CPC Thought Leadership: A Résumé Should Face Forward

Résumé development often begins with the past. We collect the client’s work history, review previous résumés, identify accomplishments, and begin deciding what belongs in the new document. It is a logical process. But what if we are beginning at the wrong end?

A future-focused approach starts somewhere else. Before asking, “What has this client done?” we ask, “Where are they trying to go?” What will success look like there? What problems will they be expected to solve? What capabilities will matter? What might make an employer believe this person could succeed in that environment? Only then do we turn around and look at the client’s career history.

That reversal can change the conversation. Instead of asking a client about an old position, we might ask when they solved a problem similar to one they are likely to encounter next. Instead of automatically emphasizing their most senior accomplishment, we might look for an older or less obvious experience that better supports their new direction. When a client is changing careers, we can stop asking whether their previous job looks like the next one and start looking for evidence they can do what the future will require.

This matters especially when clients are making significant changes. Their past job titles may not point neatly toward their future. Their most relevant capabilities may be scattered across different roles, volunteer experiences, projects, education, or accomplishments. A chronological career history can make those connections difficult to see. Future-focused questioning helps us find them.

Perhaps this changes the starting question for résumé development. Instead of asking, “What should we say about this person’s past?”, we can ask, “What will matter in the work they want to do next?” Then we search the past for relevant, credible evidence.

Learn More: Certified Résumé Strategist (CRS)

CPC Thought Leadership. Advancing ideas that shape our profession.

– By Sharon Graham, Founder and Chair of Career Professionals of Canada –
The insights shared are the author’s own, supported by OpenAI and Pictory.