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Hey There!

Welcome to Issue #149 of Jobseeking is Hard!

Today's issue is brought to you by Superhuman AI! If you're a free subscriber and value our content, it costs $0 to support us by taking .0005 seconds to click the ad and check out the service. Seriously…all you need to do is click it. You don’t even have to subscribe or buy anything…just clicking helps support us. Easy peasy. Show our sponsor some love for supporting Jobseeking is Hard! Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who emailed me after the Top 10 resume tips wrap-up (issues 147 & 148). I’m glad so many of you found it helpful! A few of you also had questions about some of the tips, so I figured I’d answer them here for everyone. If one person was wondering, chances are others were too. Hopefully my explanations will help as you get your resume in shape for hiring season.

And while all previous issues of the newsletter are paywalled, I did create blog entries on Karpiak Consulting’s site based on the Top 10 tips so you can bookmark them and use them anytime.

You can find Part 1 (Tips 10-6) here.

And Part 2 (Tips 5-1) here.

Now lets get to your questions!

Great question!

The short answer: yes, you can include older or less relevant roles...but keep them lean. Recruiters don't need to see every detail of a job you did 8 or 10 years ago, especially if it's in a different industry and doesn't connect to the positions you're targeting now. 1-2 bullet points should be fine to highlight a transferable skill or broad responsibility. You can even just have a "Previous Experience" section to list the company and job title.

What you do want to show is continuity. Listing the company, role, and dates demonstrates a consistent work history, which matters. Avoid resume gaps whenever possible.

That way, you can acknowledge the job without letting it dilute the story you're trying to tell.

This is exactly the principle behind Clarity Through Subtraction. A Comprehensive Resume Review client of mine landed a great role by trimming back on older, irrelevant details and focusing the spotlight on what mattered most for the jobs they were aiming for. The resume told a clear, targeted story instead of a career autobiography. Control your narrative and only highlight what's relevant.

Good question...and one I hear all the time. Job postings today really are a mess. Half the time they’re a Frankenstein of everything that could possibly be relevant, written in vague language. It’s no wonder people look at them and think, “How am I supposed to hit all of this?”

Well, you don’t need to hit all of it. The key is focusing on the real priorities. Look at the top 3 to 5 responsibilities in the posting...those are usually the key. That’s where you should align your bullets, using clear examples of scope and outcomes. Recruiters don’t care if you mirror every single buzzword. They care if your resume makes it obvious you can handle the core parts of the job.

This is also why AI isn’t super helpful for content. If your resume doesn’t already have strong, clear examples of what you’ve done, AI can’t invent them...it just regurgitates keywords and jargon. Asking AI to give you the “top 20” keywords leaves you babbling about synergy, enablement, or other fluff nobody actually searches for. What matters is that your resume has the right job skill/duty keywords baked into strong, specific bullets that show scale, scope, and results.

In the job tip, my Comprehensive Resume Review client learned this lesson the hard way. Their resume was stuffed with generic responsibilities and every buzzword under the sun. Once we stripped it back, focused on the key duties from the jobs they wanted, and spelled out their actual impact, everything changed. They finally broke out of a toxic workplace and into a role where their value was obvious.

So no, you don’t need to get on board with the corporate BS; you need to cut through it. Focus on the main things that really matter, and make your impact clear. That’s what recruiters want.

This is exactly the gap I was talking about in the tip. If your resume only lists what you did (the tasks, the deliverables), it doesn’t matter how much responsibility you had...the document still reads junior. Senior-level resumes need to show ownership, strategy, and impact at scale.

That means reframing your bullets. Instead of “led meetings” or “oversaw a team,” dig into what those things meant. Did you coach or mentor staff (and it does not have to be a direct report)? Did you lead cross-functional initiatives? Did you drive projects that solved business-critical problems?

And don’t forget context. Leading a team of 3 is different from leading a department of 30. Managing a $200K budget isn’t the same as managing a $20M one. Spell out the numbers, the complexity, and the scope so the reader sees you’re operating at a higher level.

This shift is what helped a Resume Edit client of mine move from Director to VP and eventually earn a $150K salary increase. They already had the experience, but until their resume reflected it, recruiters saw them as a long-time doer instead of a leader ready for the next step. Frame your resume to match the level you’re aiming for, not just the tasks you’ve done.

Yes, your work history should still be chronological...recruiters expect to see your most recent role first. But that doesn't mean your current job has to dominate the narrative if it's not the most relevant. The key is to control the order of information inside each role.

If your last job isn't the best match, keep the description basic. Lead with transferable skills or projects that align with the roles you want, and save the less relevant details for later (or cut them altogether). Then, in the earlier job that is relevant, put the strongest experience right at the top of that section. You can even center the summary about the experience you want to highlight, regardless of when it occurred chronologically. Same with which achievements you choose to highlight at the top...they don't have to be the most recent; they should be the most relevant. Connect the dots in your career, making it clear that you have the experience that matters.

This is exactly what a Review Bundle client of mine made a successful pivot by selecting the right info to showcase and reordering their bullets. Their most recent job wasn't a perfect fit, but by putting the right skills front and center (and trimming what didn't matter), recruiters immediately saw the connection, and they landed the values-driven role they wanted.

Those 4 were the most asked-about tips I got after the Top 10, so hopefully my explanations make sense! Each of these comes back to the same idea: your resume is a marketing document, not a biography. Control the story, highlight what's relevant, and add the right context so recruiters can see your value without having to dig.

Summer's over. No more vacations for recruiters, hiring managers, and decision-makers. Interview activity is going to greatly increase. This is the perfect time to put these ideas into practice.

And if you need help optimizing your resume, LinkedIn, or job search strategy, don't forget that Karpiak Consulting offers reviews, edits, and coaching on job search strategy and interview prep!

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Jobseekers, have a great rest of your week, and good luck with those applications!

-Adam

PS!! If you're enjoying the newsletter, let people know! Forward it, post it on social, tag me, whatever...the bigger the discussion, the better! The idea is to help as many people as possible!

About Adam- Recognized as a leading voice on hiring and workplace trends, Adam has been recruiting and providing career advice since 2003, developing high-trust relationships based on honesty with companies and jobseekers. A highly sought-after speaker, he has appeared in numerous outlets, including Bloomberg News, Business Insider, LinkedIn, and CNNMoney. You can find out more about Adam's resume and coaching services here.

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