When hiring, top firms like McKinsey value a candidate's ability to articulate a deliberate, logical problem-solving process as much as their past successes. Having a structured method shows you can reliably tackle novel challenges, whereas simply pointing to past wins might suggest luck or context-specific success.

With HR departments using AI to screen candidates, a 'brag book' serves a new purpose beyond performance reviews. It becomes a critical repository of the quantifiable wins, keywords, and specific accomplishments needed to optimize a resume for automated hiring systems.

Many skilled professionals are overlooked for promotions or new roles not because their work is subpar, but because they fail to articulate a compelling narrative around their accomplishments. How you frame your impact in interviews and promotion documents is as crucial as the impact itself.

Instead of editing a single resume for each job, create a master 'bullet vault.' This is a comprehensive document with numerous accomplishment-based bullets covering all core PM skill areas. For each application, you can then quickly select and stack-rank the most relevant points.

When a recruiter or hiring manager reaches out, your first discovery question should be, "What was it about my profile that led you to want to book time with me?" Their answer reveals the specific problem they think you can solve, allowing you to immediately focus your narrative on their highest-priority need.

When hiring for creative roles like AI Product Manager, the resume itself is evaluated as a product. A generic, plain-text resume signals a lack of creativity and product taste. The design, clarity, and cohesive narrative it tells are direct demonstrations of the candidate's core skills.

The language of job seeking has shifted. Descriptors like "seasoned," "passionate," or "cross-functional," and emphasizing years of experience, are now seen as fluff. Modern candidates must speak in terms of concrete actions and business outcomes they have driven, focusing on what they have shipped recently.

A candidate can claim they want growth, but their resume tells the real story. Scrutinize *why* they moved between specific companies. A move for a bigger salary versus a move to work under a renowned leader reveals their actual priorities far more accurately than their interview answers.

To generate rich, authentic resume content, first use an AI transcription tool to record spoken answers to detailed career questions. This 'brain dump' captures nuances and forgotten achievements that can then be fed to an AI to structure into impactful resume bullets.