Discovery

Tell us about your work

This replaces the discovery call. Fill it in whenever suits you, before or after you buy, and we can start writing without needing to schedule anything.

About 20 minutes. You don't need to answer everything. The specific questions matter more than the long ones, and rough notes are fine. We'd rather have four honest sentences than a polished paragraph.

Haven't sent your resume yet? Email it to hello@shortlistresumes.com after submitting.

1. The basics

So we can match this to your order and reach you.

Your name

Package

Any deadline? Optional

2. What you're going for

A resume aimed at a specific role always beats a general one.

Target role and industry

Be as specific as you can. "Director of Operations, third-party logistics" is far more useful than "management".

Links to 1 or 2 jobs you'd apply for Optional, but very useful

Real postings tell us the exact language and keywords the screen is looking for. Paste the URLs, or the text if the link needs a login.

Is this a step up, a sideways move, or a change of field?

Career changes need different framing, so it helps to know upfront.

3. What you actually did

This is the part that matters most. Take your time here and skip the rest if you need to.

In your current or most recent role, what were you genuinely responsible for?

Not your job description. The things that would have gone wrong if you weren't there.

What was different because you were there?

Something that got faster, cheaper, bigger, safer, or simpler. Even a rough sense helps: "cut about a week off the process" is worth more than "improved efficiency".

Any numbers you can attach to your work?

Team size, budget, revenue, volume, percentage change, time saved, number of clients, tickets, units, locations. Estimates are fine, and we'll mark anything approximate.

Anything from earlier roles worth keeping? Optional

Older work usually gets compressed, but tell us if something still matters.

4. Anything else we should know

Short answers are fine. Skip anything that doesn't apply.

What are you proudest of that isn't on your resume?

This question surfaces the best material more often than any other.

Is there anything on your current resume you'd happily lose?

Anything to handle carefully? Optional

Employment gaps, short stints, a redundancy, a career break, a role you'd rather downplay. Nothing here is judged, and knowing lets us frame it rather than leave it exposed.

Anything else Optional

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