Why Your Resume Isn't Working

I speak to a lot of executives. They’re impressive in person. Articulate. Clear thinkers. But then they send me their resume, and it’s like a different person wrote it. Their sharp insights and clear leadership are lost in a jumble of metrics and fluff, completely unrelated to the opportunity we are discussing. Looking at the resume, I can’t connect the dots between who they are and what they claim to bring. And nor will the hiring leader.

Leaders love to talk about alignment. Strategic alignment, operational alignment, cultural alignment. Yet when it comes to their resumes, I find that most fail to apply this principle.

Your resume isn’t working because it doesn’t align with what decision-makers actually need. It’s that simple.

The prevailing narrative around resumes for executives is dangerously outdated. Conventional wisdom says you should cram in metrics, highlight achievements and tailor the content to the job posting. But these efforts often miss the mark because they fail to answer the fundamental question: How do you solve their problem?

Sending Your Resume Too Early

Sending your resume before you’ve spoken to a decision-maker is a weak play. You’re gambling on their ability to decode your value without the benefit of context. Worse, you’re relinquishing control over how your narrative is framed.

A hiring leader's problems aren’t laid out in the job posting. They’re nuanced, often unspoken and deeply tied to organizational dynamics. A job description might list “drive digital transformation,” but what they really need is someone to fix a botched ERP implementation, unify siloed teams or stabilize a faltering market position. These specifics only emerge through conversation.

When you’ve had that dialogue, you can frame your resume to speak directly to their challenges. You can use the language they used to describe their pain points, highlight the achievements most relevant to their situation, and position yourself as the answer to their problem. Without these steps, you’re sending a generic document into the void, hoping it lands. Hope is not a strategy, and it’s certainly not a hiring strategy.

Misaligned Metrics, Misaligned Messages

Hiring leaders reviewing your resume don’t care about a laundry list of metrics that lack context. Revenue growth, margin expansion, cost savings — they may be impressive, but they are meaningless in isolation. You’re assuming they can extrapolate your impact and connect it to their challenges. That’s a mistake.

Consider this: The company’s profit margins are being squeezed by rising operational costs. They need someone to implement lean initiatives or renegotiate supplier contracts. But your resume is packed with metrics about market share growth and product innovation. Even if your achievements are extraordinary, they’re irrelevant here.

True alignment demands that you understand their challenges before your resume lands in their inbox. It’s not just about including impressive metrics but ensuring those metrics align with their goals, shaping a narrative that ties your accomplishments to their needs and making it impossible to ignore your relevance. Decision-makers don’t have time to interpret how your accomplishments translate into solutions for their pain points. They’ll move on to someone who’s made it obvious.

Here’s the litmus test: If someone reads your resume without speaking to you, can they clearly see how you’ll solve their problems? If the answer is no, you’ve failed. Most resumes leave decision-makers guessing. They’re forced to fill in the gaps, and they’ll rarely make the effort. Your job is to remove that burden.

Why Most Resume Advice Falls Flat

The resume-writing industry has perpetuated myths that don’t serve executives. One of the biggest is the belief that more is better. More metrics, more responsibilities, more keywords. The result is bloated resumes that lack focus and clarity.

Another damaging myth is that resumes are the cornerstone of your job search. They’re not. A resume is a supporting document. It fills in the blanks. Your ability to secure the right role hinges far more on relationships, conversations and how you position yourself in the market. The resume is a tool, not the strategy.

Finally, there’s the misconception that resumes should be exhaustive. Decision-makers don’t want your life story. They need the highlights that matter to them. A concise, targeted resume is infinitely more effective than a sprawling epic.

What Alignment Looks Like in Practice

So how do you fix it? Start by reframing how you approach your resume. It’s not a static document. Here’s what alignment looks like:

1. Understand their needs first: Before you even touch your resume, have a conversation. Learn their challenges, priorities and what success looks like. This is non-negotiable.
2. Tailor every detail: Generic resumes are dead on arrival. Customize your metrics, achievements, and language to speak directly to their pain points. Make it impossible for them to ignore your relevance.
3. Focus on outcomes, not activities: Don’t just list what you did. Show the impact. How did your actions move the needle? Frame your achievements as solutions to their problems.
4. Simplify ruthlessly: Complexity is the enemy of clarity. Strip out anything that doesn’t directly support your case. Decision-makers don’t have time to sift through noise.
5. Use their language: Speak in terms they’ll recognize. If they’re focused on operational efficiency, use that language rather than generic terms like "process improvement." Mirror their priorities.

The Bottom Line

Your resume isn’t working because you’ve treated it as an end rather than a means. The root issue is alignment — or lack thereof. Decision-makers have no time to decipher vague or disconnected details. Every word must cut through the noise. You’re not there to impress them with numbers or titles. You’re there to show that you are the solution they need, the bridge from where they are to where they want to go.

When you get that right, you win.