The audience for your resume is a hiring manager or recruiter. When you write your resume, you must keep this audience in mind. Think of it this way: on a business trip, you would write different emails to your boss, your mother, your spouse and your best friend. The information might or might not be similar, but you would always frame it to match the recipient—the audience. Take these three steps to help your audience understand your resume and bring you closer to a job interview:
- Find out what your audience is interested in. View job postings and visit the company’s website. Check out the company on LinkedIn and other professional sites to read the concerns and interests of people who currently work there. Your resume should highlight the ways in which your background matches the company’s general culture and specific wishlist for the posted job.
- Use words and concepts that your audience understands. For example, the hiring managers and recruiters who read your resume may be in a slightly different industry or field and may not be entirely familiar with your profession. Define acronyms and avoid jargon specific to your previous employer. Remember, a resume is not a vocabulary or intelligence test for your readers.
- Keep the audience interested. Let your audience know right away that you have understood the potential job and its requirements; that you have the right skills, education and attitude to handle the position; and that you can prove your suitability by describing accomplishments at your previous positions. Keep the resume concise and remove information that is dated or irrelevant to your current job search.
At Robin’s Resumes® we take pride in developing resumes that hiring managers and recruiters want to read.
