Every week I talk to people looking for work. Some new graduates wonder why no one is calling them back. Some people have 20 or 30 years of experience and suddenly find themselves navigating a job market they barely recognize. They have one thing in common. It means that somewhere along the way you begin to question your worth.
Understood. When your resume disappears from applicant tracking systems and you start receiving rejection emails or even no replies, it’s easy to believe that you’re the problem. In most cases, this is not the case.
The hiring process has changed dramatically over the past decade. Technology has made it easier to apply for jobs, but harder to be seen as a human being. Employers are inundated with applications. Candidates are overwhelmed with anxiety and self-doubt. Everyone is frustrated.
As someone who has spent years coaching professionals through career transitions and working with HR leaders, I believe we are missing an important conversation. A resume simply tells where a person has been.
They don’t tell us how they learn, how they solve problems, how they support their teammates, or how they react when things don’t go as planned. They are often the qualities that determine whether someone will be successful or not.
The skills you’ve built, the relationships you’ve cultivated, the curiosity you’ve shown, and the resilience you’ve developed are all important, even if they don’t fit neatly into your job description.
Hiring managers and human resources professionals know that potential is often overlooked in the rush to fill positions. Skills can be taught. Character, curiosity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are much harder to develop, but they can be the difference between someone who simply plays a role and someone who helps a team thrive.
The current job market is challenging, especially for recent graduates and experienced professionals making unexpected career transitions. That makes it even more important to not just write people off as a list of qualifications or a resume score.
The best careers I’ve seen, including my own, have rarely been linear. I went to school to be a veterinarian, but somehow ended up working in retail, hospitality, technology, marketing, and now coaching and conscious business management. None of those experiences were in vain. Together they created a perspective I couldn’t have (and certainly didn’t) plan for.
Perhaps that’s the point. It doesn’t always end as planned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a failure. Sometimes it’s where we discover our greatest strengths and learn new ways to pivot, learn, and grow.
I wrote a more personal reflection on this idea, especially for alumni, parents, and anyone wondering what happens next. You can read it at Substack: You Might Not End Up Where You Planned.
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