--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are not your resume, you are your work." description: "\"You are not your resume, you are your work.\" — Seth Godin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png" --- # You are not your resume, you are your work. ![“You are not your resume, you are your work.” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png) > “You are not your resume, you are your work.” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity is defined by actions and contributions, not by a static résumé. **In simple terms:** Your work defines you, not your résumé. Key Takeaway Focus on delivering value. Themes identity work self‑definition Mood professional reflective Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - job interview - networking - career development - freelance work Key Concepts marketing personal branding value creation Questions to Reflect On - How can you showcase your work effectively? - What actions best reflect your values? A Different Perspective Resumes still matter for initial impressions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Dedication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedication/) [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Inspiring business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring-business/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Motivational business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational-business/) [Resume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resume/) [Resume Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resume-work-2901748/) [Resumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resumes/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-day/) ## Related quotes > [In other words, If you don't take action, you won't get any results You are not your resume, you are your work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/in-other-words-if-you-don-t-take-action-you-won-t-get-any-results-you/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I think if you're remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn't have a resume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-think-if-you-re-remarkable-amazing-or-just-plain-spectacular-you/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're going to be thinking anyway, think big!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-re-going-to-be-thinking-anyway-think-big/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-convinced-that-about-half-of-what-separates-successful/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If I have accomplished anything in life, it is because I have been willing to work hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madam-c-j-walker/if-i-have-accomplished-anything-in-life-it-is-because-i-have-been/) [Madam C. J. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madam-c-j-walker/) > [The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/the-complaining-customer-represents-a-huge-opportunity-for-more/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-cashmore/we-are-really-competing-against-ourselves-we-have-no-control-over-how/) [Pete Cashmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-cashmore/) > [Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/success-in-business-requires-training-and-discipline-and-hard-work-2/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/success-in-business-requires-training-and-discipline-and-hard-work/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [If you think you can't, you're right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bartz/if-you-think-you-can-t-you-re-right/) [Carol Bartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bartz/) > [The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbi-fields/the-important-thing-is-not-being-afraid-to-take-a-chance/) [Debbi Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbi-fields/) > [Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbi-fields/once-you-find-something-you-love-to-do-be-the-best-at-doing-it/) [Debbi Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbi-fields/) > [Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/whatever-the-mind-of-man-can-conceive-and-believe-it-can-achieve-2/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Work hard at work worth doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/work-hard-at-work-worth-doing/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-cost-of-being-wrong-is-less-than-the-cost-of-doing-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You are not your resume, you are your work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Godin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-work/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-work/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/seth-godin-152_business_you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-wor_1278974.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You are not your resume, you are your work.” — Seth Godin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Seth Godin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You are not your resume, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-work/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-are-not-your-resume-you-are-your-work/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```