Struggling to convey your distinguished career in a compelling executive resume? If you believe your resume is disjointed and fails to tell employers who you really are, you’re probably right.
Related:7 Must-Haves Of An Executive Resume In 2014
Here’s why: we’re taught to be good at what we do, but not to articulate our value proposition. You may spend many waking hours spearheading change, handling corporate strategy, leading large teams, or directing enterprise-scale projects – but not a single minute thinking about how to represent these accomplishments to others.
As a result, writing about your executive career can be a difficult task – particularly without a strategic plan for showcasing your personal brand.
Read on for solutions to common challenges in developing a strong executive resume, with tips for improving your message – and simplifying your efforts:
Challenge #1: You’re struggling to focus on what’s relevant from your career.
Ever read a long, rambling story where nothing in particular stands out? Perhaps you’ve made lengthy, bullet-point lists of the duties in each position, along with some highlights of revenue generated, projects completed, or costs saved.
This is how many resumes are constructed, making employers navigate through details of each job (often getting lost in a sea of text).
The problem with this approach? There’s no signature theme of your career evident to the reader.
Solution: Start with the end in mind.
Answer these questions before even starting work on your resume:
What is your desired title in the next job?
What do you want employers to know about you?
How has your work had an impact on the entire company?
What do others commend you for? What is your reputation among peers?
Now, write TO these answers, instead of starting with the detail. Put your target job title at the top (VP of Sales, CIO, Chief Audit Executive), then elaborate on the reasons you’re qualified for it.
You’ll find your story becomes centered on the characteristics and career impact you’ve had (in other words, your brand value to employers).
Challenge #2: You can’t figure out how to show the impact of previous jobs.
Many people start writing their resumes in reverse chronological order, realizing employers want to see their most recent job first. What you’re left with is a first page that touches on one or perhaps two jobs, without noting how you were promoted or where your unique experience originated.
While this is a great way to backtrack through your career, it’s also a more challenging way to assemble an executive resume. Often, the first page lacks context and shows only the scenarios from the past few years (which may not be sufficient at a leadership level).
Solution: Shape the outline of your resume to show relevant (even if older) detail.
Consider adding sections to the first page of your executive resume to emphasize key achievements from throughout your career.
You can call this area Career Highlights, Examples of Executive Performance, or another title that tells employers why these accomplishments matter when sizing up your potential.
An added bonus: this style allows for easier navigation by hiring authorities, who’ll be able to see why you’re qualified at your target career level.
Challenge #3: You’re trying to fit your experience into a too-tight space.
The old rules of resume writing (particularly those that required a single-page document) don’t apply anymore. Still, it can seem almost impossible to fold 20 to 40 years of hard-won experience and successes into even 2 or 3 pages.
Solution: Use a format designed around both a “snapshot” view and the breadth of your career.
If you write an executive resume in straight chronological order, readers must wade through all of the pages to find out where you attended college, what positions you held, and whether your past employers were noteworthy.
Try creating a single-page summary sheet instead, with your work history laid out on subsequent pages. Shown in both this CEO resume and COO – GM resume samples, this approach lets you use the first page as a standalone document or Networking Resume, while presenting all pages to an executive recruiter or search committee.
Take these tips to heart if you’re struggling to write an executive resume truly representative of your personal brand. An effective writing strategy and format (developed outside of your content) will go a long way toward expressing the right message to employers.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.