Create Your Custom Resume

You can find details for “Create a Custom Resume for Each Opportunity” in the Roadmap on the Veterans page on this website. https://rebootcamp.us/reboot-veterans/

Your Master File contains everything you’ve ever been proud of but you’re not going to send the whole thing to anyone. You’ll make a copy of the Master File using the name of the company you are sending the resume to in the file name. If the company or agency has a naming convention, you’ll need to use their name when you submit it. Use your own naming standard for the copies you keep.

Make sure you close your Master File. Then start deleting everything from the copy that does not fit the posting or the information you got by researching the company. You will sequence your accomplishments to your advantage. The time you spend researching the company may be what gets you the job. It’s like doing reconnaissance. Most of your competition will not take this step. You will find something you can leverage.

My first Silicon Valley job was a challenge because I was coming from a National Grocery Corporate Information Systems world. I had no serious high-tech experience, and a produce warehouse did not carry any weight in a telecom hardware company. Most job postings required prior high tech experience.  In my research, I discovered that the company had such a commitment to industry standards that they had shared some of their source code with competitors. Do you think my last position with the grocery chain as Standards & Procedures Coordinator was not at the top of my accomplishments section (and in my cover letter – the next step)? It was leveraging that discovery that got me the interview. 

Your resume is a marketing document, a tool to get you an interview. The interview is your sales call and make no mistake, you are selling yourself as much as any product on the market. Get your foot in the door with the best marketing document you can produce. Don’t get stuck going for perfection. Make it good and get it submitted.