Q: I am pulling together my resume, biography, and LinkedIn Profile, although they are well-written, typo-free and professional, hiring managers do not respond well to them. I am not getting offers. I thought I had the perfect package. What’s missing?

Perfection can be cold, aloof, and uncompelling. The perfect resume does not always get the job. In fact, the ideal, carefully crafted version of your professional life may not still woo employers — especially if the communication does not seem authentic. Your documents do need to be correct and accurate, so they show your competence. However, the real trick is to develop materials that “sparkle” with energy and joy. Those who love their work radiate from the page in a way that captures the reader’s attention. This is the kind of messaging you want on your resume and in your LinkedIn and other profiles.

What does this mean?

Recruiters will tell you that they need resumes that show thought, focus and clarity. They want to know where you have worked, what you have done and why you have moved, accepted promotion or branched off into new fields. They also want hints of a real person, someone who feels engaged by his/her work and who goes the extra mile. They want a glimpse of the “real” you. Reveal more of your true work self to really make the kind of impression that gets attention. People need to get a sense of your passion for your work. That needs to come through. There are many ways that you can do this. You can create excitement in your cover letter and take the risk of zeroing in on the very specific aspects of a role that make you want to get up early in the morning to get to work. The mission, location, culture, team support – these are all factors that can make work-life fun.

You can also tailor your resume to highlight the areas that make you smile. Even if you have done 20 exciting things in your current position, separate these into two or three groups and develop customized resumes that really focus on key aspects of your role separately. This will de-clutter your resume(s) and will create space for you to infuse the resume with a bit of yourself. Some of this will be subtle. If you are just starting out your career, you can list everything – because you still have room on your resume to do so. At the same time, you may want to rank order your skills, abilities and projects so that those you enjoy get top priority and the most square-footage on your resume. This will naturally highlight your strengths and where you shine. People reading it will be able to tell that you have energy; they will believe that you have grown positively in your role. They will want to hire you to build their company and to share your enthusiasm as part of their team.

Managers can create impact on their resumes by visioning their “Dream Jobs” and working backwards to articulate how their current roles prepare them for future leadership. Just going through this exercise will create excitement, interest and new ways of framing current projects. If you are in a leadership role and you sit on the board or on various committees, you can select which projects, roles and committees you highlight in each version of your resume so that the reader gets a real sense of what you genuinely enjoy.

By taking the time to describe exactly what makes work engaging, you can develop materials that capture your vision for the future and state clearly, “Hire me. I build momentum. I like what I do. I am creative, forward-thinking and focused on developing a great career.” Optimism is infectious. Positive thinking works. Make up your own truthful tag-line and publish it in your materials.

Take the risk of sharing your career dreams with others and how you intend to meet them. Avoid hiding behind dry phrases, weak verbs, and position-description summaries. Look to the future, get excited again about the possibilities: link the past, present and future creatively using your resume.

Karen Alphonse is ExecSearches.com’s Search Solution Leader and Executive Coach. Learn more about our resume writing and executive coaching services.