Resumé Driven Development - Your Career is In Your Hands
Sep 24, 2025
Explore the concept of Résumé Driven Development as a powerful framework for career success. Learn how to focus on measurable impact rather than just tasks. Discover the importance of having goal-oriented conversations with your manager to set clear, impactful objectives. Understand how to connect your work to business value and manage risks by proposing alternative success metrics. Take control of your career by proactively tracking accomplishments, ensuring you can effectively narrate your value.
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Proof Beats Activity On A Résumé
A strong résumé is built from demonstrated impact, not a laundry list of tasks.
Jonathan Cutrell emphasizes that measurable proof makes your claims credible and valuable.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Start The Goals Conversation Early
Do have a goals conversation with your manager to define measurable objectives for your role.
Jonathan Cutrell recommends starting this discussion as soon as your manager has time.
insights INSIGHT
Delivery Alone Is Not Impact
Delivering a project by a date is weak résumé evidence unless tied to impact.
Jonathan Cutrell urges translating project delivery into business metrics and measurable outcomes.
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In this episode we'll discuss why "Résumé Driven Development" is a powerful mental model for building a thriving career. Instead of seeing your résumé as just a job-hunting tool, you'll learn to use it as a guide for setting measurable, impactful goals that benefit you, your manager, and your company.
Focus on Impact, Not Just Tasks: Discover why a great résumé is built on proof of impact, not just a list of completed projects. The best way to improve your career is to focus on achieving measurable goals that demonstrate real value.
Have the Goals Conversation: Learn how to initiate a critical conversation with your manager to define measurable goals for your role. If your manager can only provide project deadlines, take the initiative to propose your own impact-oriented goals.
Connect Goals to Business Value: Understand the importance of linking your work to business metrics. While there's a risk that a project might not meet its business goals, you can also measure impact through clever technical solutions or process improvements, like reducing team cycle time.
Take Control of Your Career: Realise that your career success is ultimately dependent on your own actions. By proactively setting and tracking goals, you take control and can clearly tell the story of the value you bring to the table.
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