Job-seekers tend to forget that employers review resumes extremely quickly — often in just a few seconds. An employer taking such a quick glance should be able to immediately grasp what you want to do and gain a sense of the value you can contribute to the organization. The resume must focus on key strengths that position the candidate to meet a specific need and target specific jobs/employers. In other words, employers don’t consider resumes that aren’t focused on a job’s specific requirements to be competitive. Employers and recruiters expect your resume to be precisely tailored to the position you’re applying for. The reader should be able to tell at a glance exactly what job you’re targeting and what need you will fill. The reader should never have to guess or wade through copious text to determine what job you want and what you’d be good at. An unfocused resume is a time-waster for the employer.
Ways you can sharpen your focus include a headline atop your resume stating the type of job you seek, a branding statement that positions you for a specific job or type of job (headlines and branding statements are often used in combination), a Qualifications Summary or Professional Profile section, a section listing your Core Competencies/Proficiencies/Areas of Expertise, strategic organization of your resume to position you for the job you seek, and bullet points describing your experience in a way that is specifically tailored to the position you seek.
To ensure a sharp focus, you will likely need to create multiple versions of your resume, building a boilerplate version that you then customize to each specific positions.
