 Customizing your resume and cover letter for each job opportunity can be tedious, particularly if you are applying for dozens of positions a day. You can make things easier for yourself by creating templates.
Making a Resume Template:
1. Start out by getting all your experience down on paper. Don’t worry about page count or specialization, simply include everything you would ever want to list for a position.
2. The next step is to edit the resume, so it is easy to customize. If you are going with a functional resume, this is easy. To customize it for a specific position, you can simply remove the skills you don’t need to highlight until you get it down to one page.
For a chronological resume, you can’t simply delete irrelevant experience without creating gaps in your timeline. Instead, format your job descriptions into bullet points instead of paragraphs, and put those points in order of importance. Then if a job doesn’t fit your needs, you can de-emphasize it by trimming their descriptions to just one or two bullet points.
If you are listing your skills, group them. For example:
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 You’re out of a job, and you’re not even sure where to start! You may not realize that you don’t have to go it alone. There are many resources available to guide you. Here are a few you should contact for help.
Your Alma Mater
Many colleges offer lifetime career services for graduates. Some may only have limited services or charge a small fee. They may offer resume review services, give you instruction on interviewing techniques, and provide advice for job search strategies. You may also be put in touch with alumni who have volunteered to give career advice in your area. Or they may have private job listings just for alumni.
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 If you look at the hiring process from the employer’s point-of-view, you can learn some tips for improving your chances. In fact, every step of the way, you should always take a moment to consider it from the employer’s side. What will they be thinking or expecting? How can I use this to my advantage?
Step One:
The employer crafts an ad for the available position. They include specific language based on their requirements in order to weed out people who are not qualified. They may include instructions for the submission of an application, so that they can eliminate people who do not read the ad completely.
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 When you are in salary negotiations for a new job, the ideal situation is to get your employer to give you a number first. This way, you don’t inadvertently lowball yourself. But sometimes giving out a number first is unavoidable. So how do you know what is reasonable for a position? Here are a few tips!
Know when to give a number. Sometimes, job postings will ask for your salary requirements. They use this information to weed out people who are over-qualified (too expensive) or under-qualified (too cheap.) You don’t want to place yourself in either pile, so instead, say your salary requirements are negotiable. Then, once you’ve secured the position – and only after trying to get a number from them first – should you give them your requirements.
Find out what other people at the company are making. No, you can’t ask, but you can check out websites like GlassDoor.com and Vault.com, where people anonymously share their salaries. This is probably the most accurate way to get the correct figure, but keep in mind that your experience and responsibilities may differ from someone else with the exact same title. Use the numbers you see as simply a guide.
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 You’ve attended the networking events, taken informational meetings, and maybe even built up a little following for yourself on various social networks, but still, no job. What are you doing wrong? You may just be following the first step of networking – connecting with people – and not the second step: putting your network to work!
Stay in touch. It doesn’t do any good to collect business cards like baseball cards. You need to use them! A simple way to keep your connection alive is to send a quick email every now and then to check in. It doesn’t have to be long, and you can use a special occasion as an excuse. Be sure to inquire about their life and offer a little about your current situation as well.
For example: “Happy Memorial Day! How was your trip back home? Did you get a chance to see everyone you wanted to? I’m still searching for an IT position, but I’ve started doing some volunteer work for a local charity that needed help with their email system. I’m enjoying it! I hope all is well with you.”
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