Getting Your Resume Noticed: Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

This week, I listened as the director of recruiting for a technology contractor and the vice president of a manufacturing firm talked about their frustrations with the resumes and cover letters they receive and what resumes got their attention.

The first thing they noticed about candidates: Whether the resume and cover letter were generic or actually tailored to the company and the position being sought.

The vice president said that he recently reviewed 200 resumes for a position as director of human resources. You would think that human resources applicants would know better. But he said only 20 were actually tailored for the company he worked for. Let me say it again: Only 10% of the resumes mentioned the company! And the final candidates (and the person he hired) came from this 20. And according to the director of recruiting he sees this similar carelessness in the resumes submitted to his firm.

What does personlization mean? It's not that difficult, according to these two executives.

1. Make sure your cover letter actually is addressed to the company and mentions the company is the first and most basic rule. Something as simple as "Dear Acme Manufacturing" is better than "To Whom It May Concern".

2. If you can get a name of a recruiter or a hiring manager, include that in the letter. I've discussed ways to get contacts at a company in previous articles. See How to Get Free Company Contact Information for Job Leads. But neither executive felt that should stop you from personalization in other ways.

3. Show you did the minimal work of reading the job description or checking out the company in the word of your cover letter. Mention why you are interested in this particular company or this position, using words from the job description. I once got an interview because I mentioned that I was attracted to the part of the job description that said, "Must have a sense of humor."

Why is this important?

• Employers want to hire someone who can help them and their company succeed. If you don't even care what company you apply to, how can you convince them that you are uniquely qualified to help them?


• Employers want to hire someone with initiative who will work hard. If you won't even take 5 minutes to customize your resume or cover letter with their company name or information form the job position, how much effort will you put into the actual job?


• They are looking for simple ways to weed through resumes. If you get hundreds of resumes, you are going to look for fast ways to weed out as many as you can. Tossing out generic submissions is one easy way to do it. "That's not fair," you may say. "I may be the best person for the job." And I refer you back to my first two points. From the employer's point of view, if you can't take 5 minutes for a little personalization then in their mind you aren't the best person for the job.

Yes, this requires a few more minutes of your time. But when employers are getting hundreds of resumes for each open position, isn't it worth the investment of 5 minutes or less to keep their attention long enough to read the rest of your resume and cover letter?