A job seeker posted this question on a LinkedIn discussion board. “How do you get by on only one resume. When I was looking for a job I rewrote/edited my resume for every different job being sure to call out everything they were looking for in the description. How do you do it any other way?”

Job seekers need to remember that you have a job title…SALES PROFESSIONAL

Once you understand that, you must start thinking like a marketing and sales professional. The first successful strategy for all sales people and marketing/sales professionals is to define your target market, understand their needs, and package your product accordingly. So the first rule of resume writing is to target an industry, understand their needs, define your strengths, and write your resume accordingly.

The next step is understanding that you are not trying to go work for every employer out there. You must identify with the overall needs of the businesses in the industry which you are targeting. Do your research and homework. Identify the key words, lingo, and gain a better understanding of what these employers require from their employees. Then create your resume.  The marketing world calls this “market research” and “product packaging.”

Next, choose your market base. Change your thinking, rather than you shopping for an employer…the employer is shopping for you. You are a product. Would you rather be found on a shelf at Wal-Mart or in a niche specialty shop where a choosier shopper is looking for something unique, and is typically willing to spend more money?

Job seekers waste a tremendous amount of time trying to change their resumes and make it match every single word in every single job announcement. If you do your homework to begin with, and identify the primary key words for a specific industry before writing your resume, why would you need to change it for every employer? To begin with, those words and qualities should already be in the resume. Another marketing phrase for this is “Branding.” Quick Quiz…What type of Kellogg’s cereal uses Tony the Tiger? Answer: Frosted Flakes…See, branding.

I’ll drive home my point. In a nut shell, you must understand your strengths and create your value proposition. What are you “selling” in your resume? You should have a targeted job goal, just as a sales person has a target market. You develop your marketing plan, go after your ideal target, and emphasize your most unique selling points that make you stand out above the competition.

Another little known fact is that when HR writes a job announcement, they write it thinking, “in a perfect world, we want an employee who has…”   Most companies know full well that they are not going to find a candidate who matches the job description exactly.  Employers are going to hire the best candidate that they can find to meet their needs. You as a job seeker have more control over your job search than you realize. You’re choosing an employer, not the other way around. Therefore, target your resume to similar companies within the same industry who have similar needs. This way, you shouldn’t need to change your resume for every single job to which you apply.

Let me make this final point. If you have multiple career targets, then you may need a couple of different versions of the resume with a slightly different angle. Think of it this way…you should never write a resume for a specific JOB; rather you should write your resume for a specific career in a targeted industry. Stop thinking JOB and think career.

Hope that helps in answering the question.

Target the resume to an industry…determine your value proposition…market yourself to YOUR IDEAL prospects.

I know that another think that frustrates job seekers is the lack of response they receive from HR. I recently encountered a situation with a client that can and will prevent potential employers from contacting you. She had an automated spam blocker and response section on her e-mail. The problem was that the ISP she was using for e-mail did not make the spam blocker user-friendly. I had to input it my information multiple times over the course of a week.

Be advised, employers will not be nearly as patient and will move on to the next candidate. Make yourself accessible. You may say, we’ll if they’re really interested, they will call. Not necessarily, if they want to communicate exclusively through e-mail then that’s how they will communicate. Don’t assume an employer will go out of their way to contact you. In this market, they won’t.

To eliminate the possibility of this, create an e-mail account exclusively for job search. I recommend Google e-mail or gmail. It has excellent spam filter settings on it, is compatible with everything, and doesn’t require an extra step. The only spam I have received on gmail are from the businesses to which I have responded.

Employers rarely send anything by snail mail anymore, so you don’t necessarily need to worry about including your home address on the resume. Including your city, sate, and zip code along with e-mail, cell phone, and possibly home phone is becoming more and more acceptable.

Another issue I tend to occasionally encounter is with voice mail messages. Job seekers, everything you put out there is noticed by employers. I’ll save social networking for another post. Think of your voice mail. Most employers are either going to e-mail you or call. If they encounter your voice mail, ensure that you give a professional presence. Rather than an automated voice mail message where they’re not sure if it’s you or not, leave a short and sweet personal voice mail message. Something like, “This is (state your name). I’m sorry that I missed your call, please be sure to leave your name, number, and a brief message and I will return your call as soon as possible.”  Don’t include messages with music in the background, or with barking dogs, laughter, children crying, or any other noise.

On home phones, leave children off of the answering machine. Again, short and sweet. If you’d like to say, this is the (last name) household, please leave a message and the appropriate family member will return your call as soon as possible.

Keep these tips in mind if you want employers to leave messages. Good luck.