Job Hunting 80/20 Rule

80% of people blast the same piece of self-marketing to every job they apply for while only 20% of applicants bother to customize their resume to address the employer’s requirements. As a result they fill 80% of the jobs on offer. If you think you are employable material it pays dividends to display some aptitude in seeing things the employer’s way. Managers are busy. Hiring somebody can be a daunting task especially when you are faced with a flood of applicants. The selection process is to thin down the pile to a shortlist of people who will be called for an interview. The advertisement did spell out some specific requirements as must have in order to be considered. “It means if you don’t have the goods don’t waste your time or mine – don’t bother to apply. We need someone with those skills full stop”. The issue is that you may well indeed have those skills but unless they show up in the top third of your resume people won’t bother to continue reading. So what’s the problem? Is it self-esteem? “If they don’t like me the way I am – tough luck!” Is it laziness? “I only have half an hour to answer jobs tonight.”

Is it stubbornness? “I spent good money with a resume service and now you’re telling me to change it every time?” Is is a habit? “I’ve always done it like this in the past and it worked (until now…)” Experts are advocating that you should cut to the chase and make your resume fit onto just one page. If so, how will you decide what will make it to your front page and what will not? The answer is: anything that is not relevant to the job you’re applying for should be left out. That’s going to be different from one job advert to the next. Therefore it implies that you never send exactly the same resume each time. “My last job wasn’t exactly in that field. Does that mean I am stuck with a career that’s going nowhere?” No, it means you have to show off transferable skills which are useful in many fields. Besides who said you have to list your experience in chronological order? “But that’s a lot of work!” I hear someone say. Not if you are using the right tool.

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