Covid is causing many executive level people to reimagine their careers. For some, this will lead to the drafting of a new resume, something they might not have done for decades. Most will create one using the generic format,even : A dense, black and white list of blah, blah, blah. For anyone who has waded through piles of them, you know how much a resume with just a slight difference in design, structure or content can jump out at you.

The purpose of a resume is to get you an interview, even at the executive level. I have worked with a number of clients to write a different kind of resume that is based on the Blueprint belief that what customers are buying is fundamentally different than what you are selling. Don’t write what you want to sell about yourself. Write what an employer needs to hear about you – what they are buying. For instance:

• They don’t want a banal statement at the top about what you hope to achieve and experience. They need a bold statement about who you are and what you want to accomplish. This creates a powerful context for the rest of the document, whose purpose becomes to validate this powerful point.

• They don’t want a long list of your accomplishments written in business lingo under each job. They need to know where you worked and one powerful, quantifiable thing you accomplished at each – written in plain English in one sentence – that would make a reader say “Wow, this is a strong proof point for who this person said they are and what they want to accomplish”.

Your initial bold statement projects your substance and confidence. Your quantifiable accomplishments are proof points of your bold statement, giving it credibility. These two examples show how different sections of a resume position you more powerfully when they are designed to work hand-in-hand.