Applications are often formal documents that offer little space to elaborate on your skills and abilities. Remember that every person applying for the job is filling out the same generic document. Applications often do not allow you to set yourself apart from your competition.

A resume offers you the ability to be unique and keeps an employer interested in your application. It gives you the space to elaborate on your qualifications, work history, and education. It also can show the employer that you are taking extra time to update and submit a resume to further explain your qualifications.

Although, applications are a vital piece of the application process submitting a resume may help you secure an interview.

When applying it is a good rule of thumb to look over your resume with each application that you submit. Make sure that you are including key words or phrases from the job posting in your resume. This shows that not only have you read the job posting thoroughly but that you can also complete the duties at hand.

If you are applying for positions that cover a variety of different career fields it may be a good idea to create several different resumes. This would allow you to tailor your resume to the specific requirements of that career field. For example you may not use the same resume to apply for a customer associate job as you would for a cleaning position. These positions require different skills and employers will be looking for different attributes within resumes.