What does it mean to tailor a resume to a job?

Tailoring means adjusting your resume for one specific job so that your most relevant experience, skills and wording match what that employer asks for. You do not invent anything; you choose and arrange true information so the fit is obvious.

Typical changes include:

• Rewriting your summary around the target role.
• Moving the most relevant bullets to the top of each job.
• Reordering your skills so the ones in the posting come first.
• Using the employer's terms for skills you genuinely have.
• Cutting or shortening material that does not relate to the job.

A tailored resume helps both the person reading it and any applicant tracking system used to search applications. A general resume sent everywhere often hides your best match among less relevant details, so the reader has to work harder to see why you fit.