You haven’t looked for a job in years

The rules changed while you were busy being good at your job.

The last time you wrote a resume, you probably posted it, or attached it to an email that a person opened. You have been promoted since, perhaps more than once, and every one of those moves came through people who already knew what you could do.

Now you are looking outward for the first time in a long while, and the honest position is that you do not know what a good executive document looks like in 2026. That is not a gap in your ability. It is a gap in information, and it is quickly closed.


What actually changed

Less than the internet would have you believe. But the parts that changed, changed completely.

Software reads it first

Eighty-eight per cent of employers agree qualified candidates get vetted out for not matching the exact criteria in the job description. The filter is the criteria; the software only applies it. It is not judging you — it is parsing you, and columns, tables, text boxes and headers frequently defeat it.

The first third carries everything

A recruiter spends about 7.4 seconds on a first pass. The chronological march through duties that served you fifteen years ago now buries your best evidence on page two, where it is not reached. Level, scope and proof have to be visible immediately.

What did not change

Evidence still beats adjectives. A named outcome with a number attached still lands harder than a paragraph of capability language. Your experience has not expired — it is the packaging that has dated, and that is the easier half to fix.

This is what current looks like

Real examples from our work. Click any one to read it in full.

Aged care executive resume sample
HR executive resume sample
Luxury retail executive resume sample

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The three questions people ask us first


  • How far back should it go?

    Detail for the last ten to fifteen years, and a short summary for everything before that. Nobody is assessing what you did in 2003, but leaving it out entirely creates a gap that invites the wrong question.

  • Is two pages still the rule?

    Not at executive level in Australia. Three to seven pages is the working range, and where you land in it depends on how many sectors, seats and directorships a reader genuinely needs to see. Squeezing a thirty-year career into two pages usually costs you the evidence that would have won the interview.

  • Do I need to be on LinkedIn?

    Yes, and it needs to say the same thing as your resume. Search consultants and hiring managers will look, and a profile that has not been touched since 2019 says something you did not intend it to say.

What this leads to

You have not done this in years. Here is how long it actually takes now.


5 daysFirst draft, after your branding sessionDelivery
2 weeksFinalised, polished documents in your handsDelivery
6 weeksMost clients report being in a new role, from receiving their documentsClient reported
Under 3%Clients who have invoked the rework guarantee or asked for a refundFive years, measured

Clients self-report salary increases ranging from $12,000 to $160,000 a year. They also tell us interview invitations pick up noticeably — we have not measured that comprehensively, so we will not put a number on it. The guarantee figure covers five years of engagements and is counted directly; the rest is what clients report back to us.

What one client said about coming back after a long run


“After not being in the employment market for an extended period of time my CV and value proposition needed some work. Following the quick and easy CV review by Executive Agents the response from recruiters and for interviews improved drastically.

Highly recommended.”

Or have it written properly

If you would rather not learn a new craft at this stage of your career.


Most people in your position do not want to become experts in resume conventions. They want the document to be right and to get on with the search. The executive packages cover the resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile together, so all three say the same thing about you.


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