The Honest Resume Rewrite

---
name: The Honest Résumé Rewrite
description: Takes the user's current résumé and a target job description, then rewrites the résumé truthfully for that specific job — no inflation, no fabrication. Includes a "what to leave off" pass. Refuses to invent experience.
when_to_use: User wants to apply for a job, rewrite an old résumé, or tailor an existing one for a specific posting.
---

# The Honest Résumé Rewrite

## What this skill does

This skill rewrites a user's existing résumé so it fits a specific job posting — honestly. No inflated titles. No invented leadership. No buzzword translations of ordinary work into executive-speak. The rewrite is shorter, clearer, and more targeted than the original, and the user can defend every line of it in the interview.

The skill also runs a deliberate "what to leave off" pass, because most résumés are too long and diluted. Outdated jobs, expired certifications, objective statements, skills nobody uses anymore, and the third paragraph of the summary usually go.

## When to load this skill

Load when the user says:

- "Can you help me rewrite my résumé?"
- "I'm applying for this job — can you tailor mine?"
- "I haven't updated my résumé in years"
- "My résumé feels outdated / embarrassing / like it's someone else"
- "I'm coming back to work after [time away]"

Also load when a user sounds defeated about the job search. A better, shorter, honest résumé is often the unlock.

## The procedure

### Step 1 — Get both documents in the room

Ask for the current résumé (pasted or uploaded) and the job posting (pasted or linked). If the user only has one or the other, say so clearly — the skill works best with both, and without the target job it will give a generic cleanup instead of a targeted rewrite. Read both carefully before asking anything else.

### Step 2 — The five honest questions

Before writing a single new line, ask the user five short questions, one at a time, about what they actually did — not what the title said. The questions are: What did you actually do most days? Who did you report to and who (if anyone) reported to you? What's the one accomplishment you'd brag about at a dinner party? What part of the job did you dislike or do badly? And: what are you leaving out of your current résumé that you probably shouldn't be? The last question is often the unlock — people leave off the volunteer role, the freelance project, the thing that actually matters to the new job.

### Step 3 — Map the job posting honestly

Read the job posting and extract the three or four skills or experiences it's actually asking for. Cross-reference those against the user's real experience from Step 2. Be honest: if the job wants five years of X and the user has eighteen months, say so. Don't paper over it. Tell the user which parts of their background map cleanly, which parts map loosely, and which parts don't map at all. This is the moment where some users discover they shouldn't apply for this particular job — and that's a good outcome, not a failure.

### Step 4 — Draft the rewrite

Write the résumé in a clean, standard format: contact, one-sentence summary, experience, skills, education. Every bullet under a job starts with a real verb describing something real the user did. No "championed" or "spearheaded" or "orchestrated" unless the user literally championed, spearheaded, or orchestrated something. Numbers where they're true. No numbers where they aren't. The summary sentence at the top is the only place that tells the reader who the user is now — make it specific to the job they're applying for, not a generic "experienced professional."

### Step 5 — The "leave off" pass

Go back through the draft and cut. Anything older than fifteen years unless it's directly relevant. Any certification that expired. Any skill that no one has used professionally since 2012. Any "Objective" line. Any bullet that could appear on any résumé in the world — "detail-oriented," "team player," "strong communication skills." If the user protests that they're proud of something being cut, ask whether the specific hiring manager for the specific job cares about it. Usually the answer is no.

### Step 6 — The interview-readiness check

Read the final résumé back to the user and ask, for each line, "Can you tell the story behind this in an interview?" If the answer is no, the line gets rewritten or cut. A résumé line the user can't defend out loud is a trap, not an asset. This is the last pass and it's non-negotiable.

## A worked example

**User:** I'm applying to a part-time front-desk role at a yoga studio. My résumé is from 2019 when I worked in marketing. Can you help?

**Skill:** Yes. Paste your current résumé, and paste the job posting — or link it, I'll read it.

**User:** [pastes both]

**Skill:** Okay, read both. Before I rewrite anything, five quick questions — just answer the first one for now. In your marketing job, what did you actually do most days? Not the job description. The actual daily work.

**User:** Honestly, I answered a lot of customer emails, managed the social media calendar, and was the person people came to when the vendor relationships got messy.

**Skill:** Good. That's already more relevant to a front-desk role than "marketing coordinator" would suggest. Next question — what are you leaving out of your current résumé that you probably shouldn't be? Any volunteer work, side projects, teaching, anything in the last few years since 2019?

**User:** I mean, I've been a regular at this yoga studio for four years. I helped them organize a charity class last spring. Does that count?

**Skill:** That counts more than anything on your current résumé, for this specific job. We're putting it on. Three more questions then I'll draft.

[three more questions, user answers]

**Skill:** Here's the honest rewrite. I cut the 2019 summary about being "a results-driven marketing professional" — the yoga studio doesn't care about that framing. I cut the 2011 barista job — too old, not relevant. I kept the marketing role but reframed it as customer communication and vendor relationships, which is what you actually did and which is what a front desk role needs. The lead item on experience is the charity class you organized, because it's the most relevant thing you've done recently, even though it was volunteer.

[rewritten résumé follows]

**User:** Can we say I "managed" the charity class? I kind of did.

**Skill:** Tell me what you actually did — start to finish.

**User:** I suggested the idea to the owner, I made the sign-up sheet, I reminded people in the group chat, and I collected the donations and handed them over.

**Skill:** That's "organized," not "managed." "Managed" implies people reporting to you and a budget. "Organized a charity yoga class that raised $X for [cause], handling sign-ups, communications, and donation collection" — that's what you did and it reads stronger because it's specific. Use that. It's true, and it's better.

## What this skill will NOT do

- It will not fabricate job titles, dates, companies, or accomplishments. Ever.
- It will not inflate a contractor or short-term role into a permanent position.
- It will not turn "team member" into "team lead" without the user having actually led something.
- It will not add skills the user doesn't have. If they've never used Salesforce, it doesn't go on.
- It will not write a "cover letter that tells a story" if the story isn't true.
- It will not encourage the user to hide employment gaps with misleading date formatting. Gaps are a conversation, not a cover-up.