The Power of a Resume

It's not a job description. It's your company.

Your resume isn't a biography. It's not a list of everywhere you've worked. It's a sales document - and you're the product.

Think of yourself as John Doe LLC. You're a company. Your resume is your pitch deck. When someone hires you, they're buying a solution to a problem - not effort, not presence, outcomes.

Your resume should reflect what you delivered. Not what you were exposed to. Not what you sat near. Not what your department owned.

Most resumes fail because they read like job descriptions. "Responsible for quality inspections. Monitored scrap rates. Maintained documentation." That's what the job posting said. It tells me nothing about what you actually did.

Your Resume Is a Thinking Tool

A good resume forces clarity.

What did you actually do? Where did you move the needle? Where were you part of the solution - and where were you just present?

If you can't explain why a bullet exists, it doesn't belong.

This isn't about impressing anyone. It's about knowing what you can responsibly sell. It's a living document of how you partner - your evidence, your boundary of credibility, your record of outcomes.

When you're doubting yourself, when you're negotiating, when you're deciding whether to stay or go - your resume is your proof. You did these things. You can speak to them.

Job Description vs. Resume

Here's the difference:

Job description version: "Monitored scrap rate. Developed trends. Reduced scrap."

Resume version: "Documented scrap rate over 12 months targeting trends and discovered a root cause. Reduced scrap by 27% on the line and read across to other lines. Net scrap reduction saved $60k annually."

The first one tells me you had a job. The second tells me you solved a problem and can quantify the impact.

As a quality engineer, your job description might suggest where to make an impact. But showing someone the figures means you were part of the solution - and you have the confidence to talk about it.

The "Speak to It" Test

Here's the rule: if it's on your resume, you need to be able to speak to it.

I see it all the time. Candidates list skills they've had exposure to but can't actually discuss in depth. They put it in the skills section because it sounds good. Then they get into the interview, the hiring manager asks about it - because that's why they called - and the candidate stumbles.

If a skill is listed and it becomes the reason someone interviews you - and you can't carry that conversation - you've wasted everyone's time, including your own.

Your resume holds the things you can speak to. That's its power.

How Many Resumes Should You Have?

Usually one. Sometimes two.

Multiple resumes only make sense when you are genuinely open - and qualified - for multiple paths. If one is aspirational and the other is real, only one belongs on paper.

The key is knowing what you're trying to accomplish. Each resume should be targeted, not generic. And you have to be able to speak to everything on each version.

When an Objective Statement Makes Sense

Most objective statements are useless because they restate the obvious or ask for something generic. If it feels like a chore, skip it.

But when someone is making a deliberate directional move, an objective statement can do real work.

Example: an engineer moving into recruiting.

On paper, the skills don't translate cleanly. You won't see "recruiter" in their job history. But in the right industry, they absolutely do translate - credibility, technical fluency, pattern recognition, the ability to evaluate competence.

The objective statement explains intent. It tells the reader: this isn't confusion - this is a choice.

Career pivots only work when the person has actually accepted the risk. If you're hedging, an objective statement won't save you. But if you've decided - truly decided - it becomes a signal of seriousness, not uncertainty.

An objective statement doesn't replace the work. It only earns its place when the rest of the resume supports it - when the bullets show discipline, ownership, and outcomes, even if the function is changing.

The Title Problem

Job titles vary wildly from company to company. "Director of Engineering" at a 50-person shop might mean one direct report and hands-on engineering work. At a large corporation, it means something completely different.

This creates two risks:

Getting screened out as overqualified. If you're a "Director" applying for an engineering manager role, the hiring manager might assume you'll be bored or expensive - even if the scope is similar.

Getting screened out as underqualified. If you're a lead engineer who manages part of a team but your title says "Mechanical Engineer," a small shop might skip you because they need leadership experience - which you have, but your title doesn't show it.

Most resume rejections aren't about capability. They're about mis-translation.

When Title Translation Is Legitimate (And When It's Not)

This is not a tactic.

Translating a job title is not about trying to "get" a job you're not qualified for. That's not risk - that's abuse. And it ruins your brand fast.

There are only a handful of situations where title translation is legitimate:

• When your company's title does not match your actual scope
• When you were officially titled into a role but operated at a different level
• When internal titles are inflated or compressed beyond industry norms
• When the market you're applying into uses different language for the same work

Translation exists to prevent accidental misrepresentation - not to manufacture qualification. If the translated title isn't defensible through scope, outcomes, and authority, it doesn't belong.

Most people should never do this.

In most cases, your title is fine as-is. If you feel the need to translate, it should raise a flag that the resume needs careful review - not quick adjustment.

I do this occasionally. When it's necessary. And when it's true. I've worked with people whose title and job had almost nothing in common. I've also seen people hurt their own search by letting a misleading title get them screened out before anyone looked deeper.

The rule: If you translate a title, you owe the interviewer an explanation - early. Not as a defense. As context. If you're uncomfortable explaining it out loud, it doesn't belong on the page.

Format and Length

Fancy doesn't help. Clarity helps.

For manufacturing roles, I don't need a designed template with graphics and colors. I need to understand what you've done in 7 seconds.

Length: One page is almost always better. When I'm screening, multi-page resumes make me want to skip ahead - just out of exhaustion. Make it easy for me to get to "yes pile" in 7 seconds so I'll spend another 20-30 seconds confirming it.

Education: Put it at the top. If the company has an education requirement, show them you check the box early.

Skills: 8-10 bullets, two columns, tight and confident. Only list skills you're very confident in. Weak bullets kill interviews.

Employment: Don't create a new entry for every position at the same company. That looks like job hopping when it's actually loyalty and progression. Group them under the company, show the trajectory.

Formatting: More basic for entry-level, slightly more constructed for senior roles. Never ultra-fancy for manufacturing. We're not looking for design - we're looking for clarity.

The Real Point

Your resume is a living document. It should grow as you grow. Update it when you accomplish something, not when you're desperate to leave.

A good resume gets you the conversation, controls the conversation, and reminds you what you're actually worth.

Build it with intention. Keep it honest. Make sure you can speak to every line.

That's the power of a resume.

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