When tailoring your résumé can reduce the success of your job search

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I am currently on the job market and am in the process completing applications at a number of organizations. As I have been going through that process, the old adage to “always tailor your résumé to the job” has been on my mind. In most job hunting contexts, that adage makes sense. By tailoring your résumé, you are best able to highlight your strengths and experience that directly relate to the job in question. Therefore, by taking the time tweak your résumé, you are increasing the likelihood of making a favorable impression and moving forward in the selection process.

However, I propose that there are some circumstance where tailoring your résumé may not positively impact your prospects, and could even lessen your chance of finding a job.

1. When you are applying to nearly identical jobs: The main reason to make changes to a résumé is that different KSAOs are more relevant in some contexts than others. If the positions to which you are applying are essentially the same, reactions to résumé changes are likely to be trivial.
2. When time constraints are prohibitive: In a situation where you have limited time to apply to a high volume of positions, or when other duties - such as a current job - prohibit you from spending a lot of time completing job applications, you could do yourself more harm than good by making résumé changes. Think of it in terms of opportunity costs: Does the increased quality that results from tailoring résumés outweigh the quantity of applications that could be submitted if you didn’t tailor? While the answer will often be “yes,” there may be times when quantity trumps quality. 
3. When the jobs in question are not among your top choices: Imagine that you are applying for jobs, and have found a handful that you are very interested in, along with a larger group of jobs that would be okay, but not ideal. In this case, you should spend the majority of your time on that small handful of jobs - tailoring your résumé as closely as possible to the job description - and then send general, untailored résumés to the larger group. In a liberal generalization of Pareto’s Principle (aka the 80/20 Rule), you should spend 80% of your time on the 20% of jobs you really want, and 20% of your time on the other 80% of jobs.
4. When your résumé is already good enough: There is often a fear when applying for jobs that a résumé is imperfect or that you are not perfect for the position, or there is a fear of rejection that comes from putting yourself out there and letting someone else judge you. This fear can be paralyzing enough that the résumé is never submitted, because you never feel like it is just right. In effect, you are being your own judge and telling yourself that you aren’t good enough for the job. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN! Any submitted résumé has a better chance of being viewed favorably than no résumé at all. Don’t get me wrong - I highly recommend making the best résumé you can, including seeking feedback from friends and colleagues in order to make sure that the impressions you intend to portray are being interpreted correctly. BUT, as hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Put yourself out there and let the decision makers tasked with reviewing résumés make a decision about your suitability and employment potential. Don’t let them off the hook by making the decision for them. And if you don’t get the job, try asking for feedback on what you could do to be a better candidate. In that way, even the negatives can provide valuable information that helps to improve your résumé for next time.

The Bottom Line

Tailoring your résumé to match the KSAOs laid out in the job description is often the best course of action, but only when it increases your likelihood of obtaining the ultimate goals of securing a job. Be mindful of the situations where résumé tailoring can do more harm than good.