How To Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description (+Examples)

Sending the same resume for every job might feel like you’re saving time, but it won’t get you in front of the right people fast enough. 

Tailoring your resume to each unique position is the key to standing out. It ensures your experience speaks directly to the job, hits the right keywords for applicant tracking systems (ATS) searches, and shows hiring managers you’ve got what they’re looking for. 

Below, you'll find a step-by-step guide to help you tailor your resume to job descriptions—quickly. You’ll learn how to match your resume to keywords, optimize it for ATS, and position yourself as a top candidate—without relying on the same generic content for every application.

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Need to tailor your resume to a JD quickly? Use the AI Resume Builder to get the right keywords, optimize for ATS searches, and customize your content.

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What is a tailored resume?

A tailored resume is a customized resume that matches the specific requirements of your target role and company. Unlike a master resume that stores all your experience, a tailored version selectively highlights relevant qualifications that prove you're the ideal candidate.

This means:

• Using language from the job description
• Emphasizing relevant responsibilities
• Incorporating company-specific details from your research

This targeted approach increases your visibility with hiring managers and helps you stand out from other candidates.

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5 benefits of tailoring your resume to the job description

Tailoring your resume for each job description might require some effort, but it comes with substantial rewards. A tailored resume:

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1. Increases your chances of an interview: When you customize your resume for a specific job description, you're speaking directly to the hiring manager's needs. Your resume becomes the solution to their problem. By showcasing your skills and experiences that directly align with the job requirements, you significantly up your chances of landing an interview invitation.

2. Optimizes for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): Behind the scenes, companies use ATS to sort applications through keyword searches of past titles and specific qualifications. Incorporating relevant terms will make your resume more discoverable to hiring teams.

3. Highlights relevant qualifications: Your resume should reflect the top 10% of your qualifications that are relevant to the role you're applying to. When you modify your content for each employer's job description, you spotlight your most relevant qualifications for that job—helping get your resume noticed.

4. Demonstrates understanding of the role: Adapting your resume to fit a specific job demonstrates your depth of understanding of the role. A tailored resume is a clear sign that you've done your homework and grasp the intricacies of the position and company.

5. Sets you apart from other applicants: In a pool brimming with talent, you want to be the one who stands out. Tailoring your resume helps you do exactly that. It underscores your genuine interest and investment in the position, attention to detail, and effort to set you apart from those candidates sending the same resume to every company.

How to tailor your resume to a job

Learning how to tailor your resume to a job description involves two high-level steps:

1. Highlight the hard and soft skills, professional experiences, and key qualifications in the job description of the position you're applying for.

2. Revamp your resume to address those specific job requirements and responsibilities directly from step

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1. Compare your resume and job description

The job description will always outline what the company, recruiter, or hiring manager is looking for. Carefully read the JD and take note of the required skills, qualifications, and responsibilities. Write down the job description keywords.

You have to study and understand what a company wants to see if the role seems like the right fit for you. And you also need to do this to customize your resume to fit its needs. TL;DR? The job posting is the company telling you exactly what they're looking for.

Here are some things to take notice of:

• Whether you need to have a degree
• How many years of experience are required
• What the day-to-day responsibilities are
• What previous work experience is most important
• What tools you'll need to be familiar with

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2. Research the company

Looking into the company you're applying at, what they do, and what they stand for is crucial. Knowing these facts during the interview process makes a massive difference. As a bonus, it's not as expected in the application process, so understanding the mission, values, and vision can help you stand out.

Here's how you can do this:

• Look at the company website
• Check out its social channels
• Zoom in on their core values if they have them publicly available
• Search for a video about the company and its product

Pro Tip:  Search for a podcast that includes the Founder or CEO. Hearing how they describe the company and what they stand for can help you get a feel for their messaging. 

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3. Focus on the top half of your resume

The top half of your resume is the most important because it's where recruiters and hiring managers look first. A customized summary with relevant skills and targeted resume achievements here proves you understand what matters for this role and shows your value quickly.

Keep this section concise, well-organized, and visually appealing - using bullet points, headings, and clear language to highlight key qualifications. This first impression demonstrates you're a serious candidate who's done their homework and encourages recruiters to keep reading.

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4. Adjust target job title

‍When it comes to the target title of your resume, you might think this should reflect the position you currently hold or held in your last role, but not necessarily.

The target title of your resume should align as closely as possible with the specific job description of the role you're applying for. So that means each time you fill out an application, you may need to tweak your target to fit the specific role the hiring manager is looking for. (For example, titles like Copywriter, Content Writer, and Content Marketer can have many of the same requirements, but the job titles slightly differ.) 

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5. Tailor your summary

Your professional summary gives readers a quick overview of your experience and top skills. Take the key requirements you've identified and:

• Lead with skills and achievements that directly match their needs
• Mirror the job posting's language and priorities
• Emphasize experiences most relevant to this role

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6. Customize your achievements

Your work experience section should highlight accomplishments that directly relate to your target role.

For each role you're applying to:

• Select achievements that demonstrate relevant skills
• Quantify results where possible
• Focus on impact that matters for the new position

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7. Match your resume to job description keywords

When recruiters search their ATS for candidates, they look for specific resume keywords from the job description. Make your resume discoverable by weaving these terms naturally throughout - especially in your summary, achievements, and skills sections. Don't stuff keywords; instead, use them thoughtfully to describe your actual experience and capabilities.

This approach not only helps you get found but also shows hiring managers you understand their needs and have relevant experience.

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Pro Tip: Teal's Job Description Keyword Finder highlights the top keywords from any job description—no copying, pasting, or toggling between screens.

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8. Check your alignment

Once you've tailored your resume to the job description, you want to see how closely they align. You can compare them word for word, use an AI tool, or try Teal's Match Scoring to do this in the same place where you write and edit your resume.

Want to give it a try? See how closely your current resume aligns with the job description.

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9. Proofread and edit

Review your resume for professional tone and accuracy. Focus on:

• Consistent formatting (spacing, bullets, fonts)
• Grammar and spelling
• Clear, concise language
• Logical flow between sections

Take a break, then review again with fresh eyes. Better yet, ask a trusted colleague to give it a final read.

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Tailored resume example

Now that you understand how to tailor your resume to a job, let's see what this looks like in practice as a tailored resume example

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Job Description

We are seeking a Customer Success Manager with 3 or more years of experience in a SaaS or technology-focused environment. The ideal candidate holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field. This role involves establishing and managing customer relationships to improve onboarding, reduce churn, and increase overall client satisfaction. The Customer Success Manager will analyze customer data, identify opportunities for growth, and design tailored training programs to help clients maximize product adoption. Success in this role will require strong communication skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to work cross-functionally with product, sales, and engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Onboarding & Adoption: Implement efficient onboarding strategies to ensure timely product adoption and measurable time-to-value.
• Relationship Management: Build and nurture trust-based relationships with clients through ongoing communication, quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and proactive support.
• Retention & Churn Reduction: Monitor customer health metrics to identify risk early, create engagement plans, and proactively reduce churn rates.
• Data Analysis: Track usage and satisfaction metrics via CRM and analytics tools; generate actionable insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Training & Enablement: Develop tailored educational programs, webinars, and documentation to empower customers and optimize product use.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work with cross-functional teams (product, sales, engineering) to align on product roadmap and ensure consistent customer experience.

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Example tailored resume

Jordan Mitchell

Phone: (555) 123-4567 |  [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/jdm-mitchell

Customer Success Manager

Customer-focused Customer Success Manager with 4+ years of experience driving retention and satisfaction for SaaS and enterprise clients. Skilled at onboarding, relationship building, data analysis, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance the customer experience. Consistently reduced churn by 20%, improved NPS by 10 points, and influenced product roadmaps to align with evolving customer needs. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and advanced proficiency in Salesforce, Gainsight, and related platforms.

Experience

Customer Success Manager

TechWave SaaS | June 2021 – Present

• Reduced churn by 20% in 12 months by designing a proactive customer health scoring system and building targeted retention campaigns.
• Increased NPS by 10 points through comprehensive customer feedback loops, timely check-ins, and strategic QBRs with C-level stakeholders.
• Led cross-functional initiatives with the Product and Sales teams to design new features and expand service offerings, resulting in a 15% upsell increase.
• Developed training and onboarding programs (including webinars, user guides, and interactive demos) that accelerated time-to-value for new clients by 30%.
• Analyzed customer behavior using Salesforce and Gainsight, translating data into actionable insights for product development and support teams.

Customer Success Associate

SaaSFlow Inc. | August 2019 – May 2021

• Managed a portfolio of 15+ enterprise accounts, maintaining a 95% satisfaction rate by providing timely support and personalized resources.
• Oversaw new client onboarding, standardizing best practices to decrease implementation time by 25%.
• Collaborated with the Marketing team to create targeted email campaigns, contributing to an 8% increase in adoption for underutilized product features.
• Utilized data analysis (Excel, Gainsight) to predict churn risks, enabling rapid interventions that preserved $100K in annual recurring revenue.

Education

Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing Concentration)
University of State | Graduated: May 2019

Skills

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Tailor your resume today

Tailoring your resume is absolutely worth the effort—it tells a hiring manager you understand the JD and have the skills and experience to match their needs.

With Teal's Job Matching and Job Description Keyword tools, the process is streamlined and fast, allowing you to focus on the most important parts: matching keywords, optimizing for ATS, and highlighting your qualifications for each unique job.

With Teal, you're equipped with a tool that simplifies and accelerates this process—no guesswork, just clarity.