, Part 1: Types of résumés