The truth about customizing your resume for every job.

Is It Lying… or Just UX Strategy?

May 23, 2025

How Many UX Resumes Have You RE-Written This Year? 👀

If you've ever tweaked your case study titles, reframed a job description, or rearranged your skill list depending on the role… you're not alone.

But let’s be honest at some point, it starts to feel like we’re selling a different version of ourselves to every employer. Is that deception? Or is it just strategy?

This issue explores what tailoring your UX CV really means and whether the line between “positioning” and “pretending” is as clear as we think.

Why So Many UXers Feel Like They’re “Faking It”

You adjust your portfolio to highlight the research when applying for a research role.
You emphasize strategy when the role sounds more senior.
You downplay visual design when it seems “too junior.”

It works but it doesn’t always feel good.

It feels like you’re hiding part of yourself to be what the company wants.
Like you’re gaming the system.

But here’s the thing: the system is already a game.

The Reality of Hiring: You’re Being Filtered by Pattern Matchers

Most UX hiring doesn’t happen through thoughtful evaluation.
It happens through pattern recognition.

Recruiters skim for familiar titles.
Hiring managers look for terms they’ve used before.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) literally filter you out based on keywords.

If your resume doesn’t “match” the language of the role, you may never get seen no matter how good you are.

So you adapt.
Not because you’re trying to lie.
But because you’re trying to be seen.

Reframing vs. Misleading: Where’s the Line?

Let’s be clear: tailoring your resume is not lying.
But there is a line.

Reframing:
✅ Highlighting skills that are relevant to the role
✅ Adjusting job titles to match industry standard language (e.g., “UX Designer” instead of “Creative Strategist”)
✅ Prioritizing the case studies that fit the job’s focus

Misleading:
❌ Claiming work you didn’t do
❌ Exaggerating metrics or ownership
❌ Inflating your title or timeline

You’re not changing your identity… you’re curating your narrative.

Just like a UX designer would for any interface.

What Employers Actually Want (Even If They Don’t Say It)

Most employers are looking for one thing:
“Can this person solve our problems?”

They might ask for Figma, but what they need is someone who can align a team.
They might list “usability testing,” but what they mean is “understand what our users want.”

So when you tailor your CV, you're not tricking them — you're showing them how your experience fits into their context.

The mistake isn't customizing.
The mistake is assuming you have to fit everything into one static resume.

How to Stay Honest and Get the Interview

Here’s what works:

Keep a master resume. Then create role-specific versions — not by rewriting your story, but by reordering it.
Change the lens, not the facts. You don’t need to invent new experience — just highlight what’s relevant.
Write your case studies like problem-solvers. Less “what I made,” more “what I figured out.”
Don’t erase your past. Just emphasize what matches where you’re going.

You’re not a fraud for adapting.
You’re a communicator.

Why This Isn’t Just About the CV — It’s About Confidence

The fear isn’t really “am I lying?”
The fear is: “What if they find out I’m not enough?”

But let’s flip that.

What if they find out you’re exactly what they needed — they just didn’t know how to read between the lines?

Positioning isn’t pretending. It’s advocacy.

And you’re allowed to shape your story in a way that makes sense to the person reading it.

Your work matters. But your network moves you.

👀 UX leader Jen Blatz just broke down why UXCon25 might be the smartest move you make all year.

She’s not selling the event. She’s explaining what most UX pros overlook: Your next opportunity won’t come from another certificate. It’ll come from the room you’re in.