From Rejection to Interview: How to Customize Your Resume for Success
Dropping your generic resume is the most direct way to the rejection pile.
Here’s how to customize your resume properly:
(To stand out + get the interview)
Why do you need to customize?
1. It allows the human reviewer no reason to reject you.
2. It equips the AI Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to rate you favorably.
3. It stands out to the company, that you went the extra mile.
Here’s how:
Check out this deep-dive (with 2 examples) if you want to learn more about customizing your resume.
1. Ask yourself, “what are my weaknesses?”
No one who gets hired is a perfect fit. In what ways are you imperfect?
Flip them to strengths.
For example, let’s say you’re applying to an AI PM job.
You want to highlight every last AI project you ever worked on. Try not to get chosen over someone with more AI experience.
2. Become an ideal archetype
The process to flipping to strengths is two-fold:
> Figure out some ideal archetypes that they would hire
> Cast yourself as the one that is closest to you
Note: This strategy only works if you are ≥ 75% qualified for the job.
If you’re just unqualified, there’s not going to be an ethical way to become an archetype.
If you still want to apply, do your best to explain around weaknesses and be pointy in other areas.
3. Write out your new story
This should be a fairly straight path to the role.
All those experiences on your winding path that aren’t relevant?
Minimize — or even remove — them.
This usually means: tough cuts to favorite parts of your resume.
But you need the space to tell your story of how you’ve flipped your weaknesses. Holding onto other flourishes is going to distract from your story.
Remember: most people spend <60 seconds on your resume.
4. Fill in for all the bullets on the job description (JD)
Every JD has a long list of requirements.
Use every bullet you didn’t touch in step 3 to address all those points.
Once you’ve done these 4 steps, your resume should be transformed.
First, you were a generic candidate. Now, you are exactly the set of skills and experiences they were looking for.
And you’ll get many more interviews. Through resume drops, cold emails, and referrals.
