By Derrick T. Dortch, Career Success Group Founder & Washington Post Career Expert
Excerpt from the upcoming book "Writing Targeted-Resumes that Wins Interviews." (Spring 2006)

Think about how your favorite commercial catches your attention. Whether it's advertising the newest car, latest model computer or a new food product you just can't resist, they all come with catchy phrases and slogans you can't get out of your head. The popular Verizon's slogan, "Can you hear me now?" constantly expresses to potential customers that they have the best possible cellular phone reception you can get. Their goal is to demonstrate through look, style, service and life-improving features that they're better than the competition. Overall, commercials are marketing tools strategically used to catch your attention and influence your business decisions.

That is exactly what a resume is designed to do. It is a professional self-marketing tool that sells you! It identifies your skills, education, qualifications and experience to employers looking to hire the best person to join their team.

WHAT IS A TARGETED RESUME?
Consider the type of magazines you buy and the advertisements in them. If you are a business person, you might buy Fortune or Fast Company. If you are technology driven, you will probably purchase PC or Mac World magazines. Depending on your gender you may read GQ, or Glamour. Each of these magazines will have ads targeting a certain type, gender or age of person. That is what a targeted resume does. It targets a specific job and employer and matches what the employer is looking for with what you have to offer.

A targeted resume is comprised of keywords, experiences, success stories, and a format that captures an employers' attention within 10 - 30 seconds. The keywords and content matches your qualifications with the job, industry, career field, and employer. Keywords are also more readily picked by through human or computer scanners. Reading your resume, an employer can quickly determine whether you have everything they are looking for in a potential team member.
Now that you know what a targeted resume is, you need to know how to develop one.
The following four steps can help you create a targeted resume that will win interviews.

1. Create a Job Diary/Journal
2. Evaluate your target
3. Create your targeted sales tool (resume)
4. Select your application style

CREATE A CAREER DIARY/JOURNAL
Creating a Job Diary or Journal is a very important step in the process of defining who you are and what you are looking for in a career. It is essential in the targeted resume development process. You might ask; why is this necessary? Can't I just put down my current jobs and skills and be done with the resume. The answer is NO. A Career Diary or Journal is a detailed record of your skills, education, training, work experience (including internships and volunteering), awards and honors, and your success stories and achievements. Ideally it is good to keep it up to date but no matter what it is a must have in your career development. It is a valuable resource to help match your qualifications with a targeted position and determine if you are a viable candidate for the position.

When creating your Career Diary or Journal it is important that you take your time and provide as much information as possible about you and your background. Don't worry about the format, get in front of a computer and let the information flow and make sure you use word processing programs like Microsoft Word or Corel Word Perfect to create and maintain your Career Diary or journal. Using one of these programs make it easier to transfer the information from your Journal to the targeted resume format you are developing.

EVALUATE YOUR TARGET
Evaluating your target simply means identifying and targeting a specific job you are interested in. As part of the evaluating process ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do I meet the minimum qualifications for this position?
2. Do I have the education and training required by the position?
3. Is there a direct or close match to what the employer is looking for in a candidate?
4. Do I have the skills necessary to be successful in this position?
5. Is this a position that I really want?

If you answered yes to all five questions then this is a position you are qualified for and should target and apply to immediately. If you answered no to one or two of the questions you may still be considered for the position. However, you must evaluate the importance of the qualifications you do not meet to the employer. If you answered no to three or more of the questions, do not apply for this position because you are not ready or qualified. If it is a position that you would be interested in for the future start developing a plan to obtain the experience, skills and education to make you qualified. Remember no goal is unattainable.

Once you determine that a position is a match the next step is to break down the job description into individual qualification questions. Take this Human Resource Manager position posted in the Washington Post for example:

Job Opportunity
Worldwide leader in legal media has an immediate opening for Manager, Human Resources in it's DC Office. Responsibilities include staffing, employee relations, firm-wide staff development/training policy and procedure administration; benefits administration, compensation/payroll; routine audits to ensure company compliance with federal and state regulations and general personnel administration.

Requires BA/BS; minimum 5 years of progressively responsible roles in an HR environment; excellent written/oral communication/presentation skills; ability to interface with all levels of staff; ability to provide sound judgment and demonstrate sensitivity in handling confidential matters and ability to work in a fast-paced environment.