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Hi Reader, A few weeks ago, a familiar name popped up in my inbox. It was someone I’d worked with almost a decade ago. A great client, solid experience, lovely manners. He wrote: “Hi Lisa, it’s probably time to update my resume again. Just need to include a few things about contract management and administration. Shouldn’t take much.”
I pulled up the resume I’d built for him years ago and opened the one with new info beside it. And immediately thought: Umm… It wasn’t bad. It was just… aged. Like a 2017 iPhone — technically functional, but missing everything that makes the new ones work better. When he said, “It shouldn’t take much,” I smiled. That line is right up there with when I tell Dave, “It’ll only take two minutes to change the washers on the taps.” We both know it’s not true — but I still say it, because optimism dies hard. Here’s the reality no one wants to hear. A great resume ages just like a great website, haircut, or LinkedIn headline. If it’s over three years old, you’re not just editing words — you’re updating how your story fits into a new professional landscape. Trends shift. Algorithms change. The way hiring managers read changes. What worked in 2016 doesn’t land the same way now. And it’s not just about throwing in the latest buzzwords like “contract management” or “stakeholder engagement.” It’s about showing how those things connect to who you are now — the decisions you make, the problems you solve, and the leadership story behind the bullet points. That can’t be done with a tweak. When I explained that to him, there was no pushback. He actually thanked me for being honest. Because deep down, he knew what I meant — he wasn’t looking for someone to move commas. He was looking for someone to help him reframe his value. And that’s what a proper resume rebuild does: it takes your past experience, rethreads it through the lens of who you’ve become, and tells the story with the precision and authority you’ve earned since then. That’s not editing. That’s transformation. So the next time you find yourself saying, “I just need a quick update,”
pause and ask: Do you want your resume to look slightly tidier — or do you want it to actually work? ~Lisa |
