Latest / The Resume Room with Fexingo: Resume Writing, Cover Letters, and Application Strategy / The Hidden Value of Your Failed Projects
Transcript
- Lucas: We need to talk about the one thing every candidate is terrified to put on their resume: failure. Specifically, failed projects. Not the catastrophic, headline-grabbing disasters, but the quiet ones where you led an initiative, hit a wall, and didn't deliver the promised outcome. Most people delete these experiences entirely, viewing them as blemishes that will get them filtered out by ATS systems or dismissed by hiring managers. Luna: Exactly. We see this constantly. Candidates spend hours polishing their wins, but when it comes to the things that didn't work out, they just... vanish from the document. It's like if you try a recipe and it burns, you'd rather pretend you never bought the ingredients. Lucas: Right, and here's the problem with that approach. In September 2026, the job market isn't just looking for competence; it's looking for resilience. When I sit down with hiring managers in tech and finance, the question isn't 'Have you ever succeeded?' because everyone has. The question is 'What did you do when the plan fell apart?' A deleted failure tells a story of avoidance. A framed failure tells a story of problem-solving. Luna: But how do you even start writing that? It feels so vulnerable to highlight something you got wrong. Isn't there a risk that bringing it up just makes you look incompetent? Lucas: That's the fear, sure. But let's look at the mechanics. You don't list the failure as a bullet point saying 'Failed to launch product X.' You list the project, and then you add a line about the pivot. For example, instead of 'Launched marketing campaign,' you write 'Led Q3 marketing initiative; identified early engagement drop-off, pivoted strategy mid-quarter, recovered forty percent of projected reach.' See the difference? The failure is there, but it's the setup for your adaptability. Luna: So you're reframing it not as a loss, but as a data point that informed a better decision. That actually sounds much more confident than trying to hide it. Lucas: Precisely. And this brings us to a specific case study from a recent candidate I advised. She worked on a software integration project that was delayed by three months due to a third-party API change. Instead of omitting it, she listed the project and noted: 'Navigated unexpected third-party dependency failure; renegotiated timeline with stakeholders and implemented workaround, delivering core features on revised schedule.' She didn't say 'we failed.' She said 'we adapted.' Luna: That's powerful because it shows ownership without admitting fault for things outside her control. It turns a potential red flag into a demonstration of stakeholder management. Lucas: And that's what hiring managers are grading on. They want to know you can handle ambiguity. If your resume only shows straight lines from point A to point B, you might be good at following instructions, but are you good at leading through uncertainty? In a volatile economic quarter like this one, leaders who panic when the road gets rough are liabilities. Leaders who course-correct are assets. Luna: It reminds me of how investors view startups. They don't fund the idea; they fund the founder's ability to pivot. You're applying that same investor mindset to career building. Lucas: Spot on. Now, let's pause for a moment. If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, and you found value in this perspective, honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps the show ad-free and allows us to keep digging into these nuanced topics for you. Luna: Yeah, support really helps us keep producing content that cuts through the noise. Thanks for listening. Lucas: Back to the resume. So we've established that you should include the context of the setback. But there's a second layer to this: the 'Why' behind the failure. Did it fail because of poor planning? External forces? Or misaligned expectations? This distinction is critical because it changes how you frame the lesson learned. Luna: I imagine if it was poor planning, you'd want to emphasize the new processes you implemented to prevent recurrence. Whereas external forces might require a different tone, focusing more on agility. Lucas: Exactly. If it was internal, you take ownership. You say, 'Recognized gaps in initial scope definition; introduced agile sprint reviews to improve alignment, reducing future delays by twenty percent.' That's a concrete takeaway. It shows you didn't just suffer the failure; you engineered a solution to ensure it wouldn't happen again. That's leadership. Luna: It’s like turning a mistake into a system improvement. That’s something any operations manager would love to see. Lucas: Absolutely. And this applies beyond project management roles. Take a sales role. Maybe you missed your quota for two quarters in a row. Don't just delete those years. Frame it. 'Consistently exceeded territory targets by fifteen percent after restructuring approach to enterprise accounts in year two.' You acknowledge the struggle, but you highlight the recovery and the strategic shift that drove the success. Luna: So the narrative becomes one of growth and adaptation, rather than just a static record of achievements. It makes you feel more human, and frankly, more trustworthy. Lucas: Trustworthiness is huge. In an era where ai generated resumes are flooding in, human nuance is becoming a premium feature. A resume that admits complexity and shows how you navigated it stands out against the sterile, perfect-sounding applications. It signals self-awareness. Luna: Self-awareness is such an underrated skill in hiring. It’s hard to train someone to be humble and reflective. It’s usually something they either have or they don’t. Lucas: Right. And here’s a practical tip for the 'How'. When you write these bullet points, use active verbs that imply action and resolution. Words like 'Pivoted', 'Revised', 'Resolved', 'Adapted', 'Mitigated'. Avoid passive language like 'Was responsible for' or 'Helped with'. Passive language sounds like you were a bystander in your own failure. Active language sounds like you were the driver. Luna: I love that. 'Mitigated' is a great word. It doesn't mean you fixed everything perfectly, but it means you reduced the damage. That’s realistic and professional. Lucas: Yes. And let’s talk about the interview. Because if you put this on your resume, you must be ready to talk about it. Interviewers will ask, 'Tell me about a time things didn't go as planned.' Having this pre-written narrative gives you confidence. You’re not improvising; you’re sharing a structured story of challenge and response. Luna: It takes the anxiety out of the behavioral question. Instead of scrambling for a 'good' failure, you have a prepared example that demonstrates exactly the traits they’re looking for. Lucas: Exactly. And be honest about the emotional weight of it too. It’s okay to say, 'It was frustrating at the time, but looking back, it taught me...' Authenticity resonates. Hiring managers are humans too. They’ve had failures. They respect someone who owns them. Luna: It builds rapport. If you can talk openly about a setback, it creates a space where the interviewer feels safe sharing their own challenges. It turns the interview into a conversation rather than an interrogation. Lucas: Let’s bring it back to the resume structure. Where do you put these? Not at the bottom. Not in a 'Miscellaneous' section. Put them right alongside your successes. Treat the failed project with the same gravity and detail as the successful one. This signals that you judge your worth by the complexity of the problems you solved, not just the easy wins you collected. Luna: It balances the resume. Too many successes can sometimes read as braggy or unrealistic. A mix of highs and lows feels grounded. Lucas: Grounded is the goal. Think about the last hire you made. Would you trust the person who claims everything went perfectly, or the person who shows you how they handled the inevitable imperfections? In my experience, the latter always wins. Especially now, with market volatility affecting so many industries. Luna: It’s definitely more relevant now. Companies are downsizing, pivoting, restructuring. They need people who can thrive in chaos, not just follow a straight path. Lucas: So, as you audit your resume this week, I want you to look for those gaps. Those moments where you tried something and it didn't land. Don't erase them. Reframe them. Ask yourself: What did I learn? How did I respond? Write that down. Turn your scars into strategies. Luna: Scars into strategies. I’m going to steal that phrase. It’s a great reminder that our mistakes are often our best teachers. Lucas: And remember, the goal isn't to be perfect. The goal is to be capable. And capability is proven not in the absence of failure, but in the presence of resilience. Keep refining that narrative. Luna: Thanks for the pushback on the 'perfect resume' myth. It’s a relief to know that showing your process is more valuable than just showing the result. Lucas: Always. And if you apply this framework and find a new angle on your own failures, share it with us. We’re always listening for the next iteration of this story.