Should a Resume be Industry Specific

Article on frequently asked resume question "Should a Resume be Industry Specific"

Creating a resume that is professional and draws attention to your skills and experience is vital-especially in this competitive economy. This said, should you customize your resume to the industry in which you work? It really depends. Take a look at the tips we have to offer on the subject of industry specific resumes to help you decide if you need to have one.

1. Focus on Content/Format: Prior to streamlining a resume to a particular industry, it is vital that you make sure that you have the optimum content and the most polished presentation-as these two areas of a resume and how it is received is the most important part. Once you have optimized your resume in these areas, you can then choose if an industry specific twist will help it get you a better job.

2. Depends on the Industry: Though you may think that every industry operates on the same general application standards and principles, different codes of conduct exist for each industry; and so while a general resume may be fine for a job in communications, a more specific industry resume may be more welcomed for a molecular biologist position.

3. Goals of the Industry: Do you know what the basic goals are of the industry in which you work? If you do, there are probably certain catch phrases, terminology, and objectives that should be included in your resume-making it a bit more industry-specific than another field.

4. Research: The only way to know whether you measure up as regards the types of resume that you are sending out for jobs in your field is to research what people you know, colleagues, and other candidates in the industry are using-and what is getting them successful results.