Quick answer
See which of a posting's requirements your resume already names. Free, no signup.
Check my resume1. Pull the requirements out of the posting
Read the requirements and the responsibilities, and write down each thing the posting asks for. Mark which are required and which are a plus. Watch the wording: "Mailchimp or HubSpot" means either one will do, and "2+ years of email marketing" is asking for a length of time as well as a skill.
Here is the posting used in the example below, a Marketing Specialist role:
2+ years of experience in email marketing and social media. Experience with an email platform such as Mailchimp or HubSpot. Comfortable reporting campaign performance using Google Analytics. Strong copywriting skills. Experience coordinating events is a plus.
2. Match each requirement to proof on your resume
For each requirement, find where your resume shows it. There are three possible answers:
- In your experience. A bullet shows you doing it. This is the strongest place for it.
- In your skills list only. You name it, but nothing shows you using it. Move it into a bullet if you can.
- Not there. Either you have it and left it out, or you do not have it. Step 4 covers the second case.
Our sample resume, for a marketing coordinator, already proves most of the posting. It just says so in its own words, not the posting's.
3. Rewrite your lines in the posting's words
Change how a line says it, not what it claims. If the posting says "report campaign performance" and your bullet says "pulled monthly numbers", you did the same thing. Say it the way the posting does.
From the job posting
Comfortable reporting campaign performance using Google Analytics. Experience with an email platform such as Mailchimp or HubSpot.
Before
- Pulled monthly numbers from Google Analytics for the team meeting
- Skills: Mailchimp, Google Analytics, WordPress, Canva, Microsoft Excel
After tailoring
- Pulled monthly numbers from Google Analytics to report campaign performance at the team meeting.
- Skills: Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Instagram, Facebook, WordPress, Canva, Microsoft Excel
Notice what did not change. The bullet keeps the same work and the same meeting. It gains the posting's phrase, not a new result.
4. Leave out what you do not have
The posting above lists HubSpot, and our sample resume has never used it. Adding it would get the keyword in, and then the interview would ask about it. Leave it off. Mailchimp already covers "an email platform such as Mailchimp or HubSpot".
The same goes for numbers. Do not add a percentage you never measured. If you know a real figure, such as the size of the email list or how often you sent, use it. If you do not, a plain, true line beats an impressive one you cannot explain.
Paste the posting and your resume to see which requirements you name, and which are missing.
Check my resume5. Check it against the posting before you send it
Run the tailored resume against the posting once more. Every required item you have should now be named, in a bullet where you can. Anything still missing should be something you genuinely do not have.
Tailoring with AI: what to watch for
An AI tool can do steps 3 and 5 quickly. The risk is step 4. A general chatbot will happily add a tool you never used or a result you never measured, because it cannot tell which claims are true. Read every line it changes, and delete anything you could not talk about for two minutes in an interview.
Resumedit's resume tailor works from what your resume already says, and asks you before using anything it only hints at.
Common mistakes
- Pasting the posting's keywords into a skills list with no proof anywhere else.
- Rewriting every line, so the resume stops sounding like you.
- Tailoring the summary and forgetting the bullets, where the proof lives.
- Sending the same "tailored" resume to every job.
Check your tailored resume against the posting. Free, no signup.
Check my resumeQuestions
Are you supposed to tailor your resume to a job description?
Yes, for any job you really want. A tailored resume uses the posting's words for the things you have done, so both an applicant tracking system and a recruiter can see the match quickly.
How do I tailor my resume to a job posting?
Pull the requirements out of the posting, find the proof for each one on your resume, rewrite those lines in the posting's words, and leave out anything you cannot back up. Then check the result against the posting before you send it.
Does tailoring a resume actually work?
It makes the match visible. If you have the experience but describe it in different words, tailoring is what lets an applicant tracking system search and a recruiter skim find it. It cannot create experience you do not have.
Can ChatGPT tailor my resume?
It can rewrite lines, but it does not know which of its additions are true. It may add a tool you never used or a number you never measured. Check every changed line against what you actually did.
What are some prompts for tailoring a resume to a job description?
Give the model the posting and your resume, ask it to rewrite only lines that already show each requirement, and tell it not to add tools, numbers or results that are not in the original. Then read every line it changed.
What should a tailored resume look like?
The same resume, with the posting's key terms in the lines that prove them, the most relevant role and results near the top, and nothing added that you could not explain in an interview.
Can employers tell if your resume was written by AI?
Sometimes. Generic phrasing, claims with no specifics and wording that matches other applicants stand out. A resume where every line is true and specific to you is the safe choice, whoever helped write it.