My dad wants me to fix my brother’s résumé without telling him

My younger brother has been looking for work for five months. He is frustrated, embarrassed and tired of family advice. He has said this directly several times.

My father has responded by creating a private project around him.

Last week Dad emailed me my brother’s résumé with the subject line ‘Please improve discreetly.’ He wanted me to rewrite it, send the new version back to him and let him persuade my brother to use it without mentioning my involvement. Dad said I work in communications and could fix obvious problems in an hour.

I asked whether my brother had requested help. Dad said no, but that was why the help needed to be handled sensitively. He believes my brother rejects advice because he feels judged, not because he wants autonomy. In Dad’s mind, removing my name removes the judgment.

I opened the résumé before deciding. It does need work. The formatting is inconsistent, and several bullet points are vague. Knowing that made the request harder to refuse because I can imagine concrete improvements. It also made the secrecy feel worse. I would be silently editing how my brother presents his own life.

Dad has already asked our aunt to forward job openings and my cousin to make an introduction at his company. My brother thinks those things happened naturally. He recently told me he appreciates that the family has finally stopped managing him.

I told Dad I would help if my brother asked me directly. Dad accused me of choosing principles over results. He said unemployment affects the entire family because our parents are helping with rent, and people receiving support cannot insist that every form of help arrive on their preferred terms.

That argument has some force. My parents are worried about money. My brother’s choices affect them. But financial involvement does not make covert authorship feel honest.

Dad says he will rewrite the résumé himself if I refuse, which may produce something worse and still happen behind my brother’s back. I am tempted to call my brother and say, ‘Dad sent this to me. I can help if you want.’ That would expose Dad’s scheme and probably humiliate my brother.

How do I refuse triangulation without abandoning a sibling who may genuinely benefit from help? Is direct disclosure kinder, or should I return the file and let Dad own whatever he does next?