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Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #201 A resume can have plenty of good experience on it and still make the wrong impression. That came up with a Rewrite Bundle client who purchased the service on July 20. They sent me several examples of the jobs they wanted to pursue, which gave me a chance to compare what those employers were looking for with what the resume was actually emphasizing. The client had relevant experience. They’d built prog

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #200 One of the harder resume problems is having plenty of experience but no obvious story connecting it. That came up with a Comprehensive Resume Review client I worked with a few years ago. They were finishing school and had a background that included several different types of experience. There was good material on the resume, but the reader had to work too hard to understand what connected it all and w

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #199 It’s frustrating when you know you’re already operating at a higher level, but your resume still makes you look like you’re one step behind. That came up recently with a Premium Rewrite Bundle client who felt ready for more senior roles, but their resume wasn’t helping recruiters see the scope, ownership, and leadership already in the work. Their responsibilities had expanded quite a bit, but the resu

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #197 A resume can include strong experience and still make someone look less senior than they really are. That usually happens when everything is given the same amount of space and attention. Routine responsibilities sit next to strategic work. Day-to-day tasks get as much emphasis as decisions that influenced the organization. By the time a recruiter reaches the strongest example, they may have already fo

We help people at every level and at very different points in their job search. Some need a complete rewrite. Some need help figuring out why a resume that used to work isn’t getting results anymore. Others are qualified for the jobs they want but aren’t presenting their experience in a way recruiters can quickly understand. This summer, we’ve given paying clients a lot of practical advice to fix those problems. Here’s an actionable breakdown of the guidance that keeps coming

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #193 One of the easiest mistakes to make when writing a resume is assuming recruiters will interpret it the same way you do. They won't. You know the context behind every promotion, career move, consulting engagement, and side project because you lived it. Recruiters only have what's on the page. They're filling in the blanks with their own experience, assumptions, and biases. That's why it's so important

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #192 One of the biggest misconceptions about resumes is that once you have a good one, you're set for years. Sometimes that's true. More often, the hiring market changes before your experience does. Recently, we worked with a client who had used one of my resume services a few years ago. That resume helped open doors to senior leadership opportunities and continued performing well for quite some time. But

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #191 One of the more surprising challenges in a job search is that the experiences that helped someone become successful can sometimes make it harder for recruiters to understand where they fit. Most careers don't develop in a straight line. Over time, people take on new responsibilities, learn new skills, work across different functions, and become valuable in multiple ways. Organizations often reward tha

Inspired by a client sucdess story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #190 One of the biggest challenges in a job search is that candidates and recruiters rarely read resumes the same way. Candidates see years of experience, context, accomplishments, and career progression. They know why projects mattered, which achievements were the most difficult, and how one role prepared them for the next. Recruiters don't have access to any of that background. They have a resume. That d

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #189 One of the more frustrating parts of a job search is knowing you can do the job and never getting the chance to prove it. Most candidates assume that if they're qualified, hiring teams will eventually figure that out. The reality is that qualifications aren't always the first thing being evaluated. Recruiters and hiring managers serve different purposes in the hiring process. Hiring managers are often

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #188 One of the more common frustrations in a job search is feeling qualified for a role while hearing absolutely nothing back. Candidates often assume the problem is that they don't meet enough of the requirements. Sometimes that's true. But a lot of the time, the issue starts much earlier with how the job description is being interpreted. Most jobseekers read job postings as qualification checklists. The

Over the past few months, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about resume positioning, recruiter interpretation, hiring psychology, and why strong candidates often struggle to gain traction despite having objectively good experience. One of the biggest patterns across those conversations has been this: most resume problems are about how that experience is being interpreted during a quick screening process. If you have a free moment today and plan on applying to jobs soon, it m

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #186 One of the more frustrating realities of modern hiring is that a resume can be perfectly clear and still fail. A lot of professionals eventually reach the point where recruiters understand what they do, but the resume still doesn’t generate much traction. The experience makes sense. The titles line up. The responsibilities sound relevant. But something still feels off because the experience is being c

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking is Hard, Issue #185 One of the more frustrating realities of modern hiring is that broad experience often becomes harder to position, not easier. A lot of accomplished professionals have built careers that span multiple functions, leadership areas, industries, or operational responsibilities. They’ve solved different kinds of business problems, worked across teams, and developed skill sets that don’t fit neatly into one

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking Is Hard, Issue #183 A common assumption in job searching is that strong experience should speak for itself. In practice, it doesn’t. Hiring decisions are based on how quickly and clearly someone can understand where you fit. If that connection isn’t obvious, even strong candidates get passed over. This is especially common with professionals coming from complex or non-traditional environments, where the work itself is st

Most job searches don’t stall because people aren’t doing enough...they stall because people are doing a lot of things without a clear reason behind them. There’s a constant stream of advice telling you to apply more, network more, post more, optimize more. It creates the feeling that progress comes from volume. Applying with intention means understanding why you’re doing each part of the process and making sure it’s actually helping someone else evaluate you. Not just checki

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking Is Hard, Issue #181 One of the most common issues I see with experienced professionals isn’t a lack of capability. It’s how clearly that capability shows up on a resume. A recent resume edit client is a good example. They had over a decade of recruiting experience and a strong background across multiple environments. From a capability standpoint, there was no gap. The issue was how that experience was being presented. Li

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking Is Hard, Issue #179 If you’ve been job searching for a while without much traction, it’s common to start looking at roles that sit just outside your usual scope. Not completely different, but close enough where your experience might apply. That’s usually when the question comes up: is this actually realistic? The short answer is yes, but not for the reasons most people think. Most candidates approach pivoting as if they’

Inspired by a client success story shared in Jobseeking Is Hard, Issue #178 One of the most common challenges experienced professionals face during a job search isn’t a lack of capability. It’s how clearly that capability is communicated during fast hiring decisions. Organizations rarely have the time or context to deeply interpret a candidate’s background. Recruiters and hiring managers are often reviewing large volumes of applications under time pressure. In that environmen

Inspired by a client success story from Jobseeking Is Hard, Issue #177 Modern job search advice often suggests that stronger experience should naturally lead to stronger hiring outcomes. When interviews don’t materialize, candidates are encouraged to make tactical adjustments. They revise formatting, add metrics, optimize keywords, or invest in professional resume writing support. While these steps can be helpful, they don’t always address the deeper dynamics influencing hiri