Why Resume Templates Aren’t the Answer
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
If resume templates actually worked the way the internet promises, job searching would be a lot easier.
Download the file. Plug in your experience. Get hired.
But that’s not how hiring works.
I recently worked with a client targeting VP and C-suite level roles who came in convinced something was “wrong” with their resume. It was long. It was detailed. It followed a perfectly reasonable template. And it still wasn’t getting traction.
The problem wasn’t formatting. It was focus.
At senior levels, hiring teams aren’t evaluating resumes based on completeness. They’re evaluating based on relevance. Scope. Impact. Fit for this role, not a generic leadership role.
A template can’t make those judgment calls for you. What mattered in this case was prioritization: Which experiences actually supported the roles they were targeting? Which accomplishments demonstrated the level of ownership and decision-making expected at that level? Which details were interesting but distracting?
Once the resume was reshaped around those questions, the document stopped being a career history and started being a positioning tool. The resume spoke directly to the role they wanted next instead of simply describing what they’d done in the past.
That distinction is everything.
This is why templates so often fall short. They give everyone the same structure, regardless of goals. But not everyone needs to emphasize the same things. What matters on a resume depends entirely on what you’re trying to be hired for and how success is evaluated in that role.
After implementing the feedback from the review, the client accepted a new role that met their salary request, including a 25% salary increase. That's why clearer focus and better decisions matter.
If your resume feels “fine” but isn’t producing interviews, the issue is often not your experience. It’s how that experience is being prioritized and framed for the roles you actually want.
If you want help figuring out what should lead, what should move down, and what should be removed altogether, you can learn more about our resume services here!
