Resume Advice from Unconventional Leaders

College students and recent grads: here’s your inside scoop from a CEO who just reviewed 500+ resumes. At REACH, we’re hiring for Q1 2025, and as the CEO, I personally skim through hundreds of resumes to spot top talent. Let me be honest: in a competitive recruitment season, you have seconds to stand out. If you want to rise to the top of the pile, here’s my advice: 4 𝐂𝐄𝐎-𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 📌 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬. Familiarity catches attention. Highlight the companies, schools, or programs that carry weight at the very top of your resume. As a CEO, I skip the header and dive right into the body paragraphs. Don’t make me dig to find what sets you apart. 📌 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. Big metrics grab my eye and slow me down. Whether it’s "$6𝘔+ 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥" or "𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 150%", numbers scream 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔. Use them to frame your accomplishments and ensure your skills shine. 📌 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞. If you’re applying for a role in influencer marketing (like at REACH), don’t include irrelevant experience in UI/UX design. Show me you understand the position and can bring value to the specific role. Relevance is everything. 📌 𝐁𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫. Traditional resumes are safe, but a unique design—done right—can make you unforgettable. Think creatively, but prioritize clarity. If your resume is thoughtful, well-structured, and reflects your personality, it’ll stand out and stick with me. 💡 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: The resumes I remember are clear, focused, and demonstrate impact. Take the time to refine yours—you’re competing against hundreds of others, so make every detail count.

If someone’s ever hinted that you’re “overqualified,” or "past your prime", read this twice: experience doesn't expire. I’ve recently come in contact with some older professionals who are starting to doubt their experience, especially when it comes time to write their resumes. They tell me things like: “I’m worried my experience makes me look outdated," or “I've heard that I’m ‘overqualified.’” Sure, ageism is real, but your experience isn't a liability. It's your competitive edge. In a resume, it all comes down to how that experience is being positioned. Too often, resumes tell a story of where you’ve been instead of what you can still do. Maybe you need to shift the story. Here's how: 1. Show currency: Connect past results to today’s realities. Maybe you led digital transformation before it was trendy or built teams that thrived through disruption. Draw the line between then and now. 2. Quantify results: Numbers and specifics prove your expertise. “Improved operations” becomes “Cut costs by 22% while boosting output.” Data doesn’t age, but validates your impact. 3. Modernize your message: Refresh your language to reflect where your industry is going (think: AI, ESG, automation, customer experience). Show that your insight evolves with the market. 4. Lead with value: Focus your resume on what you offer, not when you started....because years of experience aren’t your biggest sell: your impact is. Your experience doesn’t need defending. But it does need to be properly positioned, especially during a job search.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲🚀 In a job market that feels more competitive than ever, traditional methods might not be enough. ► 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧. We’re all used to sending emails or uploading resumes, but what if we shifted our perspective? Recently, Swiggy's AVP of Design shared a story about a designer who mailed a physical letter directly to their office, pitching ideas and expressing interest. It wasn’t a typical job application—it was an experience. It made them stop and take note. ► 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 Just like Marta Puerto , a marketing professional who shared a video titled “Meet Marta: The Movie” on LinkedIn, this could be your game-changer. She created a video showcasing her skills and personality, going beyond text on paper. According to recent data, only 17% of employers have received a video resume, but 89% said they’d watch one if submitted. Why not make it short, impactful, and memorable? ► 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. Another unique approach? Curate an article featuring insights from leaders in your target industry. When you interview and quote them, not only do you build connections, but you’re also creating content that showcases your research skills and initiative. Imagine sharing the article and getting noticed for your proactive approach. Love what Harkiran Brar PMP,PSM does with her podcast. ► 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. In the short term, these methods help you stand out from a sea of digital applications and spark meaningful conversations. ► 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦. Assets like video resumes and articles create a personal brand. They make people remember you and provide you with content you can repurpose and leverage as you build your career. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. P.S. Looking for some practical steps? 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 Ashley Kennedy https://lnkd.in/gtvjxhcV 

You don’t need the perfect resume to break into leadership. But you do need to know how to translate your experience into value. Here’s how to do that — especially if you're coming from a non-traditional path: 1. Show how you think, not just what you’ve done. Hiring managers at the senior level care less about job titles and more about your decision-making, tradeoffs, and ability to scale impact. 2. Package your experience as patterns. Instead of listing projects, highlight the problems you’ve solved — and how those same patterns apply in bigger, more complex environments. 3. Speak the language of business. Your technical work has impact beyond the codebase. Show how it drove revenue, saved time, improved processes, or reduced risk. Most people try to fit in when their resume doesn’t match. But what stands out is someone who knows their edge — and knows how to communicate it. Leadership isn’t given. It’s earned through clarity, confidence, and contribution.

A while back, I hired someone who had been laid off twice in two years. The résumé looked like it had been through a storm. Employment gap here, short stint there, a six-month role labeled “Contract” that screamed, “Please don’t ask.” My inbox had already been hit with five “concerns” about their background. “Seems unstable.” “Can they commit?” “They were terminated from their last job—risky.” But here’s what I saw: someone who kept getting back up. Someone who wasn’t afraid to show up again, even after being knocked down by layoffs, life, and letdowns. So I hired them. And guess what happened? They were incredible. They showed up early, stayed late, asked smart questions, owned their mistakes, and never once pulled the “not my job” card. They took feedback like a sponge. They contributed ideas that saved us money. They led with empathy. They even brought muffins on Mondays. (Bonus points.) And here’s the plot twist: The company did not fall apart. The culture didn’t crumble. The clients didn’t run. In fact, the team got stronger. The energy got better. Since then, I’ve hired: • Someone who took a 7-year break to raise twins • Someone who’d been terminated, twice • A former bartender who learned Excel on YouTube • A guy who left corporate to chase his dreams in music, then came back when rent got real None of them were perfect on paper. All of them were phenomenal in real life. So here’s the point: Stop treating résumés like crystal balls. An employment gap doesn’t mean they’re lazy. A short tenure doesn’t mean they’re flaky. A layoff doesn’t mean they’re not capable. A non-traditional path doesn’t mean they won’t thrive. Real people. Real stories. Real results. Hire the human. Not the highlight reel. It just might be the best decision you ever make.

I hired someone with a medical background to run my law firm's operations. Everyone thought I was crazy. 5 years later, she's my COO. She was looking for a career change away from healthcare. No legal experience. No paralegal certification. No law firm background whatsoever. But I saw something beyond the resume. We're both analytical, but in complementary ways. I see the big picture — the overall strategy and direction. She excels at finding the critical pieces within that picture and systematically assembling them into working systems. While I race forward with ideas, she slows me down with the right questions: "How will this actually work in practice?" "What systems need to be in place first?" "Have we considered all the implications?" In the early days, she handled paralegal work and basic legal operations. But her true value emerged as she developed systems that transformed how we function. Her medical background gave her skills that traditional legal hires rarely possess: - Meticulous attention to detail - Process-oriented thinking - Crisis management under pressure - Patient-centered (now client-centered) focus What started as an unconventional hire became the backbone of our firm's growth. Sometimes the most valuable team members aren't the ones with the "right" experience on paper — they're the ones with transferable skills and perspectives that complement your weaknesses. The best hiring decisions often lie beyond the conventional resume checklist.

A client recently said to me, “Julia, I’ve had such a weird career. I’m afraid people won’t get it.”   I asked her, “What if what you think is weird is actually what makes you remarkable?”   She was stumped. Her face said, “How is that possible?”   Her fear was that people would judge her and think, “This doesn’t look right.”   Like most people, she’s taken detours. She left a corporate job for a start-up, paused to raise kids for a couple of years, and even shifted industries. We talked about how her résumé may not follow a straight line, but that’s what will make her a great hire.   Many people I coach worry that their path looks “off.” But the world of work has changed and so has what stands out. What’s most important is how you tell your story.   For starters—you need to own your story. Why did you make those moves? They probably made sense at the time, so you need to paint the picture of what you knew you’d gain by making that move.   Then, you need to prove what you gained from that move. What did you learn? How did it help you grow? How will it play a role in making you excellent in your next role?   By the end of our coaching session, she realized that every “weird” move told a story about growth, adaptability, courage, resilience, and curiosity.   Next steps…   On her resume, instead of worrying about what didn’t match, we highlighted the through-lines. We looked for skills and themes that ran through her experiences—leading teams, solving complex problems, building relationships, and navigating change. Then, we followed her title with a tagline that showcased her expertise. Here are 2 examples (not hers):   1.     Operations and Strategy Leader | Driving transformation across industries 2.     Marketing Professional | Turning insights into impact across corporate, agency, and start-up settings   Then, we focused on LinkedIn because that is where you get to own your story, in your own voice.   In her About section, we started by explaining her journey with confidence, not an apology. For example:   “My career hasn’t been traditional, and that’s been my greatest advantage. Each move gave me new skills and perspectives that now shape how I lead, collaborate, trouble-shoot, problem-solve, and communicate across an organization.”   Next, we added examples that showed her knowledge, growth, curiosity, and courage, bringing her personality and personal style into it, so the reader could see HER.   Lastly, we talked about interviewing confidently and explaining the growth that came from her career decisions. An example:   “I took that role to explore an industry that I knew would force me to be a student again, to learn, and listen intently. It ended up making me a stronger leader and a better manager.”   By the end of our call, she realized her career path didn’t need to look linear to be powerful. It needed to make sense to her, and if she could articulate that, others would see the value, too.

The "perfect" resume is becoming a ghost. In my years recruiting for Senior Living Leadership, I’ve noticed a shift. The candidates who are truly moving the needle in 2025 aren’t always the ones with the "linear" 20-year path. They are the ones with The Fire. I spoke with a candidate a while back who had a two-year "gap" on their resume. On paper? A red flag for some. In reality? They spent that time as a primary caregiver for a parent. That "gap" didn't set them back. It gave them: * Deepened Empathy...They lived the journey our residents’ families are on. * Crisis Management...They navigated the complex healthcare web daily. * Perspective...They remembered why we do what we do. When we placed them in an Executive Director role, they didn’t just hit their numbers—they transformed the culture. The lesson? If you’re only hiring based on a "clean" resume, you’re missing the "Hidden Talent" that actually builds a legacy. In "The Long Run," leadership isn't about the lack of gaps; it’s about the depth of the character built between the lines. Stop looking for perfection. Start looking for the person who has lived the mission. What’s one "unconventional" trait you’ve found makes for an incredible Senior Living leader?

I applied to dozens of jobs and only got 2 interviews. Then I discovered what I was doing wrong. I just wrapped up a coaching call with a veteran I’ll call Sarah. Army Captain. 14 years of service. Extensive HR and compliance experience. Nearly completed graduate degree. On paper, she should be landing interviews left and right. Here’s what we uncovered in our session. Sarah’s resume had become “robotic.” After months of job searching, she’d fallen into the trap we all fall into. Copying keywords from job descriptions. Creating generic bullet points that could apply to anyone. Losing her unique story in a sea of sameness. Her resume listed responsibilities. It didn’t showcase impact. When I asked her to tell me about her favorite role (Director of Career Services), her energy completely shifted. She told me about: 🔸 Achieving one of the highest placement rates on the entire West Coast 🔸 Earning the Operation Inspire Award 🔸 Managing a diverse team while balancing HR compliance, ADA accommodations, and student mentoring 🔸 The actual lives she changed THAT story wasn’t on her resume. Just generic bullets that said “managed career services program” and “coordinated with employers.” Stop listing duties. Start proving impact. Don’t write: “Managed team and oversaw program operations” Write: “Led 4-person team to achieve top 10% placement rate regionally; earned Operation Inspire Award for program excellence” Use the STAR format for bullets, not just interviews. Every bullet should tell a micro-story: 🔸 Situation/Task: What was the challenge? 🔸 Action: What did YOU specifically do? 🔸 Result: What measurable outcome did you create? Quality over quantity. Sarah had 6-8 bullets per job. We’re cutting to 2-3 POWERFUL bullets per role that actually differentiate her. I told Sarah what I tell every transitioning service member: “You’re not just applying for jobs. You’re a product solving a customer’s problem.” That employer has a need. Your resume is your marketing material. If it reads like everyone else’s, why would they pick you? If you’re applying everywhere and hearing nothing, ask yourself: 🔸 Does my resume tell generic responsibilities or specific achievements? 🔸 Can someone reading this understand the IMPACT I created, not just what I was responsible for? 🔸 Would a hiring manager remember me after reading this, or does it blend in? Read your resume out loud. If it bores you, it will bore them. Sarah left our call with clarity, two priority applications, and a completely different approach. Will it work? I’m confident it will, because we’re finally putting the real Sarah on paper, not a watered-down, keyword-stuffed version. To everyone grinding through the job search right now.. You’re not failing. Your marketing materials are just underselling your story. Fix the story. The interviews will follow.

In 2004, I took an 11-year career break to focus on raising my daughters. This "break" was the most comprehensive on the job training I have ever received. I learned how to: ✅ Lead without authority (it's not like I could fire them!) ✅ Delegate and manage tasks by coordinating multiple people, schedules, and priorities ✅ Provide feedback, set expectations, and motivate others ✅ Resolve conflict, mediate, and negotiate to find win-win situations ✅ Optimize resources by maximizing outcomes with limited time, money, and energy ✅ Manage expectations, maintain composure in chaotic situations, foster relationships under stress, and make quick decisions ✅ Manage projects by juggling multiple deadlines, logistics, and moving parts ✅ Manage multigenerational stakeholders with different personality types, ages, and opinions ✅ Address and provide guidance on sensitive topics with tact and clarity while providing empathy for different perspectives and motivations ✅ Understand underlying needs and emotions ✅ Develop potential and skills ✅ Manage change by helping others adapt to new situations and transitions ✅ Manage budget by tracking expenses and making cost-benefit decisions ✅ Prioritize competing demands efficiently and find unconventional solutions ✅ Conduct quality control by monitoring outcomes and adjusting processes What "unconventional" experience shaped how you work today?