How to Match Qualifications to a Job Description in a Résumé

Carefully placed qualifications can expedite the résumé review and interviewing process.

You demonstrate both intelligence and attention to detail to prospective employers when you match qualifications on your résumé with the job description. Human resources departments can become overwhelmed and overworked from handling the multitude of résumés that flood in after advertising a new job opportunity. Anything that you can do to minimize the time it takes to review your documentation is appreciated. CareerBuilder.com conducted a survey in August 2011 that found 45 percent of human resource managers at 2,600 employers spend less than one minute looking at résumés. Make sure that minute counts, by matching and listing your qualifications where they will get noticed.

Instructions

Preparation

1. Print out the employer's complete job advertisement to use as a rough draft for outlining your qualifications. Find the section of the job description that is titled "Job Qualifications," "Qualifications Required," "Necessary Skills," "Required Knowledge" or similar wording. Use a regular pen or highlighter to circle this section. Alternatively, use a pen to write out only the portion of the job ad that asks for qualifications.

2. Separate and count the possible qualifications expected by the employer. Many ads list the qualifications in one complete sentence (or paragraph), separated by a series of commas. For example, an accountant's job description might state the following: "Must be proficient in data entry, spreadsheets and financial reports." The first qualification is "data entry," and "spreadsheets" and "financial reports" are the other two qualifications expected by the hiring employer.

3. Rewrite the qualifications, each on separate lines, if there isn't enough room to write down your matching qualifications next to the employer's expectations. Continuing with the accountant's example:
   "1) data entry";
   "2) spreadsheets";
   "3) financial reports."

4. Write your qualification next to the employer's expectations, but go into greater detail. An accountant might possess the following matching qualifications.
   "1) data entry = 10-key data entry";
   "2) spreadsheets = Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc and Apple iWork Numbers";
   "3) creating financial reports = income statements, balance sheets, statements of cash flows and retained earnings statements."

Résumé

1. Open your résumé document on your PC in a word processor application. If you have a section titled, "Objective," delete this heading and the related information.

2. Type the following section heading in place of the deleted objective: "Qualifications Summary." Press the "Enter" key on the keyboard twice, putting a blank space under this section heading.

3. Type each of your qualifications on separate lines. The accountant's résumé would look similar to the following:

   "QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARY

   - Ten-key data entry
   - Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc and Apple iWork Numbers
   - Financial reports: income statements, balance sheets, statements of cash flows and retained earnings statements.

   WORK EXPERIENCE
   ..."

4. Save your résumé to your hard drive. Email, upload or print out the résumé and submit it to the employer that it was specifically created to match.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the "Bullets" function in your word processor application to evenly space your qualifications on separate lines.

• Navigate to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' "Occupational Outlook Handbook" website to search your career field and read up on the current terms that describe your job.

• You can list additional qualifications (or assets) that go beyond what employers request in the job description. For example, indicate in the qualifications summary that you worked in a field for several years or earned a new continuing education certification, such as a "Social Media Certified Social Networking Certification."

• Avoid using first-person, such as "I," when describing each qualification. When describing your abilities or accomplishments use verbs, such as "established" or "completed": "Established a bookkeeping system" or "Completed a transition to accounting software."

• The summary of qualifications is conducive to employers who use software that scans and digitizes several résumés into a database. These programs pick up on keywords in your résumé that the employer is "querying" for based on the job description.

References

• CareerBuilder.com; Hiring Managers Share Most Unusual Resume Mistakes in Annual CareerBuilder Survey; Jennifer Grasz; August 2011
• CareerOneStop: Resume Guide -- Your Qualifications
• CareerOneStop: Resume Guide -- Write a First Draft
• Dummies.com; When to Include a Summary in a Resume; Joyce Lain Kennedy; February 2011
• ResumePower.com; Resume Tips Articles: Customize Your Resume for Best Results; Kim Isaacs
• U.S. Department of Labor: TAP Supplement; Create an Effective Resume; September 2007
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab: Scannable Resumes Presentation

Resources

• CareerOneStop: Resume Guide -- The Basic Elements
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab; "General Guidelines on Preparing a Scannable Résumé"; Sachiko Sakamuro, et al.; September 2010
• Dummies.com; Addressing Missing Job Qualifications During an Interview; Joyce Lain Kennedy; January 2008
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition