Should I tailor my resume for each job? How to match a job posting

Short answer: Yes. CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, advises describing your work experience with keywords from the job posting, especially the terms the employer uses for required or desired skills, and emphasising the skills, tasks and outcomes most relevant to the target job ^[1]. Tailoring changes the order and the wording; it does not add a qualification you do not have.

What to change for each posting

• Summary: 3-4 sentences or 3-5 bullet points with your top skills and accomplishments related to the job, using keywords from the job posting ^[2].
• Work experience: about 5-8 bullet points per job, written with the terms the employer uses for required or desired skills and experience ^[1].
• Which jobs to show: with limited experience include all past jobs and emphasise the relevant parts; with a longer history include or emphasise only the jobs that add the most value ^[1].
• Objective, if you use one: 1-3 sentences tailored to the specific role ^[3].

Details that resume scanners look for

For each job list the job title, the organization, its city and state and your employment dates; ideally the day, month and year you began and ended, since resume scanning systems often filter for a specific length of employment ^[1]. Some applicant tracking systems look for the month or even the day of employment dates ^[3].

Matching your CV to a job ad on your phone

The match score is this app's OWN estimate, not a score from any employer or applicant tracking system, and it does not predict an interview. Never let it state a qualification you do not have: a CV is your declaration and you are responsible for it.

CV Tailor: Resume Job Match — Paste the job ad; the CV lines that match it move to the top.

• Import your CV from a PDF, read on your phone (needs Android 12 or newer), or paste it as text; paste the job ad or read it from a screenshot, on your phone
• Or build it with a form: type your details once, add sections and move them up or down, and add a photo only if you want one; templates for a resume, a portfolio and a marriage biodata
• Get a version reordered for that specific ad — nothing added, nothing deleted
• Review and edit the tailored version before you use it; the original is kept and can be restored
• A match score computed on your phone — our own estimate, not an employer's score
• It names the words the ad uses that your CV does not
• A completeness count of nine usual CV parts, and a bullet check that marks weak openers, generic phrases and lines with no number — it never rewrites them
• A writing guide: tips, common mistakes and answers to common questions
• Keep several CVs and several applications side by side
• Track each application: applied, interview, offer, rejected or withdrawn; filter by status
• Your CV, its PDF and the job ad are not uploaded: they leave the phone only if you share them; no application software is contacted
• Four PDF designs (Classic, Modern, Compact, Serif) with your color, font and text size and a live preview while you edit, all one column of real text an ATS can read
• Save as PDF or Word, print, or share the file or the text with the app you pick
• Write your own cover letter per application and save it as a PDF in the same design; the app adds no word
• Start from an invented sample CV, marked as a sample until you replace its lines
• Translate a copy of your CV into 20 languages on your phone, with Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Urdu laid out right to left in the PDF and Word file; the copy is marked as a machine translation and your original stays
• Every edit saves automatically; an unsaved new CV is kept as a draft

Get it on Google Play

All details, permissions and version history of the app: CV Tailor: Resume Job Match · Privacy policy

Sources

1. Resume Guide: Work experience (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor) — https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/Resumes/ResumeGuide/work-experience.aspx (accessed 2026-10-22)
2. Resume Guide: Top portion of resume (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor) — https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/Resumes/ResumeGuide/top-portion-of-resume.aspx (accessed 2026-10-22)
3. Resume Guide: Special tips (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor) — https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/Resumes/ResumeGuide/special-tips.aspx (accessed 2026-10-22)

CV Tailor: Resume Job Match is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any institution, authority, brand or company mentioned in it.