Career Roadmap

“Become a senior engineer” is a wish. The useful version is the specific difference between what your resume currently evidences and what the postings you are targeting ask for — which is a much shorter list, and usually a surprising one.

Some of that difference is real: skills you have not used, scope you have not had. Some of it is presentation: work you did that your resume does not mention. The two need entirely different responses, and telling them apart is most of the value.

Not everything is worth doing, and almost nothing is worth doing at once. A roadmap that lists fifteen skills is a list, not a plan. What helps is knowing which two things unlock the most roles, and what evidence of them would look like on a resume.

This works from your resume, the roles you target, and the postings you save. It does not know your industry’s internal politics, what your manager thinks, or whether the team you want to join is hiring next quarter. It is a starting structure for a decision you make, not the decision.

Is this career coaching?

No. A coach knows your context, can challenge you, and is accountable for the advice. This reads your resume against the roles you are aiming at and tells you where the distance is. Useful, and a different thing.

How often should I revisit it?

When something changes — a new project, a new role, a shift in what you are targeting. Re-running it weekly will mostly show you noise.

What if the gap turns out to be large?

That is worth knowing early and cheaply. A roadmap that says the target is two moves away rather than one is more useful than six months of applications that do not get replies.

• See what your resume evidences today
• Test yourself against a real posting
• Prepare for the roles you are ready for