Traditional Rhetorical Genre Study (RGS) methods are not well adapted to study exclusion because excluded information and people are typically absent from the genre, and some excluded information is simply unrelated to the genre because of genre conventions or social context. Within genre-based silences, how can scholars differentiate between an item of silenced information that suggests exclusionary practices and another item that is unrelated to the genre? This article serves as an example of how augmenting RGS with rhetorical listening and silence can benefit our pedagogy, research, and practice. Incorporating exclusion gives a more complete understanding of a genre's social action and responds to cross-cultural issues with genre practices. To illustrate the benefits of this combination, the article draws from the researcher's ongoing inquiry into the construct of the "well-rounded individual" that has become routinized in the U.S. résumé and cover letter.