How-to

How to tailor a resume to a job description

Tailoring a resume means matching language and surfacing relevant evidence — not faking experience. Done right, it doubles your callback rate. Done wrong (keyword stuffing), it gets you flagged.

1. Step 1

   Extract the JD signals

   Skim the job description and underline 8–12 nouns and verbs that recur. These are your target keywords.

2. Step 2

   Map to your real evidence

   For each keyword, ask whether you have a bullet that proves it. If yes, use the JD phrasing in the bullet. If no, do not invent one.

3. Step 3

   Reorder bullets by JD relevance

   Put your strongest JD-aligned bullet first under each role. Recruiters skim the top of each section.

4. Step 4

   Tighten the summary

   If you have a summary line, rewrite it so the first 10 words mirror the role title from the JD.

5. Step 5

   Run a keyword-overlap check

   Paste both texts into the keyword-match tool. Aim for around 60% JD keyword coverage — higher is suspicious, lower means you missed something.