Ask questions like this to multiple AIs at once

Try free

How do you tailor a resume/cover letter if the job description is short and vague?

Here’s a tactical blueprint for crafting a compelling application when the job posting tells you almost nothing:

Phase 1: Intelligence Gathering (Do This First)

Decode the "Vague" posting by treating it as a puzzle:

  • Mine the company’s digital footprint

    • Read their last 3-6 months of blog posts, press releases, and LinkedIn updates. What problems are they solving right now?
    • Check the "About Us" and careers page for unspoken values (e.g., "move fast" = startup hustle; "client-first" = account management skills)
    • Look at the hiring manager’s LinkedIn profile. What do they post about? What did they praise previous hires for?

  • Analyze the job title across the industry

    • Search the same title at 5 similar companies (same size, sector, funding stage). Common requirements in those postings reveal the "invisible" job description.

  • Use the "Shadow Team" method

    • Find 2-3 people currently in that role (or adjacent roles) at the company on LinkedIn. What skills do they emphasize? What projects do they showcase?

Phase 2: Resume Strategy (When You Can’t Keyword Match)

Build a "Modular" resume:

  1. Lead with a "Target Profile" summary (2-3 lines) Instead of: "Hard-working professional seeking growth opportunities" Write: "Operations specialist with 4+ years scaling customer support systems for high-growth SaaS companies (0→100M ARR). Proven track record of building playbooks that reduce ticket resolution time by 40%."

  2. Create a "Core Competencies" section

    • List 6-8 skills that cover the spectrum of what this role likely needs (technical + soft + industry-specific).
    • Example for vague "Marketing Coordinator" role: Campaign Management | Cross-Functional Collaboration | Marketing Automation | Data Analytics | Vendor Relations | Content Localization

  3. Bullet points: Focus on scope and context Since you don’t know their specific pain points, prove you can handle ambiguity and ownership:

    • "Autonomously managed $10K quarterly budget with minimal oversight, reallocating funds in real-time to capitalize on 23% higher-than-projected ROI"
    • "Built client onboarding process from scratch in undefined role, resulting in standardized 3-day kickoff timeline"

  4. Mirror their language cadence

    • If the posting is casual/creative ("Want someone who gets stuff done"), use action verbs like spearheaded, hacked together, shipped.
    • If it’s corporate/formal ("Responsible for ensuring compliance..."), use optimized, facilitated, ensured regulatory adherence.

Phase 3: Cover Letter Tactics (Your Investigative Showcase)

Use a "Hypothesis + Evidence" structure:

Paragraph 1: State your hypothesis about their need based on your research.

"Given [Company]’s recent expansion into the European market and the hiring of three new sales directors, I imagine this [Role] focuses heavily on sales enablement and cross-border operational logistics."

Paragraph 2: Provide proof you’ve solved this before (even if it’s an educated guess).

"In my current role at [X], I faced a similar inflection point when we expanded into APAC. I built the localization workflow that decreased time-to-market by 3 weeks..."

Paragraph 3: Address the ambiguity directly (shows confidence).

"While the posting emphasized flexibility and wearing multiple hats, my experience spans the likely trifecta this role requires: A) stakeholder management, B) process documentation, and C) CRM administration."

Closing: Invite them to clarify.

"I’d welcome the opportunity to discuss which of these areas is the current priority for your team."

Phase 4: Safety Nets (If You’re Still Guessing)

  • Prepare a "Swiss Army Knife" version: Highlight transferable meta-skills: learning agility, stakeholder management, ambiguous problem-solving, and rapid onboarding.
  • Add a "Selected Projects" section: Include 2 mini case studies (3-4 lines each) covering different skill sets (e.g., one technical, one creative, one analytical). Let them choose which fits their need.
  • Use your network: Before applying, message someone at the company: "I’m very interested in the X role. I’d love to understand what success looks like in the first 90 days—would you have 5 minutes for a quick chat?" Use that intel to tweak your materials before hitting submit.

To give you more specific tactics:

  1. What industry/role type are you looking at? (Vague startup "Operations" differs wildly from vague corporate "Analyst" roles)
  2. Do you have the hiring manager’s name, or is it completely blind?
  3. What’s the one skill you possess that you most want to highlight, even if you’re unsure if they need it?

Tailoring without a map is actually an opportunity to demonstrate market research skills and business intuition—treat it as your first work sample for the role.

Skill
Ask AI anything — try it free!

People also asked

Do employers prefer generic or tailored resumes?Is there any online tool to tailor the CV to job ads automaticallyWhat is the single most effective technique to instantly tailor a generic resume to a specific job description?How to tailor resume to job description examplesHow does a resume Keyword Analyzer assist in tailoring resumes for specific job descriptions?