Step 5.5: Your Resume(s)
Everyone needs a great resume. Unfortunately, most people have not-so-great resumes.
Here’s how to use the technology available to everyone now to differentiate yours.
Your resume isn't a historical document. It's a marketing weapon.
In 2025, most people are still writing resumes like it's 1995 – cramming every job they've ever had into a wall of bullet points that nobody reads. They're playing checkers. Let's play chess.
Remember: Your resume isn't your life story. It's a strategic document designed to get you to the next conversation. Each version you create should:
Target a specific role
Solve a specific problem
Present a specific value proposition
Tell a specific story
We’re in an era where online applications make it easy for anyone to submit their resume for a job that they’re not remotely qualified for. This means that bots are needed to pre-screen the volume of applications. Which means that the most perfectly qualified candidate may never get an interview because they haven’t optimized for this.
The “New Resume Reality” is that AI screeners read your resume before humans. Recruiters spend 6 seconds on first glance - if you even make it past the screening bots. Decision makers skim for patterns, not details. And even worse, everyone's looking for a reason to say no.
Here's how to create the best possible resume that beats the bots and gets people to say yes:
Create Your Own Master Template
This isn't your resume – it's your content database
Every achievement you're proud of
Every metric that matters
Every skill you've mastered
Every story worth telling
Build Multiple Targeted Variants
Create custom versions for each role/industry
Speak their language (use their keywords)
Mirror their priorities
Show them the version of you they need to see
The Winning Structure
First 1/3 of page = your greatest hits album
Skills that matter for THIS job
Achievements that predict future success
Numbers that tell your story
Season with “Metrics That Matter”:
Revenue generated
Time saved
Efficiency improved
Teams built
Problems solved
Scale achieved
Remember these essential powerups:
Use AI tools to optimize keywords
Create white space – make it scannable
Front-load achievements in each bullet
Use action verbs that pop
Make numbers stand out visually
The format revolution is all about clean > creative, quickly scannable > dense, strategic > comprehensive and forward-looking > historical. And remember these cardinal rules:
No one cares what you did - they care what you achieved
No one cares about your tasks - they care about your impact
No one cares about your history - they care about their future and how you can help them get there
The Technical Specs:
PDF format (always)
Standard fonts (no Comic Sans crimes)
Consistent spacing
Strategic bold/italic use
File named professionally
Always have a printed version for in-person meetings. Print it on white paper.
If you insist on having a version with spider graphs, pie charts and bar charts that show your skills, use that only for in-person meetings. As someone who has seen tens of thousands of resumes in my career, I can tell you that these do no favors for anyone other than to show that you know how to download a template.
Remember: Your resume isn't your life story. It's a strategic document designed to get you to the next conversation. Each version should:
Target a specific role
Solve a specific problem
Present a specific value proposition
Tell a specific story
The Distribution Strategy:
Master version in your cloud
Targeted versions for each application
LinkedIn version (simplified)
Website version (designed)
Because here's the truth: Your resume isn't just competing against other candidates. It's competing against distraction, bias, and human nature.
Don't just update your resume. Weaponize it.
Make every word count. Make every second work. Make every pixel earn its place.
The game has changed. Time to change how you play it.
Your Playbook:
Follow the steps above to create your resume(s)
Optimize as outlined
Share with your Circle of Advisors for feedback
Continue to edit as you share