If you have been in the job search business for a while, the recommendation "to tailor your resume for each and every job opening" must have become a boring cliche for you. Even if you are inexperienced job seeker trying to find some free help online with developing a strong resume, the advice to adjust your main marketing document seems to be used pretty much in every single article related to resume writing and career tips in general. The problem is that very few articles actually explain what this cliche means. What steps should job seekers take in order to tailor their application. So much has been said about tailoring your resume while so little information about the details is available. It seems like everyone understands what the term means in general. However, such vague understanding often results in fewer interview invitations; therefore, it is an important issue to deal with prior to writing a resume.
What Does Tailoring Assume?
If you've read dozens of articles about resume writing and job search, then you should know by know that tailoring your resume for the position you are applying is important. But as we have mentioned, you might not fully understand how to put it in action? What specifically should you do and what kind of changes should you make? It may also seem a bit too overwhelming at the beginning, but the truth of the matter is it is not that difficult when you understand the process. It is only when you understand what you should do practically, your resume can be written effectively tailored for the position. 
Step 1. First and foremost (even before you get down to drafting a resume), try to understand the target position. In most cases, that means you have to sit down and read the job description carefully. Take a highlighter and mark the things you believe are most important as well as the points you can speak to with your set of skills and past work experience. It is absolutely crucial that you know what the job is about before you decide to put anything onto your resume.
Step 2. The next step is to identify own experience that would generate instant interest of the hiring manager (based on the newfound knowledge from the studying the job requirements) and place it on the very top of your document. Even if it is not the most recent job title or accomplishment. It all boils down to finding the most relevant facts and creating a section for it.
Step 3. After highlighting your most relevant qualifications, you need to squeeze the maximum out of less relevant experiences. Re-do your bullets for jobs that seem to be irrelevant for the position you are applying for and make them relevant. In other words, pull out the relevant bits of information to showcase the needed skills. For example, tutoring experience can be irrelevant for a sales job, but if you highlight your soft skills (something both positions require), you will make an interesting move.
Step 4. Before sending your resume, give it to a friend or family member who can be 100% honest with you in regard to assessing the document.If after reading your resume, he or she can't tell why you are interested in the job or how you fit in with your skills and experience, it means more tailoring is needed.
