Have you ever struggled to revamp your own resume, even though you can polish anyone else’s in a heartbeat? If you’ve ever spent hours tweaking your LinkedIn headline or reworking your professional summary, you’re not alone, and there’s a name for it.

It’s called Solomon’s Paradox.

Named after the famously wise King Solomon, who could solve others’ problems with clarity but wrestled with his own, this paradox plays out in surprising ways for recruiters, especially when it comes to self-assessment.

As a recruiter, you’ve developed a finely tuned instinct for what a great resume needs. You can quickly spot what’s missing, what’s cluttered, and how to make someone’s experience leap off the page. But the second you open your resume? The details blur, the words feel forced, and you second-guess everything.

The science behind it is straightforward: when looking at someone else’s problem, we’re naturally more objective. We can see it from all angles, weigh the pros and cons, and feel confident in our advice. But when it’s our own problem we get tangled up in emotional bias and overthinking. We fear misrepresenting ourselves or missing key details, so we end up over-editing or freezing entirely.

This isn’t just about resumes. It’s the same reason you may find it easier to brainstorm solutions for a client’s hiring challenges but struggle to fix your own process inefficiencies. You instinctively know how to streamline recruiting for others, but when it’s your own business? Suddenly, the path forward isn’t so clear.

To break through that fog, some researchers suggest a simple trick: pretend you’re advising a friend. When facing your own challenges, imagine they belong to someone you care about. Suddenly, the solution feels more obvious, the steps more practical, and the right approach more available. This third-person perspective strips away personal biases and brings clarity to the forefront.

Seeing how others solved similar challenges can be a powerful way to overcome decision paralysis. Just as a client needs to see successful placements to trust your process, you can use third-party examples to reassure yourself that the path forward is sound.

Solomon’s Paradox doesn’t just highlight why it’s hard to see our own path forward, it shows why we’re often so well-equipped to help others. Leveraging this awareness can improve not only your problem-solving skills but also your self-assessment abilities, ultimately driving better outcomes for both you and your clients.

Next time you’re stuck, remember: pretend you’re your own advisor. Approach your challenges as if they belong to someone else, and watch how much more clearly the solutions come into focus.