# Don't Rush to Write a Resume Date: February 2025 >"Don't Rush to Write a Resume" That was the title of a book I accidentally noticed in a bookstore in 2007. I wasn't looking for a job then. By that time I’ve already moved to Moscow. Driven by the “d'Artagnan syndrome”, was building my career at a large IT company. But the title “Don't Rush to Write a Resume“ was intriguing. Enough to pick it up and flip through this tiny - just over 100 pages - guidebook. The book's main idea boiled down to a simple thesis: Companies don't need to fill vacancies. Companies need someone to help solve their problems. Offer yourself as a solution, not as a "resume." I was thrilled by this elegant idea. Decided that's exactly what I'd do in the future. Put the book back on the shelf and never saw it again. Almost 20 years have passed. And now my job is helping people build their careers. And damn it, I often teach people exactly how to "write resumes." I myself have six excellent CVs. None of them lie. None of them contain the whole truth about my experience. And none of them ever helped me find a job. "Don't Rush to Write a Resume" Easy to say "don't rush" when the whole World is chaotically rushing around you. When companies are laying off people every day, and when LinkedIn looks more like Tinder for resumes and job openings. And the job market relationships resemble fleeting Tinder romances. A resume is a card for playing by the rules. And before playing this card, you need to figure out what game we're playing. Poker or Preference? Or maybe chess, or like in that joke where the chess board has three grey queens, a handful of buckwheat, and a d18 die? Playing by the rules is simple. You'll be competing with hundreds of other candidates. They all play by the same rules. This doesn't mean you can't win. Quite the opposite! The vacancy-resume dance still works great. And to win, you must play by the rules. 100%. One freaking hundred percent. Perfect cover letter. Perfect match between CV and job description. Perfect expected answers at the scoring interview. Perfect test assignment, and so on. If you also have network support, a minimal personal brand, and small talk skills - you'll definitely win. Sooner or later. The advantage of playing by the rules is clear for both sides. But this clarity isn't always there. Take a product manager, for example. If you list all the expected skills - you'll get a description of a five-person team. The ideal product manager should understand CustDev, UX, financial modeling, market and competitor analysis, product analytics, monetization... plus excellent leadership and communication skills. The list of requirements extends beyond sanity horizon. The ideal product manager is like that “perfectly spherical cow” in 10-dimensional space. Exists on paper and LinkedIn, but impossible in reality. And if this is the card you're holding, you're lucky. You can't follow the rules. Because there are no rules. Which means instead of "send resume to vacancy" you can do anything you want. For example, find a company, not a vacancy. Create and complete a test assignment yourself. Find a client, not an employer. Use your network, not a list of vacancies. Write a resume. But don't rush to send it. Especially if you've done it a thousand times with the same outcome. If you've rolled the dice a hundred times and never got double sixes - maybe the problem is in the dice themselves. Or maybe you're playing no-rules chess. The recruiter will eventually get your resume. But not from you. From the hiring manager in a message saying "please process and onboard this new employee." Good luck!